SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — One of the Summerside Boys and Girls Club’s flagship programs has received an infusion of funding to keep it going for another year.
The club announced Friday, Nov. 13, that it has secured $329,000 from Ottawa to keep the Strengthening Families Program going through 2021.
The program has been operating out of the club’s Youth Engagement Centre since 2016, thanks to a $1.2 million federal grant, but the funding was set to expire in 2020.
Adam Binkley, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, said the organization had been preparing a second application for another multi-year grant but when COVID-19 hit in March those plans were stalled as the federal government reprioritized to deal with the pandemic.
Thankfully, added Binkley, the success of the program to date helped persuade the government to provide enough money to keep the program going for another year while the club took a second look at its more long-term application.
“Because of COVID-19, with everything up in the air, we’re so thrilled to get the one-year extension,” said Binkley. “Now, during that one year, we’re going to do our best to put up a plan for possibly another four to five years.”
Egmont MP Bobby Morrissey made the announcement and praised the program for its work.
“That’s what got the extension, is the credibility of the organization and the way they used the resources from the first project. I’m sure we can build the case to continue it,” said Morrissey.
The Strengthening Families Program helps at-risk youth and their families. It is a once a week program for 14 weeks and includes programing for parents/guardians and teens, both separately and jointly.
The goal of the program is to divert young people, ages 12 to 17, away from life choices that could lead them to the criminal justice system.
