Home / Health / Harm Reduction Agency Faces Uncertain Future After Grant Funding Cut
Harm Reduction Agency Faces Uncertain Future After Grant Funding Cut
15 Aug
Summary
- Turning Point Society in Red Deer loses majority of its budget due to grant funding cut
- Closure of overdose prevention site and loss of vital outreach programs for vulnerable residents
- Concerns that cutting these services will lead to more people falling through the cracks
As of August 15, 2025, a non-profit harm reduction agency in Red Deer, the Turning Point Society, is facing an uncertain future after the provincial government decided to pull its grant funding. This funding cut will account for the majority of the agency's yearly budget.
Turning Point Society previously operated an overdose prevention site in Red Deer, but this site was taken over by Alberta Health Services and closed earlier this year. In addition to the closure of the overdose prevention site, the funding cuts will also result in the axing of four of the agency's programs, including its vital women's program, which provided education, parenting support, and case management for vulnerable women facing poverty and homelessness.
Red Deer Councilor Cindy Jefferies has expressed concerns about the impact these funding cuts will have on the city's most vulnerable residents. She believes that simply removing these services will not make the underlying issues disappear, and that the needs of these individuals will likely spill over into the community, potentially leading to more people living on the streets or in parks.
The provincial government has stated that it will transfer resources to other providers as part of its health system refocusing, and that a comprehensive transition plan will be established in the upcoming weeks to minimize service disruptions. However, experts like Lorian Hardcastle, a professor at the University of Calgary who specializes in health law and policy, are concerned that the government is too narrowly pursuing recovery-based options at the expense of evidence-based harm reduction alternatives.
