Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown may disagree over the future of the Region of Peel, but they are on the same page when it comes to provincial funding cuts to the region’s accredited sexual assault centre.

In a joint letter sent to Ontario Attorney General Caroline Mulroney on April 17 — which the Brampton Guardian obtained a copy of — Crombie and Brown asked that $125,000 in annual funding to Hope 24/7, slashed in the recent provincial budget, be restored.

“We are writing you today in support of Hope 24/7, Peel Region’s designated Sexual Assault Centre (SAC). We are requesting their funding be restored to $584,373 annually,” read the letter signed by both mayors.

“In July 2018, the agency was informed that its funding was cut by $125,000 per year. Although the government restored $52,183 in April 2019, this funding is one-time only and does not address the significant need for this service in Peel Region,” it added.

Crombie and Brown said the centre, which is located in Brampton, is chronically underfunded compared to average funding for similar centres across the province. Brampton and Mississauga claim the centre receives only 34 cents per capita, while 70 per cent of SACs receive at least $1 per capita.

In addition, the mayors claim the centre has produced results up to 65 per cent better than the benchmark for mental-health interventions, while easing the burden on the region’s emergency care infrastructure.

“Ultimately, this translates into reduced system costs and better service user experience, as clients are diverted from hospitals and emergency departments to Hope 24/7.”

According to its website, “Hope 24/7 is a charity organization that offers psychotherapy services for all persons 12 (and) older who have been impacted by relationship (and) sexual violence. We are the provincially designated Sexual Assault Centre (SAC) for the Region of Peel, and serve a population of more than 1.4 million people.”

Crombie and Brown's letter added Hope 24/7 is the only accredited sexual assault centre of its kind in the whole province.

“It is also the only centre using regulated health professionals in compliance with the province's Psychotherapy Act, and has assisted more than 22,000 residents since 2013, when its professional practice model was implemented,” read their letter to the province.