Crime Prevention Yukon dispenses final funds

Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Even after formally disbanding Crime Prevention Yukon last year, the organization is continuing its efforts to make the community a better, crime-free place.

On Monday afternoon at city hall, Marlene Koppang, the former Crime Prevention Yukon director and treasurer, handed out five cheques of $10,000 each to local organizations.

The money represents most of the cash left over in Crime Prevention Yukon’s account.

Koppang teared up as she prepared to present the cheques to the Yukon Women’s Transition Home Society, Youth of Today Society, Citizens On Patrol, the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society of Yukon (FASSY) and the Food Bank Society of Whitehorse.

“This is really sad for me and a lot of people,” Koppang said.

Crime Prevention Yukon was a wonderful organization that did many good things with other projects, she said. The organization was in the process of setting up new Neighbourhood Watch programs, before it shut down last year due to funding issues and a lack of enough board members.

Under the organization’s bylaws, any remaining funds are to be distributed among registered Yukon societies that have similar mandates to Crime Prevention Yukon.

After several sessions around the table, looking at a long list of local organizations worthy of the dollars, members settled on six.

While the five listed above were given cheques out of the remaining $62,000 in the account, Crime Prevention Yukon also donated its office equipment and furniture to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which sold it off with the funding going to that organization.

Koppang noted that while the cash could have been doled out among many more groups, members of the former board opted to keep the number of groups lower so the cash could have more of an impact for them.

“That was hard,” she said of choosing which groups would get the money. As she pointed out, many of the organizations selected work with youth, which was a focus for Crime Prevention Yukon.

The funding for the Youth of Today Society has been designated specifically for Angel’s Nest. Other organizations like FASSY and the Yukon Women’s Transition Home Society also offer programming for youth, while others assist in preventing crime.

Upon receiving their cheques, a number of representatives with the various organizations noted how they hope to prevent crime with the funding boost.

The food bank’s Stephen Robertson said he hopes the funding can help alleviate crime because one of the causes of crime is often poverty.

Wayne Balcaen of Citizens On Patrol, meanwhile, noted the good work Crime Prevention Yukon did over the years, and argued it’s sad that the “powers that be” had allowed the organization to dissolve.

He then issued an invite to any of those persons in power to join him during one of his patrols with the Citizens On Patrol so he can show them what they’ve missed in permitting Crime Prevention Yukon’s demise.

Following the formal presentation, Barb McInerney, the executive director of the Kaushee’s Place transition home, told reporters the team at the transition home will look first at how to best spend the $10,000.

This time of year can be very busy for the home, she explained.

The team will first look at how many donations came in over Christmas, then decide how to best stretch out the additional income over the next three months. As McInerney pointed out, it could mean having more staff on shift at the home if needed.

The organization has worked closely with Crime Prevention Yukon over the years and officials had some idea Crime Prevention Yukon may donate some of their cash to the women’s transition home. However, they weren’t sure just how much it would be.

“The amount is a wonderful surprise,” McInerney said.