True North receives family violence prevention grant

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The True North Society has successfully received another grant from the province of Alberta, this time through the Taking Action on Family Violence grant program.

This investment of $93,500, as indicated by the province, aims to reinforce their commitment to supporting victims of gender-based violence, as well as to promote awareness during Family Violence Prevention Month.

Courtney Helfrich, executive director of the True North Society, explained the grant is similar to another that the organization has previously been successful in acquiring over the last several years.

“Previously, it was titled the Family Violence Prevention Grant … and then the province did a little bit of restructuring of that grant and opened it up to the whole province and not just our sector any longer,” she said. “They put out a call for proposals and so we were able to submit an application for that last year in the spring, and then we were notified that we were successful in September.”

The True North Society submitted their grant application to support the continued employment of a family support coordinator role, being very similar to what has previously been applied for.

Previously, similar grants were utilized to fund an early intervention team. Due to financing cuts, the family support coordinator role remains the sole purpose of this successful grant application.

“We have added in some educational supports as well, and some additional parenting supports, but the idea is that it is really targeted prevention and early intervention to support families who have experienced violence or maybe are at risk of experiencing violence,” said Helfrich. “(We) really want to focus on the kids, to be able to provide some tools for emotional regulation, building routines, skills for healthy communication, and setting boundaries. It is really about creating more protective factors for people to really try and either break that cycle of violence from continuing or stop violence.”

The province has released a commitment to invest more than $188 million in gender-based violence prevention efforts across Alberta as part of a 10-year strategy. Via a statement, it was reported that greater than $88 million would be invested this year.

“Domestic violence can take many forms, and it threatens that individual’s safety, well-being, and sense of self-worth. It breaks families apart and can lead to generations of trauma,” said Chestermere-Strathmore MLA, Chantelle de Jonge. “That is why it is so important to support organizations like the True North Society, who work to break the cycle of abuse by empowering individuals and by fostering safe, supportive environments for all.”

The family support coordinator operates parenting groups on site at True North, meets one-on-one with families to discuss routines and communication strategies, as well as to build atonement between parents and their children.

It is not a therapeutic program – rather it is meant to provide families with tools to be able to communicate more effectively, build healthy relationships and increase self-esteem.

The grant funding period will last until Aug. 31, 2026.