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	Provincial Gov't to Fund Two New Retreats for Victims By Luke Hendry The Intelligencer February 5, 2010 http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2435681 CANADA -- The Ontario government has provided a major endorsement for a local agency after committing funding for two retreats for sexual abuse victims. Kim Charlebois, executive director of the Sexual Assault Centre for Quinte and District, said Thursday the centre has received confirmation Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General will fund one retreat for male victims and another for female victims who were involved in the recent Cornwall Inquiry. Inquiry commissioner Normand Glaude had recommended the province hire the centre to provide its week-long Quinte Residential Treatment Program to abuse survivors. "That speaks to the fact they think our program is a good program," Charlebois said. "We were really, really pleased because we know that, but to have it recognized beyond us is really important." Glaude's recommendation and the provincial funding show others recognize the need for the program. That could lead to its eventual expansion, something of which the centre's staff and directors have long dreamed. "We've seen how it changes people's lives," said Charlebois. "If our program is as successful with the people from Cornwall ... I hope that will speak volumes of the program, perhaps in terms of future funding. That's what we really need. We need to have the ongoing program dollars. "We have a lot of people in this community that could really benefit from that program, as could many people in this province. Our goal eventually would be ... to open it up to the province, to all survivors." The provincially-funded sessions will be limited to Cornwall Inquiry victims. Charlebois said four years of counselling for that group ended Jan. 15. The wilderness retreats will be part of a three-agency program called Next Steps to Healing. The centre will work in concert with Cornwall's Family Counselling Centre and the Sexual Assault Support Services for Women of Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Akwesasne. Clients will attend the week-long sessions midway through a program that's expected to last several months. The centre normally holds its retreats in the Bancroft area, but it's not known where those for the Cornwall survivors will be held. Charlebois said they are scheduled to occur by July 15. It's also not known if the province will meet Glaude's suggestion that four retreats be funded by June 2014. He had recommended at least two sessions for men be held. The cost for four retreats was estimated at a total of $95,000. Each involves psychotherapy, group discussions and outdoor physical challenges. Funding for more sessions has never matched demand. The centre is trying to raise funds to establish a permanent building in North Hastings where it could hold regular retreats, but even then, said Charlebois, there would need to be funding to cover regular operating costs. She quoted statistics that one in five men will be assaulted sexually during his lifetime, as will at least one in three women. Charlebois said that means sexual abuse is an "epidemic." It causes many more problems and costs because survivors suffer problems with education, relationships and work, she said. The Sexual Assault Centre is a United Way of Quinte member agency with officers in Belleville, Picton, Madoc, Bancroft and Trenton. The Belleville office is in the Community Resource Centre Quinte building, 41 Octavia St. at Catharine Street, 613-967-6300. Crisis support is available around the clock at 613-967-6000 or toll-free 1-800-909-7007. Interpretation for American Sign Language users is available. Contact: lhendry@intelligencer.ca
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