In the wake of shocking, violent tragedies involving two separate rural Manitoba families over the past six months, the province announced an a funding increase for Manitoba Justice victims services Tuesday.
The increase from $500,000 to $750,000 this year, and some of that money is being directed toward help for survivors of intimate partner violence in rural areas and education in schools in an effort to prevent future incidents. The money is coming from the province’s criminal forfeiture fund, Manitoba Justice said in a news release.
The announcement follows an incident Aug. 16 in McCreary, where 41-year-old Marlon Glover killed the parents and brother of a woman he was previously in a relationship with; she was able to flee to a wooded area. He shot himself and died.
And Carman resident Ryan Manoakeesick is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the Feb. 11 deaths of his common-law partner Amanda Clearwater, her three young children Isabella, Jayven and Bethany, and her 17-year-old niece Myah-Lee Gratton.
The province provides more than $20 million to agencies focused on gender-based violence prevention and support for survivors, including a $420,000 budget increase for shelters serving women fleeing partner violence.
“We need to do everything we can to support Manitobans who are victims of crime,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in the news release.
One of the funding recipients is Survivor’s Hope Crisis Centre, and its sexual assault recovery and healing program operating in the Interlake-Eastern region.
Multiple factors contribute to the prevalence of intimate partner violence seen in rural Manitoba, said executive director Coral Kendel.
“Some of it is a lack of resources available — not only through (fewer) neighbours in close proximity but also with emergency rooms being closed or RCMP detachments having amalgamated recently,” Kendel said.
“That means that those first responders are less able to receive those reports and intervene.”
Survivor’s Hope deals with people whose violent partner experiences are often not reported to authorities.
“Someone may not choose to report based on small-town gossip, or if their perpetrator is someone in a position of power in the community and it will just end up ostracizing the victim, or if it is removing them from their support system to access the means of justice — if they’re not able to travel to the nearest large town to access justice or other social services,” said Kendel.
The organization has office space in Pinawa but serves clients from Beausejour to Selkirk and Ashern.
“Funding like what Manitoba Justice provides to us is really vital to resourcing a lot of the rural communities,” Kendel said.
“We provide crisis support in collaboration with the RCMP and emergency rooms in the immediate aftermath to provide information, advocacy and emotional support, as well as connection to other means of justice, like third-party reporting or protection orders,” Kendel said, adding the agency also provides long-term counselling to survivors and those indirectly affected by the assault of a loved one.
“A large part of our focus is not just on healing harms already done but also making sure we do our best to prevent future harm and build healthier relationships.”
The non-profit conducts discussions on sexual assault for Grades 6-12 students.
“That educates youth in schools throughout rural Manitoba on things like healthier relationships, recognizing signs of abuse and being safer online,” said Kendel. The goal is to break the cycle of violence, she said.
“We know that, so often, hurt people hurt people,” she said.
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter
Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.
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