Women’s shelter funding ask could push $3M

By Medicine Hat News on February 11, 2025.

A request for City Hall to contribute cash toward redeveloping the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter could be worth $2.85 million, a council committee heard Monday.

It will be the first such request from a community group to be considered under a newly development protocol that could award up to one-third of the capital costs if proposals meet several hurdles.

Those include benefit to the community need and how the project aligns with city priority areas. Administrators will also consider risk-management and the group’s fiscal and organizational “sustainability.”

“We will be scoring that over the next couple of days and coming back with a recommendation to committee,” said public services managing director Joseph Hutter, who stated the city has had the proposal since October, but has been developing the evaluation criteria throughout the fall.

Committee chair Coun. Cassi Hider said community groups are struggling in the current economy.

“I definitely see an increase in interest from the community for these grants,” she said.

A new program, called for early last year by council members, could pay a limited portion of capital projects, which would be applied against the women’s shelter’s submitted budget of $8 million.

That group signalled last fall in an annual report that it would seek city support while it continued to fundraise and seek grants from businesses and other levels of government.

The Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society announced the project in late 2023, stating that the first major renovations in 25 years were badly needed.

The building was originally designed to have 11 beds, but now hosts three times that number of clients.

In December, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints announced a $292,000 donation toward ongoing construction.