The Moving Beyond Anger and Anxiety course, offered by the Drayton Valley Comprehensive Family Violence Institute, is no longer being funded by the Government of Alberta and faces the possibility of closure at the end of the current course session.
The 12-week program, typically offered in the fall and spring, teaches the principles of anger management to address abuse and family violence. Participants also attend at least three counselling sessions throughout the program. While more participants have taken the course voluntarily in recent years, it’s often taken as a court-mandated step to divert jail time.
Stephen Dodds, Lead Facilitator, said this is the only resource of its kind in the area that he’s aware of, especially since other similar programs, such as one in Whitecourt, are also being defunded in the region.
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According to Dodds, the program has been almost entirely grant-funded by the province for the 30-plus years it’s been running, with support from local Family and Community Support Services grants as well. As of now, the program will not have funding to offer a spring session and will be cancelled once the current session finishes in December.
As it’s currently unclear what resources users of this program have access to as an alternative, Dodds said there could be a wave of effects as harmful behaviours continue to trickle down to the next generations.
“We try to get in there and prevent that from happening, and if we don’t have that, then I think we’re setting ourselves up socially for more violence,” he stated.
According to the latest RCMP report for Drayton Valley, shared with town council at the end of September, there were 10 spousal abuse files this August, bringing the Jan. to Aug. total to 100. If you compare the same time period in 2021, which saw 105 files, that’s a five per cent decrease; however, compared to 67 files in 2024, incidents have increased by 49 per cent from last year.
Given that context, Dodds commented on the negative impacts this kind of home environment can have on children and their larger implications.
“If we continue to see that number go up, I think it could have massive social costs for our entire society,” he said.
When asked about the funding change, Daniel Verrier, press secretary to the minister of children and family services, said the Alberta government recently “refreshed” its family violence program funding with the Taking Action on Family Violence Grant Program. The $6 million fund is intended to support “culturally relevant, direct client services focusing on preventing family violence before it occurs.”
“Through the Taking Action on Family Violence Grant Program, we received more than 200 applications. Each application was assessed through a rigorous evaluation process and while many applicants met the requirements as set out in the grant program guidelines, the funding requests exceeded available resources,” Verrier said.
For now, the Comprehensive Family Violence Institute is exploring ways to leave the program with some momentum until a new funding resource can be determined. Representatives are negotiating with the Paul First Nation to see about offering a program there, and the town will be aiding with what advocacy it can to the province.
Dodds thanked the Drayton Valley community for its years of support and encourages those that value the program to advocate for it to remain in the community.
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