Source: Independent Free Press
Regional council has approved more than $2.6 million in funding for community programs through the Halton Region Community Investment Fund (HRCIF). The program provides vital dollars to non-profit social service and community health initiatives annually. “The HRCIF has grown in both size and impact, helping enhance the health, safety and well-being of our residents,” said regional chair Gary Carr. “The fund has tripled since 2012 to more than $2.6 million today.”
HRCIF funding is provided in one-year or multi-year grants and supports programs that: Address mental health; maintain housing and prevent homelessness; strengthen services to older adults, children and youth; improve food security; enhance safety and well-being; and support vulnerable residents.
The following new programs will receive funding this year:
• Acclaim Health and Community Care Services to purchase kitchen equipment and provide free, accessible arts and yoga programming to address loneliness and isolation of low income older adults.
• ArtHouse for Children and Youth to provide free extracurricular arts programs for low income children aged seven to 12 to build life skills and form positive relationships.
• Burlington Baptist Church to support two, 15-week lunch and activity programs that provide vulnerable older adults with opportunities for social interaction with peers.
• Canadian Mental Health Association, Halton branch to provide free walk-in counselling, and support one-on-one counselling, crisis intervention and group programming at the Salvation Army Lighthouse Shelter.
• Capability Support Services to purchase a backup generator to power 24-hour medical and assistive devices used by residents.
Catholic Family Services of Hamilton to support case management and cleaning costs for adults who live in extreme self-neglect and help stabilize their housing.
• CNIB to help blind and partially-sighted older adults adapt to their sight loss.
• Elizabeth Fry Society of Peel-Halton to provide programming to educate girls about the risks of sexual exploitation and support girls who have been exploited to prevent future abuse.
• Food4Kids Halton to support a larger location that can store bulk food and has more space to accommodate volunteers that pack healthy foods for vulnerable children to take home on the weekends.
• Georgetown Bread Basket to support monthly cooking classes and prepare take-home meals for clients.
• Halton Children’s Aid Society to provide a pilot program for youth aged 18 to 24 leaving the child welfare system to improve outcomes related to education, employment and/or training.
• Halton Food for Thought to purchase meal cards for at-risk secondary school students so they can buy healthy meals at school cafeterias.
• Halton Fresh Food Box to support the implementation of an online ordering system for food security organizations to purchase healthy, local fruits and vegetables.
• Milton Transitional Housing to provide subsidized transitional accommodation and supportive counselling for up to two years for people in housing crisis.
• Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre to improve service delivery by assessing the needs of food bank users across several Oakville-based food banks.
• Burlington Food Bank to purchase a walk-in freezer that will increase protein-rich foods offered to individuals and families in need.
• Quality Continuous Improvement Centre for Community Education and Training to help newcomer women from various backgrounds develop employment skills, enhance social belonging and connect to needed services.
• Radius Child and Youth Services to support staffing for specialized assessment and treatment programs for children, youth and families who have been affected by abuse and/or neglect.
• Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK) to provide staff for on-site mental health, addictions and substance use supports for youth and provide educational information sessions to caregivers.
• Schizophrenia Society of Ontario to train frontline staff at community organizations across Halton in cognitive behavioural therapy related to psychosis.
• St. Christopher’s Anglican Church to support community hub clients with on-site services and referrals to address needs such as food, clothing, parenting and mental health.
• The John Howard Society of Peel-Halton-Dufferin to expand community programming focused on anti-criminal thinking, anger management and positive parenting.
• Thrive Counselling Services Halton Inc. to provide free psychotherapy and community referrals to help individuals, families and couples cope with challenges such as family and marital conflict, and mental health issues.
• Wellspring Birmingham Gilgan House to provide one-on-one peer counselling to adults living with cancer and professional counselling to those in crisis.
In addition to new funding, 29 programs will continue to receive funding as part of their second or third instalment of multi-year grants awarded in 2017 and 2018. Some of these programs are showcased in Halton Region’s recently released HRCIF Impact Report 2018. The report, now in its second year, profiles seven projects from 2018 that received HRCIF funding and demonstrates the fund’s positive impact in the community.