Barrie MPP Ann Hoggarth made a pair of funding announcements Friday.
Her first stop was Georgian College’s Barrie campus where she unveiled $4.6 million in grants to improve energy efficiency at its campuses. The grant funding will be used to support HVAC retrofits in Barrie, Orillia and Owen Sound.
Hoggarth was also at the Child Advocacy Centre Simcoe/Muskoka on Cedar Pointe Drive where she said a $96,000 grant, part of $1.7 million spread across Ontario communities, will be used to fund the Barrie police department’s Project Safe Horizon.
The grant will provide a victim advocate and, in partnership with the centre’s newly established Barrie location, provide a continuum of care for recovered human-trafficking victims.
The grant program uses forfeited money generated from criminal activity and seized through the Civil Remedies Act, 2001.
Project Safe Horizon will focus primarily on the victim and their safety, both immediate and longer-term care.
This collaborative effort will allow agencies to react to victims to provide necessary services.
“Through the leadership of the Barrie Police Service and the commitment of the province, the Child Advocacy Centre Simcoe/Muskoka continues to advance its programs and services, helping more young victims have their voices heard and be supported in healing,” said the centre’s executive director, Tracey Carter.