Candace House programs receive $50K apiece from Manitoba government

The provincial government is providing a funding boost to a Winnipeg non-profit organization that supports victims and survivors of violent crime. 

Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced Friday that $100,000 from the criminal property forfeiture branch will be given to Candace House to support the Healing Haven and newly created Heart Spaces programs.

The branch has distributed more than $19 million back to communities throughout the province since it was launched in 2019. The program forfeits and liquidates criminal assets, and redirects funding to initiatives designed to protect Manitobans, enhance public safety and support victims of crime.

The funds will be split evenly, with $50,000 going to each program.

"Our government understands that those who are victims of crime need that support that is offered from places like Candace House and others," Goertzen said.

The Healing Haven program provides home-like refuge for individuals and families affected by violence and the criminal death of a loved one while they navigate the justice system.

Our government understands that those who are victims of crime need that support that is offered from places like Candace House and others.- Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen

Heart Spaces will provide trauma-informed and culturally safe spaces where those affected by violent crime can meet with justice system personnel and support people such as elders and grandmothers, Goertzen said.

Candace House executive director Cecilly Hildebrand says the $100,000 is an investment in families and a community that is grieving.

"It will ensure more people have a safe place and the resources and care that they need at a time that most of us just can't imagine: when they're going through the legal process because someone they loved was a victim of crime or they experienced violence," she said.

The vision of Candace House came to being after the death of Wilma and Cliff Derksen's daughter Candace, 13, in 1984. The haven opened in November 2018.

When Candace House opened, Hildebrand says, she didn't really realize how "truly necessary" the facility was for victims, survivors and families to heal.

"Our legal system wasn't designed for victims or the families of victims, and for a long time, these families have been left out of the process," she said.

"Over these last few years, we've realized what else we need more comforting places, new kinds of spaces and more resources."

In November 2021, Candace House reported that they had served approximately 500 victims, survivors and family members since it began operating.

Hildebrand says the plan is to continue to expand Candace House so that no families are turned away, "and so that everyone who needs it can have a space to feel, to cope, to heal through the most unimaginably difficult time in their lives."

She says a lease was recently signed for the remainder of the main floor of the building, which is located on Kennedy Street, between St. Mary Avenue and York Avenue.