The Executive Director of the Native Friendship Centre in Quesnel says their core funding is drying up.
Tony Goulet says they used to get about 180 thousand dollars a year on April 1st but now they’re just getting dribs and drabs of 10 thousand here and 25 thousand dollars there.
He says it is very difficult to operate that way…
“The core funding is important for friendship centres because it covers buildings, it covers staff, it covers the general maintenance of the buildings. We have friendship centres that rely on that to keep their buildings open.”
Goulet says they haven’t received any money in almost a year now.
He says it makes it difficult to deliver some of the services they offer as he says they have a drug and alcohol counselor, poverty law advocate, youth advocate, FASD worker, an HIV nurse and a Children and Families worker.
Goulet says they used to get funding through the Canadian department of Heritage Canada but that has since changed to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
He says funding is supposed to be going to the National Association of Friendship Centres and then through the BC Association which doles out funds to 25 friendship centres in BC.