Latest news with #SearleTurton
CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
Province announces additional $300K for youth advocacy centres
Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton, Zebra Centre CEO Emmy Stuebing and Zeppelin the support dog on Aug. 20, 2025. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton) The provincial government says it's investing an additional $300,000 into eight child and youth advocacy centres across Alberta which support young people who are experiencing sexual, emotional or physical abuse. It's a 10 per cent increase that brings total funding in 2025 to $3.7 million. Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton announced the extra money on Wednesday afternoon at the Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre in Edmonton. The money is to address rising caseloads of children up to 18 years old who are victims or witnesses to traumatic experiences. 'We know you have challenging roles that require a lot of time, training, energy and compassion,' Turton said broadly of support workers and volunteers at the press conference. 'But your work and empathy does make a difference in the lives of so many children here.' The other centres being supported are: Waypoints Community Services Association (Fort McMurray) Little Bear Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (Lloydminster) Caribou Child and Youth Centre (Grande Prairie) Sanare Centre (Medicine Hat) Chinook Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (Lethbridge) Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre (Red Deer) Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (Calgary) CEO of the Zebra Centre Emmy Stuebing said during the press conference the money will support the influx of young people in need of their services, which she noted was on track to match or surpass 2024 numbers. The Zebra Centre has been open since 2002 and has seen a tripling of its caseload in the past decade. Stuebing said her understanding is that it remains the busiest child advocacy centre in all of Alberta. In the last year, the centre saw 4,387 children. Of those cases, Stuebing noted, 51 per cent had a sexual component and 41 per cent involved serious physical harm like bruises, burns, broken bones and severe neglect. Child advocacy centres offer a number of support services, including forensic interview support, offering material needs like clothing, pyjamas and personal items, check-in calls, and sometimes even a dog buddy program. 'Yes, the kids who come to Zebra have experienced great trauma, but I also know that when they come to Zebra, they are truly surrounded by care, support and kindness, and that gives me hope,' she said. And, she said, she believes the worst for waitlist times and lack of services is behind them. Turton said the provincial government will continue to explore ways to invest in preventative services and ways to support families in the home.
Edmonton Journal
7 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Friday's letters: Reject UCP's undemocratic gerrymandering
Article content As Matthew Black reports, there is much concern for 'shared community values' coming from two Alberta cabinet ministers advocating for urban-rural hybrid ridings. Article content Article content Minister Searle Turton, MLA for Spruce Grove-Stony Plain, would make Spruce Grove the centre of a new riding that would cross over into Edmonton's western suburbs (Edmonton-Henday is an NDP seat). Minister Nathan Neudorf, MLA for Lethbridge East, would turn his city's two ridings into four, with all four ridings extending out into the rural heartland. Turton won his riding with a massive 56.99 per cent of the vote in 2023. Neudorf won a close race, winning his riding with 50.34 per cent of the vote to 47.43 per cent for Rob Miyashiro who now holds Lethbridge West for the NDP. Article content Article content Since the race was close in Lethbridge and far from close in Spruce Grove, the rural-urban amalgam could turn both ridings into safe UCP seats. The Lethbridge proposal shows the divide-and-conquer approach the UCP may be taking. Doubling the ridings in the city cuts the city's voting power in half if the rural vote is largely UCP. Article content Article content Donald Trump publicly demanded more seats from Texas for his 2026 midterm election, leading to the bitter partisan gerrymandering of electoral districts there. Alberta wisely has an Elections Boundaries Commission chaired by a judge, not dictated by a ruling party. The UCP passed legislation eliminating the municipal boundaries as a criterion for redistribution making hybrids possible. Article content The commission should measure this new trend towards 'shared community values' against the real political story the numbers tell. The most basic 'shared value' should be democracy, not victory. Article content Article content David Gay, Edmonton Article content Can Alberta Health have made it more difficult to preorder vaccines? It takes numerous clicks, amongst multiple confusing options, to reach the proper webpage. No doubt many will give up trying. Could thinning the ranks of the chronically ill and elderly be part of the UCP's plan to lower health-care costs? Article content Dawna Gilchrist, Edmonton Article content We wanted to be proactive and pre-book our COVID vaccine for this fall. We phoned our local health office, waited for an answer to the phone, then were told to go online and preorder the vaccine. This is supposedly to give the government an idea who is interested in it. We still can't book our appointment but supposedly have booked the vaccine. Article content At this point, the government is hoping you will be so frustrated you will give up. We are in our 80s and have never experienced such a blatant barrier for administering vaccines in our lifetime. We are able to advocate for our health but God help the poor souls who are unable to. Tragically, people may die as a result.
