Money from bad guys goes to the good guys in Vernon

VERNON – A new advocacy centre for abused or neglected children, training for domestic violence workers, educational initiatives around technology issues like cyber-stalking — all brought to you by previously dirty money.

On behalf of the provincial government, Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster today announced five grants for three local organizations from the civil forfeiture program, which takes instruments or proceeds of crime and gives it to victims or crime prevention services.

“It’s a great day when you can take the money from the bad guys and give it to the good guys,” Foster told reporters at a media conference at the Vernon RCMP detachment on Monday, Mar. 16.

The Vernon Women’s Transition House Society received two grants, one of $9,688 which will be used towards the creation of the brand new North Okanagan Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, and one of $7,370 for technology training which will enhance women’s safety.

Brooke McLardy, programs director for the Transition House, says the new child and youth centre will be a place where children who have been abused, neglected, or witnessed a crime can be interviewed by police and child welfare authorities and receive counselling and other support services all under one roof.

“We have nothing like that in the community. Right now when a child is abused, they will generally bounce from service to service,” McLardy says.

Another grant recipient is the Restorative Justice Society of the North Okanagan, which got $6,633 for programming. Vernon RCMP Victim Services was given $5,000 which will be used for a training day relating to sexual violence against women and a further $13,278 grant bought the Vernon RCMP a device which extracts, decodes and analyses data from smartphones, tablets and other electronics.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.