Survivors of sexual abuse in Cornwall risk being left without the counselling they need to recover when government funding runs out Friday, a victims' rights group warns.

The Ontario government plans to begin placing victims into alternate support programs over the next six months. Meanwhile, the attorney general will examine and respond to recommendations made in a report from a lengthy inquiry into rumours of a pedophile ring in the community.

Rick Goodwin of The Men's Project, a non-profit men's counselling agency, says the government's plan to move people into other community services will do little to help those who have been relying on counsellors they suddenly can no longer afford.

"All these clients seeing private practitioners won't be able to continue because the money has ended, so it's creating havoc for those individual clients," he said. "For some clients it could be re-traumatizing — given that these folks have extensive [post-traumatic stress disorder and their] trust relationships are pretty shaky. They develop one with the therapist and then that comes to an unnatural conclusion."

Attorney General Chris Bentley had promised more money to help victims when the $53-million report was released last month, but has yet to specify the amount.

It's not yet clear what the long-term support will look like, but ministry officials say the Family Counselling Unit of Cornwall will be working to assess individual needs.

"The Cornwall Public Inquiry's counselling support program was established as part of the Cornwall Inquiry to support victims and their families during the proceedings," said Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General.

"While the CSP has been of considerable benefit to survivors, it is important to help them transition to established services that are available in the community now that the inquiry has concluded."

Transition back to community

The director of the Family Counselling Unit said his centre would try to help survivors make the transition back into the community.

"Our role basically is to do an information referral to those that might need additional support, and we're working very closely with the sexual assault centres in both Cornwall and the Brockville area," said Ray Houde.

But the lack of specific funding means less service will be available, he added, and those seeking individual counselling will be referred to a mental health agency in the community.

Those who can afford to pay for private therapy can continue to see their individual counsellors, but at between $100 and $150 a session, it's not a real option for most, said Goodwin.

To make matters worse, because most of the support money was used to pay for sessions with private practitioners instead of being invested in community agencies, the agencies are now unprepared to deal with an influx of clients, he added.

Service ends for male victims

"Our funding for Cornwall services expires tomorrow," Goodwin said Thursday. "For male survivors, the only identified male service in Cornwall will be ended."

Commissioner G. Normand Glaude, a northern Ontario judge, called on the government to fund counselling for up to five years in his report, suggesting the eastern Ontario city could become a model for responding to abuse allegations and preventing such trauma in the first place.

But his inquiry report left unanswered questions about whether a pedophile ring actually existed, saying the abuse that many people suffered may have been the result of an organized group or it could have been an "unfortunate coincidence."