The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 19 ,2 02 0 | 8 coupon We are Diesel Vehicle Specialists! Fleet Maintenance/Programs Available all auto & truck service Car & Truck, ATV, RV, Motorcycles, Snowmobiles & More! JuSt ASk! Best Pricing on All Products 20 Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown We have Anco All Season Wiper Blades! only $7.49/ea installed. Car & Truck, A Vehicles + TAX Most Vehicles $3995 only • Oil Change • Antifreeze Check • Lubrication • 52 point inspection • Battery & Wiper Blade Check • FREE FLUID TOP UPS WInTER Special!* * Up to 6 Ltr. Limited time offer • Upgrade to synthetic for $15 extra. , RV, Motorcycles, ✃ ✃ Certified Mechanics on Duty 905-877-1237 52 point inspection TIRES! All Sizes All Brands JOIN A WINNING tEAM! Mechanic, Construction & Office positions available. Silver 2018 Halton Hills Boost your starting power with DeKa Batteries! News last week that the province is infusing $2 million into rape crisis centres across Ontario means nothing at the mo- ment to the executive di- rector of a longtime Hal- ton provider of sexual as- sault support services. Alma Arguello doesn't know yet how much her organization, Sexual As- sault & Violence Inter- vention Services (SAVIS of Halton) will receive from that funding, if any- thing. "We don't know any- thing," said Arguello, who is beyond frustrated at the erratic and insuffi- cient financial support from the government, which puts organizations like hers in the challeng- ing position of being un- able to meet overwhelm- ing demand. The recent announce- ment comes in the wake of $1 million in stopgap funding -- introduced last year by the Ministry of the Attorney General to reduce wait times for sexual assault survivors to receive counselling -- coming to an end. SAVIS' core funding comes from the AG's of- fice, approximately half a million annually, but there has been no in- crease since 1995, said Ar- guello. "Since the rise of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, SAVIS of Halton has seen a massive growth in the demand for sexual violence support services in the Halton re- gion," said Arguello. "Over the past two years, our request for services have doubled. This de- mand for services far ex- ceeds the current staff ca- pacity of our agency, and the result is long wait lists for services." Cuts to services have a direct impact on survi- vors of sexual violence in Halton who are in need of support in a timely man- ner in order to appropri- ately address their expe- riences of trauma, she NEWS DEMAND FOR RAPE CRISIS CENTRE SERVICES EXCEEDS FUNDING CAPABILITIES KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services (SAVIS) of Halton Executive Director Alma Arguello is struggling to keep up with the demand for services while dealing with limited government funding. Graham Paine/Torstar