L-R: Canada Post employees Crystal Lawrance, Dana Davis, Karla Huff, CAWES executive director Danica Hoffart, and local area superintendent for Red Deer James Hasselberg. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

$25,000 TOWARDS NEW SHELTER

Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter gets funding boost from Canada Post grant

Sep 13, 2024 | 11:37 AM

The Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter (CAWES) has received a $25,000 grant from the Canada Post Community Foundation to aid with furnishing its new shelter.

Danica Hoffart, executive director of CAWES, said the money will go towards purchasing items geared toward the children that stay in the shelter.

“When we think of women’s shelters, sometimes people might think of it just being women, but most of the women who come to us are moms and they come with their kids,” she said.

Right now, CAWES has 40 emergency beds for women and children, which they can utilize for 21 days before moving to a second-stage shelter, known as Julietta’s Place in Red Deer. They currently have 19 children, from babies to teenagers, staying at the shelter, Hoffart said.

“These kids are leaving their homes, sometimes they’re moving from shelter to shelter. Anything we can do to provide that comfort – we certainly have that with our staff, but this will help us make those spaces more homey and more kid-friendly,” she said.

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Some of the items needed include wash basins for baby baths, cribs, children’s beds, toys, and a more diverse selection of library books so the newcomers and Indigenous clients they serve can see themselves reflected in the literature.

The expansion into the new shelter space is happening in two phases. The first stage will add 10 more beds to its emergency capacity as well as 17 second-stage shelter apartment units. Phase two will add 23 affordable housing units, opening up potential for clients to remain in secure housing for up to two years after their initial emergent intake.

The move is possible thanks to a $30 million grant from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, however an additional $2 million is needed by the shelter to furnish and equip the new space. This is on top of the $400,000 the shelter needs to raise annually to supplement its budget and cover basic costs.

“Every little bit counts and $25,000 is a really generous grant, and it will make an impact on us getting to our wish list. We always have quite a long wish list, but we’re fundraising every year that $400,000, and that’s really just to pay for food, utilities, the very basics,” said Hoffart. “The need-to-haves get covered, but we’re fundraising for those. The want-to-haves, we don’t always get to that list so a gift like this allows us to get the want-to-haves and to make those purchases for our kids just to make it feel more homey.”

The Canada Post Community Foundation distributes these grants annually and across Canada. The $25,000 that CAWES received was all fundraised locally, said Canada Post local area superintendent James Hasselberg.

“A lot of people come in and donate right at the counter here. We do have bake sales in the back, so all the employees donate by buying cookies, muffins, all that kind of stuff that the staff actually make. They raise it all up through here in Red Deer and local area and it was pretty remarkable that we raised $25,000,” he said.

The office that presented Hoffart with the cheque, located at 6010 67A Street, raised $2,800 towards the pot.

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