The province used to offer financial assistance to help victims of serious crime in Alberta for things like counseling and court costs through its crime victims fund.
The province finalized applications for that in June 2020 when it made major changes to the fund, but promised that a new program for victims would be ready in 2021. However, it is not ready yet.
Victims can apply for support through an emergency fund, but are only eligible if they request it within 45 days of the crime.
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Edmonton Center for Sexual Assault Executive Director Mary Jane James said many victims don’t report as quickly.
“So you’re going to have these people suffer massive trauma (and) fall through the cracks,” he said.
“It’s just that the message we are sending to these people is that our government is not prioritizing their health and healing.”
James said that in the past year and a half, SACE’s waiting list is only getting longer, but the center will continue to do everything it can to meet the broad needs that victims have.
Global News spoke with a survivor who we did not identify because she was the victim of a sexual assault. His assault occurred in 2014, but he did not report it until two years after it occurred. Under the terms of the crime victim fund at the time, two years from the time the crime occurred was the limit.
She feels that if two years was not enough time for all victims, the 45-day limit now is really falling short.
“I don’t know how they can pretend that any of these changes were for victims’ benefits when they didn’t make any changes that would make it easier for victims to access the fund,” he said.
“The process of getting over a sexual assault case is already incredibly difficult and absolutely uproots your life in any capacity possible, and the fact that instead of trying to help the victims, they somehow made it even worse for us is simply inconceivable”.
The province said it continues to work on a new model and that the information should be available early this year.
The province said it changed the previous program because victims came to them and said it was difficult and slow to access. He is expanding the fund to include other crime prevention initiatives.
“Under the previous financial benefits program, which ended when changes to the legislation went into effect on June 26, 2020, victims of serious and violent crime who suffered physical and / or psychological injuries received benefits to help them recover,” read a statement from the Alberta Attorney General and Office of Justice. “However, we heard first-hand that this program could take too long to access and did not always provide enough urgent assistance for those dealing with trauma.
“Albertans have also told us that there are gaps in services and support for crime victims, which is why we are developing a new model to make sure victims have the help they need.”
The government said it established a task force to consult with Albertans and key stakeholders on creating a new model of victim assistance.
“We have reviewed the information collected by the task force and are currently in the last stages of developing how we will continue to support crime victims in the future,” the government said.
The province said all crime victims continue to have access to many resources offered by their local victim services unit.
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