'It's just unwise to cancel this': Abbotsford anti-gang program funding ends

An anti-gang program in Abbotsford is at risk of falling victim to a lack of funding.

The "In It Together" program run by Archway Community Services has been running for nearly a decade, and some variation of it has been in place for 15 years.

The group of six employees works with upwards of 150 at-risk youth who require counselling, and the waitlist has grown in recent years.

According to Archway, its provincial funding of nearly $1 million over three years recently ended, and the group will not be able to keep the program alive past September.

"How do we support these youth if there are no services for them?" asked Manpreet Sarai, a program supervisor.

"We don't know if this program is going to end at the end of August or if we might get some funding. We haven't heard of any funding sources right now."

Sarai, who overseas in the Southeast Asian branch of the program, says the service is vital to the community because it uniquely can communicate and build connections with families from all backgrounds.

In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Public Safety said the program was funded between 2019 and 2023 as part of the federal government Guns and Gang Violence Action Fund, which ended this year.

The province went on to say that in May, Ottawa announced a new five-year funding commitment for the fund, and B.C. is working with them to get an agreement in place.

"Once the funding agreement is in place, the province will launch an application process, which will include opportunities for previous fund recipients to submit funding requests," the ministry wrote.

The province did not say when the agreement would be made.

The program's uncertainty has caused the city's MLA to demand action.

Abbotsford South representative Bruce Banman said on Tuesday that the community has a history of gang activity and Archway's gang-prevention program was designed to help combat the local issue.

"This is one of the most successful gang programs that we've had," said Banman. "This is something we need to put in place for our kids; they're the most susceptible. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Well, this is that once of prevention, and it's just unwise to cancel this program."

Archway believes it can stay afloat until the end of the summer, but it's planning on calling clients over the coming weeks to inform them that the service is nearing an end if funding can't be secured. The group is also looking into what options clients may have in its absence.

Since January, the Abbotsford Police Department has been reporting a slight increase in the number of youth-related crimes year-over-year. Currently, the number of files is around 40.