A $40,000 funding grant for a Sydney, N.S., drop-in centre for Indigenous women comes at a crucial time, says the facility's volunteer co-ordinator.

"We're here to provide a safe environment for these women. Right now, we're limited with two part-time staff. I'd like to see a social worker here," said Heidi Marshall, a founding member of the Jane Paul Mi'kmaq Women's Resource Centre.

Joanne Bernard, minister responsible for the Status of Women, was in Sydney on Tuesday for the funding announcement. She wouldn't commit to ongoing funding but said she recognized the need for centre.

"All it takes is something as simple as a place for women to feel safe, and that can make a difference between a bad decision they're about to make, or one that they can talk to a counsellor [about] here and work through it," she said.

"We know that this has been a game-changer for Sydney in terms of Indigenous women who are struggling in the community."

Indigenous women get support

The George Street centre currently has 20 clients between the ages of 15 and 45. Some of the women are homeless, work in the sex trade and are addicted to alcohol and drugs. The centre's services and programs include employment counselling, a needle exchange programme, food and a clothing depot.

Client Rita Sylliboy of Eskasoni First Nation relies on the centre to help her find programs and resources she needs.

"The employment program [is] helping us get ready for work and they help us get our [training] certificates.

"So far, I got my WHMIS [Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System], my food handling, my first aid," she said, adding the 15-week program also provides work placements.

"The centre is really important. We're happy it's here."

'I come here to get help'

Kristina Cabot, who's from Eskasoni and now lives in Sydney, credits the centre with helping her get off drugs and into a healthy lifestyle.

"I was a bad addict and the centre got me sober. I've been on methadone for two years, I come here to get help when I get cravings to use."

Marshall wants to see the centre's services expanded.

"Those are things I'm working on as we speak, I am writing proposals," she said.

Need is growing

Cheryl Maloney, president of the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association, said the need is growing.

"The Jane Paul Centre came together a year ago when we were working with the chiefs and the local communities. We had young girls who went missing, and then we had a high number of girls here in Sydney involved in the sex trade and in vulnerable lifestyles," she said.

"We knew that there was a need to provide supports for these young girls, that they don't become statistics."

The facility was opened on a shoestring, with only volunteers.

"We had mental health supports, we had nurses donated to the centre so there's a wide range of service providers that come through the centre," Maloney said.

"We found early on that these solutions didn't need money to start, and if we waited for money, there would never be any solutions."