Project coordinator Jim Searson has an office in the LLRIB office. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

federal funds

Liberals fund Red Cross anti-violence project involving LLRIB

Jun 24, 2019 | 5:00 PM

The Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) is one of eight communities across Canada which will benefit from $3 million in funding to develop long-term action plans to prevent and respond to violence.

The announcement was made June 20 by Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale, who stated the funds will go to the Canadian Red Cross to implement a project called Creating Safe Environments with Indigenous Communities. According to Shelley Cardinal, a senior manager for the Canadian Red Cross, local resident Jim Searson was hired as the coordinator six months ago to initiate the project.

“The project is really about focusing, highlighting and bringing in prevention education into the Lac La Ronge community,” Cardinal said. “One of the things we did is Jim brought together people from the community, and we came and started to work on a prevention plan for the community.”

Searson has three years to come up with the plan, which will examine how to create actions in the community that will foster prevention and associated initiatives. Cardinal mentioned residents of the tri-communities have already made it known to them they would like to see more bullying prevention and healthy young-relationship programming in schools. Instead of focusing on intervention, she noted the plan is meant to stop violence before it happens.

“A community can have significant influence on the future and safety of their children, and that is fundamentally what this project is about,” Cardinal said. “Across the country, the Canadian Red Cross is collaborating with communities to build on their strengths in recreating and supporting healthy environments for their children and youth, rooted in Indigenous cultures and practices.”

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The project is estimated to reach 36,500 people and some of the other communities participating are Norway House First Nation, Manitoba, Vancouver Native Friendship Centre, Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation in the Yukon, and Igloolik, Nunavut.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno