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07_V1_WAT_Nov30 Thursday, November 30, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 7Serving your community since 1856 Continued from Page 6 According to the report, the missed revenue from develop- ment charge exemptions could be in the $35 to $70 million range. "We've built in provisions for water and wastewater … but the roads funding is insuf- ficient," said Dyer. Regional development charge exemptions are set to expire in 2019, which is leading the region to believe there will be a major rush for develop- ment permits before that time. Paramedic Services In the 2018 budget, the staff is asking to add two 12-hour ambulances, along with the appropriate staff (10 paramed- ics and seven support staff) at a total cost of $1.2 million per year, plus the cost of the ambu- lance at $939,000. This expan- sion would offset the growing volume of calls and much- publicized off-load delays that hamper local paramedics. Increased transit costs With increased service comes increased cost for Grand River Transit. Increased ser- vice to Conestoga College will cost $2.7 million per year when annualized. Also in transit, $523,000 is added to the budget for the addition of two expan- sion buses and technology upgrades for the MobilityPlus program. On Dec. 5, a budget update, including final numbers on assessment growth and a police services presentation, will be completed. Immedi- ately following that will be the second budget public input session. The budget will go for final approval on Dec. 13 during the regular council meeting at 7 p.m. Paramedic services getting a boost By Joy Struthers Chronicle Staff Child and youth victims of abuse and crime in the Waterloo Region need support. The Child Witness Centre is asking people to join hands with them in their Safe Hands -- Strong Futures Community Campaign to hear, help and heal young victims who have had their childhood stolen away from them. Laura Muirhead, executive director of the Child Witness Centre, announced that $1,736,000 has already been pledged to the campaign and she is hoping the community will help them reach $2 million so they can sustain their role in the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, which has been running since May 2016. In the first twelve months they were open, the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre helped 717 young victims of crime and abuse from the Waterloo Region. "It's more than once a day that a child finds the courage to come forward and disclose abuse and there's an investigation," said Muirhead. She said she knows those individuals are only the tip of the iceberg because of national statis- tics that reveal, for exam- ple, that sexual assault is only reported less than 10 per cent of the time. This is why the Child Witness Centre part- nered with Family and Child Services of the Waterloo Region and the Waterloo Regional Police to provide a safe and comfortable place for kids to tell their stories to professionals who can help them. They have a dedicated police unit and child and family services unit, but new to the centre are child and youth advocates. The Child Witness Centre provides oversight for those advocates while representing the voice and needs of the children. "What they do is figure out what the best next step is for victims," said Muirhead. Their new location for the centre at Carizon Family and Community Services allows the peo- ple involved in each situation to work together. "It also gives a platform to talk about the issue in our community and hopefully bring it out of the closet," said Muirhead. She said the Child Witness Centre has been helping young victims go through the legal process for more than 25 years in the Waterloo Region and Wellington County. "Charges are only laid about 20 per cent of the time, but that doesn't mean that something didn't happen. Kids still need support," said Muirhead. They consider this venture to be an invest- ment in the children and youth in the commu- nity. "We (as individuals) or the government spend a lot of money dealing with issues people have downstream because they maybe weren't heard, and didn't get the support they needed when they suffered abuse as a child. We're really trying to turn that ship so people can come forward, get the support they need and hopefully the trajec- tory of their life is in a much stronger and more positive kind of direc- tion," said Muirhead. Local company Mag- net Forensics saw the value of the work being done by the Child Wit- ness Centre and wanted to help out by holding a fundraiser. Their bowl- ing event this month, along with other initia- tives throughout the year, raised more than $25,000 according to Neil Desai, head of external affairs. "For us it's about more than the money. It's about raising awareness in the community about the issue," he said. Although they work on the criminal justice side, he said, on technologies that help police catch criminals, they learn a lot about victims of crime as well. Desai said the unfortunate victims of many crimes are children. "Specifically child pornography, child exploi- tation, online child luring and human traffick- ing," said Desai. He calls the work they do mission-driven, and the awareness is something that ties them together. "We like tying our charitable work to the things we understand and the things we learn about through the course of our day jobs," said Desai. To learn more about the Child Witness Centre and the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, or to help a local child, visit childwitness.com. Pledge forms are available online for the Safe Hands-Strong Futures Community Campaign. November 27 - December 2, 2017 Fresh Local Prime rib roasts Reg. $11.59 lb.$9.99 lb. "For your next fundraiser, try Stemmler's Pepperstix Fundraiser!" Lamb shaNks Reg. $6.99 lb.$6.49 lb. Fresh CeNter Cut Pork ChoPs Reg. $3.29 lb.$2.79 lb. Fresh LoCaL GrouND Pork Reg. $2.99 lb.$2.49 lb. Store Made DeLi sLiCeD Pastrami Reg. $8.99 lb.$7.99 lb. Store Made DeLi sLiCeD oNioN or huNters Loaf Reg. $5.99 lb.$4.99 lb. Store Made awarD wiNNiNG beef aND Pork wieNers Reg. $3.99 lb.$3.49 lb. Store Made ham kieLbasa Reg. $5.99 lb.$4.99 lb. Store Made sweet PiCkLeD CottaGe roLLs Reg. $3.99 lb.$3.49 lb. Store Made breaDeD Pork sChNitzeL Reg. $1.50 ea.$1.25 ea. Child Witness Centre still needs help to reach fundraising goal Submitted Photo Laura muirhead, executive director of the Child Witness Centre, announced that $1,736,000 has already been pledged to the centre's campaign and is looking for more community support. "It's more than once a day that a child finds the courage to come forward and disclose abuse and there's an investigation." Laura Muirhead Executive director of the Child Witness Centre