THUNDER BAY – The federal government is providing $980,595 over the next four years to Lakehead University for programming that focuses on youth dating violence prevention.
“When our young people are experiencing a crisis, they need a safe place and safe people to turn to,” Patty Hajdu, Thunder Bay-Superior North’s member of Parliament, said Friday at the university.
Lakehead’s Promoting Positive and Healthy Youth Relationships Project is one of 11 federally-funded projects against gender-based violence announced last month.
In all, Ottawa will be providing almost $14.5 million over the next five years the projects to promote healthy relationships through interventions, as well as training for service providers and educators.
Hajdu said she hopes federal support for the programs can help reduce the prevalence of dating violence and help provide a safer future for youth living in Canada.
Lakehead’s initiative is designed to deliver programming to foster healthy relationships among 500 youth who are at risk of youth dating violence in Thunder Bay and district.
It is being funded under a Public Health Agency of Canada program for preventing gender-based violence.