On Wednesday, Carman's Backdoor Youth for Christ Centre (YFC) was presented with $25, 000 from Justice Minister and Attorney General of Manitoba Kelvin Goertzen through the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund, to go towards furnishing their expansion project getting underway this month.
Carman YFC Centre Director Tyler Friesen shared how the money will be spent.
"This particular $25,000 is going to mean some furniture and some equipment, and stuff like that for our new expansion, which we're going to begin construction on this month."
Friesen added kids will benefit from this investment.
"The last couple of years, it's been a little rough. They need to find a place again; they need to find some community. They're going to have a leg up, if they have adults that have cared for them well and they can continue to reach out to, even down the road. Sometimes all students need is a safe place to unwind, or someone to talk to, and we love to be able to provide that."
Friesen explained how they qualified for this kind of grant.
"The actual application has to be done by the police force, the local detachment, whether that be a local police force or the RCMP. So, I reached out to the local RCMP detachment here in in Carman and they were yeah more than willing to send an application on our behalf, they see the value in in what we're doing and in our project."
He expressed his gratitude on behalf of Carman's Backdoor YFC, "Thanks to the province for seeing value and what we're doing here and also the officer who applied on our behalf Brent Mattice huge thanks to them."
Justice Minister and Attorney General of Manitoba Kelvin Goertzen said the funding does not come from tax payer dollars, it's money, property or items seized by law enforcement when apprehending criminals engaged in criminal activity. Property and items can be turned into cash and are put into the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund and can be distributed to those who apply for the grant.
Goertzen noted while there are reactive measures taken in the justice system, proactive measures, like funding Carman's YFC, is better for the justice system as a whole.
"It really is about building those relationships for a youth who might not otherwise always have those strong relationships in their lives or may not be able to speak to the people in their lives the way they could to another person. So, when you build those relationships, often you're able to have prevention. I have a lot of good admiration for the work that Youth for Christ and their staff and their volunteers do, not only in Carman but throughout the Province of Manitoba."