LGBTQ foster centre gets provincial funding

Officials with a social services agency specifically designed to help LGBTQ youth say the province is now providing the necessary funding for their work.

The group Five/Fourteen helps youth find culturally sensitive foster care. At the end of September, CBC Windsor reported the Ontario government approved the agency itself but refused to fund it.

• LGBTQ youth foster centre struggling financially

Shortly after the story came out the province reached out and began changing that, said Lucas Medina, Five/Fourteen's executive director.

"We got a call from the ministry and they said they had good news for us," Medina said. "They would be providing the funding we required."

After looking at the group's business plan, the province approved the funding within a day, Medina said.

"I have a feeling that we have [CBC Windsor] to thank for that. It's unusual for them to do this," Medina said. "The attention made them think we are a different program, we serve LGBTQ youth in foster care from the entire province."