We are currently advocating for increased funding to sexual health non-profits here in Nova Scotia—including here on the South Shore.
A little background: Sexual Health Nova Scotia, our parent organization, applies annually for a discretionary grant through the provincial Department of Health and Wellness. It’s my understanding this discretionary grant no longer exists for new applicants, but has been grandfathered in for traditional recipients, including Sexual Health Nova Scotia (formerly known as Planned Parenthood). At one point, our monies were tied to Public Health and Health Promotion. We are one of six centres in the province including Halifax, Amherst, Cape Breton, Sheet Harbour, and Pictou.
Aside from a tiny increase of $16,000 in 2019, Sexual Health Nova Scotia (and us) have not had an increase in funding since at least 2006. Our organization runs on $35,000 of core funding annually and has so since 2006 (actually, we had $41,000 that year). Our provincial organization runs off less than $300,000 annually while trying to support the sexual health of as much of the province as we can. South Shore Sexual Health covers Lunenburg and Queens, which includes 27 schools.
Centres have been struggling all along, but the cost of living has brought us to a breaking point. Our staff (including myself) can no longer operate centres boasting increased demand while at the same time, our staff cannot afford to live in our communities. We don’t have funding to stay open year around, five days a week despite high demand for our services. We work hard for grants and fundraising, but struggle to find operating costs in our rural area from the small pool of grants and donors available to us.
We are advocating for an increase of funding either through our grant, through other provincial departments, and even federally through money earmarked in 2021 for sexual health ($45 million to “community based organizations”) that has never gotten to Nova Scotia. We have yet to see a penny.
If you value sexual health in your community, feel free to advocate for us with any level of the government. Most of our funding falls under provincial responsibilities, although last budget, the federal government promised to distribute $45 million to community based organizations for sexual health. It’s my understanding that almost none of that money has come to Nova Scotia. It certainly didn’t come to the South Shore.
We believe our work is valuable. We work with our schools to promote health and wellness with workshops and support, just like Public Health used to do years ago. We help people navigate primary health care, and would love to offer clinical services if we had the resources to do so. Finally, we do important work to support vulnerable people including our trans and non-binary folks with life-saving, gender-affirming items. And we even published a book!
Your local sexual health centre wants to remain a vital part of the community. Please support us in staying open and serving our South Shore.