The Alberta government says it is increasing its financial support of child and youth advocacy centres, like the Zebra Centre, to $3.7 million in 2025 to help pay for “rising caseloads” of child abuse.
The government said the funds would be given to eight centres around the province to continue to support children and youth. These include centres in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Lloydminster, and Grande Prairie.
Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton said there was a “critical need” to help children who have been abused feel “safe and supported.”
“We want to ensure that any child who has experienced sexual, physical, or emotional abuse are supported through the entire process, including the investigation and legal proceedings,” he said during an Aug. 20 news conference.
He added that the work of the advocacy centres was “vitally important.”
Turton said the government provided $300,000 in additional funding to the centres on July 1 to help address “ongoing sector pressures” in the province, “such as rising caseloads.”
He said that amount brought the total provided to the centres for 2025 to $3.7 million.
Zebra Centre CEO Emmy Stuebing said her centre supports more than 4,000 children and youth annually.
In 2024, the centre helped 4,387 children, she said during the news conference. Of those, more than half the cases (51 percent) involved sexual abuse, and 41 percent were of physical abuse. The remaining cases included those who may have witnessed a violent crime, or experienced abduction or online harm.
“The number of kids coming to the Zebra Center has more than tripled,” she said.
Stuebing said there were “no signs” of a decline in the number of cases, adding they were “on track to match or surpass” the 2024 numbers.
Of those who reported experiencing non-physical violence as a child, 98.7 percent said they had been emotionally abused before they were 15 years old. Just over 20 percent said they had been exposed to intimate partner violence, and 6.8 percent reported being neglected at least once.
“Before the Zebra Center existed, young people would have to visit grown-up places like police stations to share their experience of abuse,” she said during the conference, adding it could add to further trauma.
“From supporting kids as they disclose their abuse to helping to navigate the justice system and connecting with mental health supports like therapy, our multidisciplinary team helps kids every step of the way in their journey toward healing.”
She said “no child is ever turned away.”
“Whether it’s 2,000 kids a year or 4,000 or more, our team will do the best that they can with what we have,” Stuebing said.
Operating dollars were used to fund food, snacks, toiletries, clothing, the toy closet, and staff costs, according to Stuebing.
