Rowan House Executive Director Sherrie Botten (file photo)

New money for emergency shelters across Alberta should allow them to use some of the money being used to pay bills for programming.

The NDP government Wednesday announced additional funding for operating expenses as well as second stage housing and child trauma counsellors.

Sherrie Botten, Executive Director of the local Rowan House Shelter says it'll make a big difference.

"If we can have some of the government dollars go towards operational part of the building and what we need in terms of food or that type of incidentals for women, then we can put other dollars towards the programming and prevention work that we do," Botten says.

She says they won't see any of the money that's earmarked for second stage, or transitionally housing, but it still shows the government is committed to helping shelters provide the services they do.

Botten says talk of the increased funding came up last week in Edmonton during the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters conference.

"All shelters were very thrilled that the government was also coming to us, and asking how can we best support shelters, so that's not always been the case, sometimes there's been a release of dollars or supports in some way, without talking talking to the people who would be directly impacted," she says.

Rowan house has a feasibility study underway now into the area of transitional housing and that report's expected to be completed later this fall.