Check Against Delivery Alberta Council of Women's Shelters AGM Friday, June 22 Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel Edmonton Hon Dave Hancock, Minister, Human Services Good evening everyone. On behalf of our Premier Alison Redford and my government colleagues, I am pleased to be here and thank you for inviting me to speak at your annual general meeting. Thank you to Elder Linda Oldpan for blessing this meeting. Yesterday was National Aboriginal Day. Many of you celebrated this day, and I know that it brings renewed focus to the work you are doing together with Aboriginal communities. As Minister of Human Services, I m glad to have this opportunity to meet with you and acknowledge the important work you are doing to prevent family violence and support those who are affected by it. Earlier this year, I had the honour of visiting with the Hope Haven Society in Lac La Biche. At Hope Haven, I saw first hand the vital work going on in women s shelters in Alberta, and the profound effects you have on the individuals and families you help. Thank you for your steadfast dedication to providing supports and services for Albertans affected by family violence. We are honoured to work together with the council and with shelters, and we share your commitment to supporting Albertans who need our help. Your theme here today Leveraging the Collective Knowledge speaks directly to the importance of partnership. We know that we must work closely with communities and organizations as well as across government to address family violence at all levels. As a former minister responsible for Justice, Aboriginal Affairs, Health, and Education, I have worked on prevention of family violence initiatives, such as the creation of the specialized domestic violence courts. For Albertans, it doesn t matter which government ministry provides which programs the important thing is that people receive the help they need, when they need it. One of the reasons the Ministry of Human Services was created is our government s commitment to connecting people with the supports they need, and improving their quality of life. I know that this is a commitment we share with everyone in this room. When Premier Redford first took office, she asked me to work with other Ministers and community partners to develop a social policy framework for Alberta.
Earlier this month, we launched Speak. Share. Thrive, the public engagement phase of building the framework. We are looking at how we can make sure that the services and supports provided through government work together to serve the whole person, throughout their life. The framework will help us build on and strengthen the collaborative work between government, not for profit agencies, municipal organizations, businesses and community groups. These relationships will help us respond to dynamic social challenges like family violence in a more meaningful way. You can join the conversation on the website socialpolicy.alberta.ca by writing in the wiki to share your thoughts about what social policy looks like, taking the survey, and learning how you can participate in community discussions happening near you. We need your input on the framework to help create positive change in our province, including to help us address some of the many root causes of family violence. The social policy framework is also the foundation for the Premier s commitment to eliminate child poverty and address poverty as a whole. If we want to improve the overall health of Albertans, we must ensure a good level of support for our most disadvantaged citizens. This means giving people the support and resources they need to make profound life changes. I hope you all take the time to participate in building the social policy framework, as I know you have a lot to offer from your professional and personal experiences. I want you to know we absolutely remain committed to preventing and addressing family violence. This year, we saw an increase in funding to women s shelters and sexual assault centres, bringing funding up to $30 million per year. Over this past year, we provided contracted staff at your agencies with two lump sum payments of $1,500 each and a five per cent salary increase to help attract and retain qualified staff something we have heard is a pivotal priority for you. I am glad that ACWS has been able to join the Workforce Alliance where government and agencies are working together to make sure we have a healthy, sustainable workforce in community agencies. I really appreciate the vital perspective shelters provide to shaping our work together. As many of you know, we are in the midst of reviewing our family violence policies overall, and the supports we provide for Albertans. We are in the eighth year of implementing our current provincial strategy for the prevention of family violence, and I am very proud of how far we have come.
Our province has made great strides in both prevention and intervention, and women s shelters and ACWS have been key partners throughout the years. For example, last year we increased protection for victims of family violence through amendments to the Protection Against Family Violence Act, adding offence and penalty provisions to the legislation. Since proclamation in November, more than 400 charges have been laid against those who have violated protection orders. We are also taking a close look at the tragic deaths that have occurred due to domestic violence, and we are putting in place mechanisms to examine all domestic violence related deaths in Alberta. We also need to make sure our work continues to evolve to respond to emerging trends, and to build on our support to Albertans. For example, we re now hearing key themes such as primary prevention, the effects of family violence on children, the need for safe and affordable housing, and the importance of engaging men and boys. ACWS has been a leader in this work, through your recent survey on men s attitudes about violence toward women, and your other initiatives such as Breakfast with the Guys. A great number of you have been interviewed by my staff, as we are working closely with our partners and the community to look at ways to strengthen our response. Thank you for taking the time to provide input on this review. We need open and honest discussions with our partners, to build an effective and successful strategy for the future. We plan to have a draft strategy in the coming months, and we look forward to our ongoing work with you and all our partners. The province is also building on the successes of the 10 year plan to end homelessness, with Premier Redford s renewed commitment to ending homelessness by 2019. The plan is based on the Housing First model, which is proving successful in major cities throughout North America. The approach is straightforward. First, help people who find themselves homeless for many different reasons, including as victims of family violence, find a permanent and stable place to call home. Second, once housed, provide the supports that people need to address the underlying causes of their homelessness and to stay safe. As the 10 year plan evolves, the governance structure must also evolve. The creation of an Alberta Interagency Council on Homelessness will bring together a broad range of government, community, and homeless serving leaders to evolve the 10 year plan to the next level.
We know that family violence creates many complex issues that contribute to individuals and families ability to find and keep safe homes. The council s work will include input from a broad range of sectors, including from women s shelters, and we re very glad that ACWS was able to participate in the stakeholder consultations. So far, the 10 year plan has seen almost 6,000 formerly homeless people have a permanent place to live, and 80 per cent have maintained housing. As their quality of life improves, our communities are strengthened and everyone benefits. We know that we have had some early and significant successes. We also know that we face some challenges and need to look at the continuum of services and supports for specific populations, including the chronically homeless and Aboriginal individuals and families. We look forward to continuing to work together to ensure Albertans who are homeless receive the support they need. These are just a few of the initiatives we are working on with women s shelters, and I know shelters and ACWS have also been very involved in work such as the outcomes based service delivery contract model. Through this model, all provincial women s shelters across Alberta are working toward common goals that strive to create better outcomes for victims and their families. Thank you to ACWS and member shelters for being so committed to this work, and for showing incredible leadership as we move forward. As you may have noticed, the programs I have highlighted for you today all have a common and crucial theme the importance of partnership and community. There is nothing more important to supporting individuals and families than working together to achieve the best results for all Albertans. We also know how important it is to acknowledge the leadership our community partners show, and the example they set for us and others through their excellent work. On June 15 th, we opened nominations for the first ever Alberta Inspiration Awards, which celebrate leadership in family violence prevention. There are often people who work hard every day, with little or no acknowledgement. These annual awards will recognize the commitment of individuals, organizations, businesses and youth to ending family violence in Alberta and the inspiration and mentorship they provide to others in our communities. Nominations are open throughout the summer, and you can find more information on our website, familyviolence.alberta.ca
Recipients will be announced during Family Violence Prevention Month in November. I hope many of you will consider participating in the awards, by nominating someone you know or work with for an award. I would also like to congratulate WINGS of Providence on the opening of Our Home Next Door last week an incredible facility that I know is going to help a great number of families. My sincere thanks again to all of you, and I also extend them on behalf of my staff, who speak so positively about working in partnership with Alberta s women s shelters. Thank you for dedicating your time to supporting families and helping to keep women and children safe.