Funding for Aboriginal Friendship Centres in BC is drying up April 1st. The federal government announced in February that it was eliminating the Aboriginal Friendship Centre Program, which has been in place for 40 years.
With little time to prepare, centres like Nanaimo’s Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre are facing an uncertain future. Tammie Wylie is their Community Development Project Manager.
Wylie says without that core funding, they’ll have to hustle even harder to get the money they need to run their various programs. Aboriginal Friendship Centres are the largest network of Aboriginal social service agencies in the province. Wylie says they’ve heard a different form of funding will be made available, but so far they haven’t been told the details. BC Friendship Centres are calling on the federal government to work with the National Association of Friendship Centres to ensure the funding continues.
