Four Edmonton organizations are getting a combined $5.6 million from the federal government to prevent at-risk young people from turning to crime.

The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters, Uncles and Aunts at Large Society, the Creating Hope Society of Alberta and the Society for Safety and Caring Schools and Communities are all getting funding under the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

"The bottom line is that if we can keep young people from ever getting involved with crime, if we can help them to make better choices about their futures at the start, then we're going to have much safer communities in the long run," Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said.

Van Loan announced the money Tuesday at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre in Edmonton.

The funding is broken down as follows:

• Alberta Council of Women's Shelters: $1.4 million over three years for a project in women's shelters in five Alberta First Nations communities which would provide therapy to aboriginal children and their families affected by family violence.
• Uncles and Aunts at Large Society: $1.35 million over four years for a project to teach children between the ages of 6 and 12 alternatives to violence and aggressive behaviour.
• Creating Hope Society of Alberta: $1.01 million over 38 months for a project to prevent at-risk aboriginal youth between the ages of 12 and 15 from getting involved in the justice system.
• The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities: $1.8 million over 41 months to teach alternatives to violence to children between the ages of 6 and 12 in Wabasca-Desmarais and Cooking Lake.