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Hello, my name is Blair Carmichael, and my wife Eve and I are the founders of the PAR Foundation.
In 2005, I read a report that had been prepared for Donna Mah, the CEO of the Edmonton region of Children’s Services on how services were being delivered under the PCHIP (Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution) legislation in Alberta. It was an exhaustive report that concluded with a series of recommendations on what was needed to happen to improve things for the youth being served under that piece of legislation.
The recommendations made to the steering committee were forwarded to the ministerial level, where it was agreed that all of the recommendations should be implemented. However shortly after this agreement was reached, Donna was forced to retire due to serious health problems.
A year later, the government had changed, the minister was no longer the same; and the report sat gathering dust on a shelf.
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It was then that Eve & I decided to start a charitable organization and raise funds from private individuals and corporations to implement some of the recommendations of the PCHIP report without having to rely on government for the funding of any of the program costs. We felt that if we did it this way, the funding would be sustainable, and the services needed by the girls on the street would be able to be delivered consistently as the public at large took this project to heart, and invested in these girls' futures.
We hired two outreach workers, Maureen Reid and DeWayne Brown, who between them had over 40 years of experience working with people involved in prostitution. We leased a brand new Dodge Sprinter Van and had it retrofitted into an outreach van. Our workers are out on the streets of Edmonton three nights a week building trusting relationships with the girls they meet. The PAR Foundation’s message is simple:
“If you want help, we will help you.”
“We will walk with you until you can walk on your own.”
“We will work with you, but we won’t work harder than you do.”
Both Eve and I would encourage anyone reading this to consider, that these individuals are someone’s daughters, who have mothers and fathers somewhere, and that all they need is someone to help them get back home, Will it be you through a generous donation of your time as a volunteer, or of your money, or through your gift in kind to the PAR Foundation?
Every dollar raised by the PAR Foundation goes to providing assistance to the youth and women on the street. All administrative costs are made up out of our own personal funds
Blair & Eve |
