Greystone Bereavement Centre restructures after provincial money ends

The Greystone Bereavement Centre in Regina is planning to start charging fees to clients, after losing out on provincial dollars.

The non-profit agency provides a range of assistance to families going through the death of a loved one.

It applied to the provincial Ministry of Health for funding, but was turned down. It had received support from the province, in the past, but officials said Wednesday those funds were provided as seed money, to establish the centre.

Executive Director of the centre, Dennis Coutts, said the agency will start to charge for its services.

"What we will be doing is re-opening and re-establishing under a fee for service model," he said.

Coutts said the centre has been very successful in providing assistance to people across Saskatchewan.

"Our centre has become, for a lack of a better word, a centre of excellence where people around the province are phoning us and saying 'Help'," he said.