Yes! SACE has been a registered charity since 1979. Our registration number is 107971772 RR 0001. 

While our capital campaign in general is to support the expenses involved for SACE to move to a bigger and more accessible, flexible, and central office space, you can always decide what you prefer your donations go towards. This could be the office move and renovations, but it could also be a specific program or service SACE offers. Because we know that people prefer to support the issues they care most about, we have a few different funding streams you can support for this campaign:  

• Community Active Bystanders: We’re looking for 75 businesses and individuals to donate $500 – $10,000 to support increased capacity including infrastructure for our Community Engagement department
• Safer Space Makers: We‘re looking for 160 Edmontonians to sign up as monthly donors. Whether $10, $25, $40, or more, small consistent donations help us to sustainably offer accessibility supports and a range of supplies and care items.
• Supporters: We’re looking for donations of any amount to contribute to increased capacity for support services at SACE
• General donations: Did you know that you can include a note when you donate, specifying what you would like your funds to go towards? Whether you were inspired by a 5-Minute Friend course, see the difference our Police and Court Support program made in a loved one’s life, or want to know you have supported access to counselling for children and youth, we are happy to allocate your generous donation to the area of your choice. 

SACE is working with an outside agency to manage the planning for the new space and renovations. The renovations for the space are estimated at $800,000, and we estimate another $200,000 for moving costs, furnishings, and technology and technical set-up. 

Yes! Our goal is $1 million to cover the office space, move, renovations, and furnishings and technology. As of December 2022 we have raised over 50% of this through donations and grants, and we will be updating our progress bar at the top of this page weekly so our supporters can stay up to date on our progress. 

Over the years leading up to and since #MeToo in 2017, SACE has grown significantly. As the issue of sexual assault has “moved to the centre” of public consciousness, we have seen a consistent increase in demand for services. At the same time, we’ve been listening and learning more about the needs of the people we serve, and what is required for our space to be truly accessible. In short, our current space no longer meets the needs of our staff, volunteers, clients, and community members. 

Our new space will be able to accommodate at least 20% more staff, and will have rooms and spaces that are more flexible to different uses so that we can maximize that space. We will have private counselling offices, collaboration spaces, a group room, meeting rooms, a space for spiritual practice and reflection, and a playroom. Our move and the renovations have both been informed by extensive surveying and consultation we’ve done with our stakeholders, to ensure that we will meet the diverse needs of the people we serve.  

You can find information on sace.ca. Some great pages to check out are our About Us page, Annual Reports page, Services pages, and Learn page. 

You can also learn more about us by following our social media @sacetalks on Facebook/Meta, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.  

Finally, we are always happy to give tours of our space or answer any specific questions you may have. Call us at 780.423.4102 and choose extension 207 to talk to our communiciations team, or email ac.ecasobfsctd@etanod. 

Our move to a more central location downtown is meant to reduce barriers to accessing services, and to increase capacity through increased space and flexibility of layout. We want our clients to feel safe coming in for services, and part of that is maintaining a discreet visible presence on the street.  

While our downtown office won’t impact crime downtown, SACE does offer programming geared towards violence prevention, including safer spaces training and policy consultation, bystander intervention training, and institutional support for businesses and not-for-profit organizations interested in creating their own policies and practices to prevent sexual violence and increase support for people who experience it. One of these programs is the 5-Minute Friend program, a bystander intervention training program for management and staff of nightlife establishments. 

By contributing to our capital campaign, you will be supporting increased capacity for all SACE programming, including our prevention programs. 

Sexual violence is absolutely a public health issue. It is well documented that all forms of trauma impact a person’s health and wellbeing in a myriad of ways: trauma symptoms can include a wide range of issues such as insomnia, nightmares, emotional dysregulation, depression, headaches, increased levels of stress hormone (cortisol) and increased blood pressure, problems with setting boundaries, fear of intimacy, trouble concentrating or managing in other areas of one’s life, memory problems, and in the case of younger people, developmental regression (return to bedwetting, thumbsucking, and other behaviours that a child had previously outgrown). Women who experience sexual violence are also more likely than men to be physically injured, to experience disruption in their daily lives and productivity, and to fear for their lives.  

The economic costs of sexual violence are not well known, however given the significant long-term nature of physical and mental health effects, the public health burden is likely significant, and has been estimated in the hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars per year in Canada. It is a serious public health problem in the Canada that profoundly impacts lifelong health, opportunity, and well-being. Sexual violence impacts every community, and affects people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and abilities.  

We have! SACE has secured office space at a new location on 124 Street, walking distance from downtown and with ample public transit and parking options. We will be renovating this space to ensure that it’s as accessible, inclusive, and flexible to changing needs as possible. 

Our plan is to move to the new SACE office in August-September 2023. We will hold an open house after we are settled, in fall 2023. 

Yes! The space we’ve chosen is fully accessible, with elevators between floors, and accessible washrooms, doorways, and other spaces. Our goal is to build on the accessibility measures we’ve developed at our old space, and we will continue to share updated information about what to expect when you visit SACE on our Contact page after the big move. 

All of the funds donated for the facility dog continue to be in a reserve fund for this purpose. SACE has applied to “Dogs with Wings” and we have been accepted. However, there is a wait for placement. A dog could be identified as our dog as early as the spring of 2023, but more likely in the fall of 2023.