Alberta is spending $720,000 on three community-led programs aimed at preventing gender-based violence by promoting healthy relationships and emotional well-being among men and boys.The grants are part of the province’s 10-year strategy, Building on Our Strengths, which prioritizes stopping violence before it starts. Funded initiatives include programs by the Fear is Not Love Society, the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association, and YWCA Banff. Together, they aim to create safer communities by fostering positive role models and offering culturally rooted support.“Men and boys are key partners in our work to end gender-based violence and this funding strengthens programs that build safer communities for everyone,” said Tanya Fir, minister of arts, culture and status of women..Two in three women and one in three men in Alberta experience sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the province. The programs funded through this investment also provide safe spaces for men and boys to heal and reconnect with their communities.Rechie Valdez, federal minister of women and gender equality, said the funding supports Alberta’s role in the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. Of the total funding, $650,000 is coming from the federal government.Kim Ruse, CEO of the Fear is Not Love Society, said the grant supports the organization’s data-driven strategies to help build a future free of domestic violence. Joanne Mason of the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association emphasized the importance of culturally grounded support for Indigenous men and boys through the I Am A Kind Man program.The YWCA Banff, which also received funding, will use the support to work with three rural communities on upstream strategies to address the social conditions that enable violence.Beyond this targeted grant, Alberta continues to spend over $188 million annually on services such as emergency shelters, transportation, legal aid and other supports for those affected by violence.
