Cypress County Council presents the $225,000 cheque to MHWSS representatives Natasha Carvalho, Reagan Weeks and Ryan Thorburn at the Cypress County offices on Tuesday.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Cypress County has donated $225,000 to the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society’s Capital Plan.
The cheque presentation took place Tuesday, with the money dedicated to an outdoor courtyard space for the Phoenix Emergency Shelter.
The plan was brought to the county’s attention about a year ago, said Reeve Dan Hamilton, and they’re pleased to be able to support the shelter and the needed upgrades that are currently taking place.
“All of council is excited to be involved with it as a region,” said Hamilton. “We know that it’s needed for everybody around.”
The shelter serves not only Medicine Hat, but also the surrounding area as far as Bow Island and Oyen, and MHWSS also operates the only second-stage shelter south of Calgary, meaning Cypress residents in need benefit greatly from the presence of the services.
Hamilton says the county was largely thinking of the kids affected by domestic violence with the money, to allow them to have a safe place to play.
“It’s amazing to have Cypress kind of step up like this and offer us this kind of money,” said Natasha Carvalho, executive director of MHWSS. “We’re going to use it towards our outdoor courtyard area, we just really want a beautiful space for people to heal, and to have that kind of refuge and that kind of space.”
For many families, there is a concern regarding going outside when the person they may be seeking refuge from is in the community, said Carvalho, so this donation will allow for a space for community gardens, flower beds and a play space for children without having to leave the grounds.
“We gave them some information in some different key areas that we needed support in, and they went ahead and voted on it, and we were really impressed by that, and really blessed to have that kind of support,” said Carvalho.
