Province Extends Helping Hand to Bryony House

Community Services Minister Peter Christie today announced a forgivable loan of $50,000 to Bryony House. The minister says the one-time loan will assist the Halifax transition house with cash- flow issues.

"Bryony House provides valuable services in the Metro Halifax community," said Mr. Christie. "Women and children fleeing abusive situations need a safe place to go and Bryony House provides that safe haven. That's why we provide an annual grant of nearly $650,000 to this organization. It's also why we've agreed to provide this loan, so those services can continue without interruption."

Bryony House requested an additional $50,000 from the province after a shortfall in this year's fund-raising campaign. The money will be used to fund additional positions over and above those funded by the base operating grant.

The Department of Community Services will conduct a review of the formula for funding Bryony House. The review will be conducted prior to Jan. 31, 2002, and will be used as a basis to revise the funding formula. The revised formula will be implemented in the upcoming fiscal year, beginning April 1, 2002.

Bryony House is one of nine transition houses in Nova Scotia that are funded according to the number of beds they provide. A formula assigns staffing levels and operating expenses based on the number of beds. Bryony House is a 24 bed facility.