While Safe Use Hastings has seen a bunch of wins over the last few months, they also say that their funding situation is “dire”.
The group says they are on the last steps of approving their supervised consumption site. The mobile site, called The Haven, may soon get approval from Health Canada. Charity staff say that until then, the Haven will be used as a medical clinic for drug users, starting March 9th. They say they will use this space for people who cannot attend ER clinics and hope it will keep drug related activity away from downtown Bancroft.
However, because Safe Use Hastings is a new charity, many of their applications for funding have been denied. They say they have applied to receive funding from the Ministry of Health, Health Canada, The United Way, Ontario Trillium Foundation and the County of Hastings. All of these requests have been denied, as the charity is not a full year old. They plan to re-submit applications to these institutions this year.
While they wait for their charity status to be approved, Safe Use Hastings says you can donate to them on their Charitable Impact page. They also have an online auction coming up. Those who wish to donate to the auction can email [email protected]