Photo courtesy Peace River Regional Women's Shelter social media

By Erika Rolling

Provincial Funding

Province covers remaining costs for Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter black mould remediation

Feb 27, 2024 | 11:50 AM

The province has answered the call from the Town of Peace River to help the Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter to cover the costs of removing black mould that was found in their building late last year.

The shelter had closed their doors to renovate this winter, and during the process found black mould. The space got a professional cleaning, air quality testing, and affected areas were treated as part of remediation efforts.

The facility operates a 24-bed women’s emergency shelter as well as a three-unit second-stage shelter. The second-stage shelters were unaffected by black mould.

Alternate accommodations have been given to the families that need to stay safe during the closure.

“Women’s shelters are crucial to ensuring the safety and well-being of women and children impacted by family violence. We worked closely with Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter to make sure they have the supports and funding they need to help survivors.” – Minister of Children and Family Services, Searle Turton

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The province has provided $400,000 for the remainder of the project costs, which was estimated to cost $422,000.

The three government contributions are:

• $400,000 – Government of Alberta
• $20,000 – Town of Peace River
• $2,500 – Town of Grimshaw

“During renovations black mould was discovered throughout our shelter. We immediately reached out to Minister Turton and he and the Children and Family Services staff were sincere in their desire to help us with this unique situation. We are greatly appreciative of the support we received from all levels of government and our community.” – PRRWS Board Chair, Carol Van Slyke

PRRWS provides crisis support and outreach services such as counselling, safety assessments and planning, as well as helping clients find safe alternate accommodations while they complete renovations

“Families escaping violence deserve to know there is a safe place for them to go and get the support they need. I am proud to advocate for the community and glad Alberta’s government is providing this funding for our women’s shelter.” – MLA for Peace River and Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Dan Williams

The province says it provides the shelter $1,262,490 annually to operate.

The emergency shelter beds are expected to reopen at the end of March.