Nanaimo to benefit from seized proceeds of crime

NANAIMO – New Democrat MLA Sheila Malcolmson is welcoming nearly $150,000 in funding for programs in Nanaimo that enhance restorative justice, support healing for Indigenous youth, and offer sexualized violence supports.

“To get tough on crime, we need to tackle the root causes that allow it to flourish,” said Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo. “Our government is taking the proceeds of crime and putting them to work with innovative Nanaimo organizations preventing domestic violence and helping get people back on the right path.”

A total of $ 147,758 will be distributed to five Nanaimo organizations through the province’s Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation grant program:

  • Nanaimo Region John Howard Society: $28,808
    • Funding will increase staff hours for the Nanaimo Region John Howard Society’s Restorative Justice Program to build program awareness among new and existing referral sources as well as create a strong network of community supports.
  • Haven Society: $30,000
    • Funding will provide training to service providers and community members about gender-based and intimate partner violence to increase their ability to provide support and safety to victims and to refer them to services they may need.
  • Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre Society: $28,950
    • Funding for a project to restore cultural systems and traditions, and support the holistic healing of Indigenous youth from intergenerational trauma.
  • Nanaimo Men’s Resource Centre: $30,000
    • Funding will support the Nanaimo Men’s centres operation costs for one fiscal year.
  • Nanaimo Family Life Association: $30,000
    • Funding for a project to increase the safety of families in the Nanaimo region, increase perpetrator accountability and responsibility for the use of abuse and violence, support changes in capacity, improve skills for safer outcomes and intervene in situations of Intimate Partner Violence to prevent escalation of abuse and violence.

The Crime Prevention and Remediation grant program is funded through proceeds of the Civil Forfeiture Office, which undermines the profit motive behind criminal activity by taking away tools and proceeds of crime and putting them back into programs that support community crime prevention and safety.

This year, the Crime Prevention and Remediation grant program has awarded just over $11.8 million in grants for 267 projects led by community not-for-profits, school districts, and others. Since 2011, the program has provided more than $49 million to help organizations throughout B.C. to further their crime prevention and remediation efforts.

John Horgan and the New Democrat government are delivering results to make life better for people in British Columbia, and we’re going to keep working hard for you.

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