Additional Grants Help With Mental Health, Addictions

NOTE: A list of organizations receiving grants announced today, March 18, follows this release.

More Nova Scotians living with mental illness and addictions will get help from a number of community organizations receiving new provincial grants.

Twenty-three organizations will receive funding from a community grant program that is part of Together We Can, the province's mental health and addictions strategy. The grants total nearly $1 million this year. Some of the grant recipients were announced today, March 18.

"We know the importance of community support when it comes to helping people living with mental illness, substance abuse and gambling problems," said Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Maurice Smith, on behalf of Health and Wellness Minister David Wilson. "These community grants help grassroots programs catering to the needs of people living with mental illness."

Lucille Harper is the executive director of the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre and Sexual Assault Services Association, which is getting a grant. Its program, Working Together to Enhance Community Support for Rural Women and Adolescent Girls, gives women and young girls individual and group support, helping them build personal competencies and problem-solving skills.

"We are very pleased to receive a provincial grant to help deliver our program to women in need," said Ms. Harper. "This grant will help us provide specialized counseling services for women who have experienced sexual trauma. It will also help support young women and female youth struggling with mental health issues and addictions who are vulnerable to violence, exclusion, self-harm and homelessness."

Grants are available for community organizations to create and run programs for youth, aboriginal and diverse communities, mental health and addictions promotion, community supports, reducing stigma and discrimination, people with disabilities, the workplace, substance abuse and gambling.

Organizations can apply for one-year or three-year grants. This year, grants range from $10,000 to $100,000. Many of the organizations receiving the grants were announced last week.

The following organizations are receiving one-year grants:

• Stewart United Church, Whycocomagh, $78,000
• Cape Breton Association of Youth Housing and Programs initiatives, Sydney, $26,000

The following organizations are receiving the amounts listed each year for three years:

• Kids First Association, New Glasgow, $21,000
• Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre and Sexual Assault Services Association, Antigonish, $81,000
• AIDS Coalition of Cape Breton, Sydney, $33,000