We are excited to partner with the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre to host an inclusive community gathering to welcome the autumn season. The day will include:
Traditional Dancers
Speakers
A free BBQ lunch in the Traditional Healing Garden
The opportunity to take part in the Breaking the Cycle project surveys
What is Breaking the Cycle?
Across Alberta, people experiencing poverty and homelessness are increasingly being fined, ticketed, or moved along simply for trying to survive. Municipal bylaws and unpaid fines—often for things like resting in public, loitering, jaywalking, or fare evasion—can quickly add up to thousands of dollars. For many, these fines create barriers to housing, employment, and safety, deepening cycles of harm rather than offering support.
Youth, Indigenous peoples, 2STQLGBIA+ community members, people with disabilities, and those living in chronic poverty have repeatedly told us that these enforcement practices feel discriminatory, traumatic, and disconnected from their lived realities. They described harassment, profiling, and fear during interactions with police or peace officers—and a lack of accessible information about their rights or how to challenge fines.
Breaking the Cycle is a province-wide initiative designed to respond to these urgent issues by combining community-led research, plain-language legal education, and collaborative advocacy for change.
Our goal is simple: reduce harm, increase legal literacy, and work with communities to shift Alberta away from punitive approaches and toward dignity, care, and justice.