23 community groups get money from city for crime prevention, safety efforts

Nearly two dozen community groups, including Mama Bear Clan and Central Park Foot Patrol, are receiving up to $5,000 from the city for safety initiatives, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman announced Wednesday.

A total of $100,000 was made available through the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Program; grants range from $1,170 to $5,000.

"Everything can't fall on the shoulders of the Winnipeg Police Service," Bowman said at the announcement of the funding at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba's facility on Isabel Street.

The grants were given to groups that are positioned to build relationships between the community and the Winnipeg Police Service, Bowman said.

The city received 64 applications and 23 were approved for funding.

Point Douglas activist Sel Burrows' Point Powerline program received a grant of just over $1,000 to fund flyers that will tell Point Douglas residents how they can report crime anonymously.

"That goes a long way. Our thing is all volunteer driven," Burrows said. "People who wouldn't know where to phone or how to call, from that flyer will know who to call and where to phone."

Program applications were evaluated by a committee made up of four representatives from community services and one each from the Winnipeg committee for safety and the Winnipeg Police Service.

They established criteria to determine who was eligible for the grant and assessed the need and potential benefit of the proposed activity, a news release said.

The Community Safety and Crime Prevention Program was created to bolster community-level crime prevention and safety initiatives, promote the exchange of information between community residents, and help build closer relationships between communities and police.

Bowman said the grants, which came out of his office budget, are "a start," but there's a long way to go to defeat some of the significant crime issues in the city.