2023-2024 AnnualSACE Impact Report
Who We Are
Our Mission
The Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE) exists to support people impacted by sexual violence, and to engage communities to promote respect and uphold a culture of consent.
As a charitable organization dedicated to addressing all forms of sexual violence and to promoting healthy communities:
- We provide professional, client-centred support to children, youth, and adults who have experienced sexual abuse or assault through crisis support, counselling, police and court support, psychoeducation, and advocacy
- We deliver evidence-informed, tailored, and engaging multi-format education about sexual violence trauma, response, and prevention to supporters, communities, and professionals
- We foster prevention of sexual violence through direct public education, awareness initiatives, collaboration, outreach, and advisory consultation with groups and agencies undertaking their own prevention efforts.
Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge the autonomy of Indigenous peoples, and that SACE is located on Treaty 6 Territory and Métis District 9, amiskwacîy ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋ, which is a traditional home and gathering place for many Indigenous peoples, including Niitsítapii/Blackfoot, nehîyawak/Cree, Dene, Nakota Sioux, Saulteaux, Métis, and specifically the ancestral space of the Papaschase Cree.
2023-2024 ReflectionsFrom Our CEO
This past year brought exciting changes for SACE. Most significantly, after more than two decades in the industrial West End, we moved to our new home on 124th Street. No longer on the margins, the issue of sexual assault has “moved to the centre” of public consciousness, and now we are physically in the centre of our city as well. With growth and change, challenges are a reality, but our team navigated these challenges with their typical grace and optimism. To say that I feel fortunate to work with such a brilliant, caring, and competent team would be an under-statement to say the least.
This move would not have been possible without the generosity and support of our community. I am eternally grateful to the many individuals, organizations and corporations who provided their financial support, most particularly the Stollery Charitable Foundation and the Edmonton Community Foundation. I would also like express my deepest gratitude to our core funders who believe in the work that we do, and without whom we could not do the work that we do: Alberta Community and Social Services, Alberta Family and Children’s Services, Alberta Health, Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, United Way of the Alberta Capital Region, and the City of Edmonton Family and Community Support Services.
To our Board of Directors and dozens of volunteers: thank you so much for the countless hours you have gifted to SACE this past year. You are truly the backbone of our agency, and I cannot express how much I appreciate everything you do for us, and for survivors of sexual violence in Edmonton.
As exciting as the past year has been, we are already looking ahead to our 50th anniversary, which we will celebrate on June 26, 2025. Reflecting on this approaching milestone, I cannot help but think about the pioneers and advocates that blazed the trail before us. We would not be here without them, and we will continue to honour and celebrate their history and contributions as we forge ahead.
The agency where I started volunteering 17 years ago is almost unrecognizable to the one I am leading today. Back then, we were a team of 15 with a budget of $800,000. Today, on the cusp of our 50th year, we are a full-service agency, with 61 permanent staff, 38 contractors, and an operating budget in the millions. We have also made equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility a priority at SACE, including building a team that reflects the community we serve. Despite how much has changed, some things remain constant: most importantly, the undeniable passion of our team members, and our collective commitment to ending sexual violence.
Mary Jane James
(she/her)
CEO
New Resources
New Location
To better serve the needs of the community and our growing team, we made the decision to move to a more central location on 124 Street! This new location is much more accessible by public transportation and pedestrian traffic.
Learn about our Move to the Centre.
SACE Office Warming and #GivingTuesday Campaign
Members of the SACE community were invited to tour our new space and celebrate our agency’s move to 124 Street! We also launched our #GivingTuesday campaign asking for the community’s support to fill the shelves of the SACE Library pilot project, which will serve SACE clients, their caregivers, and supporters who spend time in our waiting room. Resources will focus on helping SACE clients and supporters learn more about topics like consent, healing, understanding trauma, counselling processes, bodies, boundaries, supporting someone, sexual health, and more.
New Counselling Group
SACE finalizes development of Sitting in Solidarity, a nine-week closed, no-fee therapeutic group for adult women (trans-inclusive) who have completed court in the criminal justice system for their experiences of sexual violence and need a safe space to process and heal from that journey.
Read more about Sitting in Solidarity.
2023-2024
Our Team
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2023-2024
Our Team
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Thank You to Our
Core Funders
