Article appeared in the Jan. 5, 2012 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
Riverton & District Friendship Centre receives unexpected blow
by Teresa Carey
A grant of $84,500 through the federal Department of Canadian Heritage has fallen through for the Riverton & District Friendship Centre, a fixture in Riverton for 30 years, shaking the organization right down to its very foundation.
It is a grant which the centre has enjoyed for the past 11 years, and which it has come to rely on. The funding has made possible all sorts of Aboriginal youth programming, directed to a wide geographical area that went well beyond the Village of Riverton’s borders.
“We really thought this was going to come through,” said Tanis Grimolfson, Executive Director of the Riverton & District Friendship Centre (RDFC).
A big change in how the federal government is allocating monies for aboriginal organizations appears to be at the root of the government’s denial of their application. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the feds began allotting the funding under a new program, Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth (CCAY), through the Aboriginal Peoples Program.
“I don’t know why they did that. They just decided to change the program. I don’t know what their reasoning is,” said Grimolfson. “It’s a little scary for the friendship centre movement.”
Previous funding had been secured through Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres (UMAYC), applied for in conjunction with all friendship centres across the province.
The new funding rules stipulate that only communities with a population of 1,000 or greater qualify. Both Lynne Lake and Riverton have lost their funding as a result of the new rule.
The RDFC resubmitted their application, but it was rejected again.
“Last week (in mid-December)we got the final absolute no,” Grimolfson said. “It’s so unfair. We are being punished for living in Riverton.”
“We don’t serve just Riverton. That’s what we tried to explain,” said Grimolfson. “We were set up in Riverton for a reason.”
The centre serves Aboriginal youth in the RM of Bifrost, Arborg, Matheson Island, Pine Dock, Bloodvein, Poplar River, and Little Grand Rapids, in addition to Riverton, which itself only has a population of 537, according to Statistics Canada 2006 census data. All together, however, RDFC is serving about 23, 861 people.
Riverton has the largest non-reserve Aboriginal population in the region, which is one of the reasons the friendship centre was built there in the first place. It’s presence in the community is a big reason that Family Services places youth in the community. Currently there are about 40 which have been placed.
The RDFC will no longer be able to offer cultural programs such as Fiddling, Cultural Drumming lessons, Regalia Making, Jigging, Square Dancing, Bead Work, Moccasin Making, Traditional Cooking, and Artist programs. These were an important source of pride and self esteem for Aboriginal youth, in addition to helping to convey important life skills.
“It’s so sad when the youth walk in and say, ‘Is there anything happening today?’ I have to say we have no funding for projects.”
Grimolfson explained that there will also be a ripple effect in terms of job loss.
Cody Taylor, who is nearing completion of a degree in Native Studies at the University of Manitoba, has been the full time Cultural Coordinator during the summer months, and is working half-time during the school year. Her position at the centre can no longer be supported. In addition, numerous contract cultural workers who travel to Riverton from Winnipeg, St. Laurent, and Winnipeg Beach, to teach programs will also lose their positions.
Further, students attending the Evergreen School Division will also be impacted. Some of their Aboriginal education programming drew on activities offered at RDFC. ESD will no longer have this resource at their disposal.
The sudden removal of program funding has gotten the attention of many local politicians and community leaders, including the Village of Riverton Mayor, Collin Bjarnason, Selkirk-Interlake MP, James Bezan, and the Riverton-Bifrost Community Development Corporation (RBCDC).
Bezan has met twice now with the Canadian Heritage minister to ask that the department reconsider its decision. The RBCDC and Bjarnason both wrote strong letters of support to the Department of Canadian Heritage, protesting the rejection of the centre’s grant application. Grimolfson also plans to meet with Gimli MLA, Peter Bjornson.
Part of Bjarnason’s letter stated , “The RDFC has provided an alternative for the youth in the community that has largely eliminated the less desirable influences. When there is no organized activity for the youth of the community, the alternatives are few, other than to revert to the streets.”
Bjarnason further argued that the department should not look at Riverton’s population alone, but to the area that is utilizing the friendship centre when funding decisions are being made.
The a letter written in support of the Riverton Friendship Centre, RBCDC stated that the RDFC “has been one of the most positive influences in maintaining our safe community.”
Despite the fact that the mayor, the MP, the CDC and other officials are so strongly behind Riverton’s friendship centre, Grimolfson is pessimistic about the final outcome.
“I think they’re going to just push us aside because we’re small. It’s going to have a devastating impact on our youth.”
The Riverton & District Friendship Centre will still receive core funding through the Aboriginal Friendship Centre Program, enough to support three positions. The centre will be able to retain a parent-child worker, lighthouse program worker, food bank/lunch program worker, and a ‘Partners for Career’ counsellor on a part-time basis.
It has another $12,000 in funding for the drop-in component, which “doesn’t cover much,” Grimolfson explained. The centre often has 40 youth at a time drop in, some of whom are high risk. This requires more than one staff and a certain level of expertise, requiring higher remuneration. The drop in hours will be limited.
“We apply for small grants whenever we can, and fundraise a lot. But, you know, fundraising is hard on everybody,” Grimolfson said.
