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durtiamregion.com THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ JANUARY 19,2005 ♦ PAGE 5 Many faces make up social services in Durham Region Agencies fight stigma while serving thousands BY CARLY FOSTER Staff writer DURHAM -- There are unfair stigmas and uneducated perceptions, a lack of funds and dwindling social supports. These are all parts of the daily challenges challenges facing Durham's social services network. Combined with a growing and aging population, these place constant stresses on non-profit groups that serve thousands each year. •If there's one thing many social service agencies agree on, it's that there's an unfair stigma attached to the system and those who use it. "The stigma says it's your fault, but the reality is, for the vast majority of people, it's not their fault," said Hugh Drouin, commissioner of social services for Durham Durham Region. "It's the circumstances that brought them there." And those circumstances could happen to anyone in an instant; "Many people are just one paycheque away , from being homeless" is a regular refrain from .those ,who help others. "There's a lot of misconception that (social services) is targeted for specific groups, like the homeless or people with special needs," said Edna Klazek, executive executive director of United Way Ajax-Picker- ing-Uxbridge. "But many services are universal and touch many lives." One reason for the stigma is the mis understanding of what exactly social services services are and who'they serve, Mr. Drouin said. "Most people, at some point in their lives, will use social services: taking their kids to day care, counselling, a mother or father to a long-term care facility, credit counselling, couples therapy," he said. "Maybe a better term for social services is human services, because we really deal with" making people whole and... more productive. "We contribute to the humanity of people." Ed Goerz has been executive director of the Cornerstone Community Association Association since 1981. The organization helps people with emergency and transitional housing, including those who are recently recently out of federal prisons. Because Cornerstone deals with those often stigmatized, Mr. Goerz is well aware of the thoughts about the homeless. homeless. Most recently, there has been the debate around too many homeless people in downtown Oshawa and that there are too many services for marginalized people. "Our view is there aren't enough services services that focus on longer-term supports to move people from homelessness to a home," he said. "(The solution) doesn't only need bricks and mortar that's affordable affordable to people, but also support services that help people make it happen." More than 1,900 people used Cornerstone's Cornerstone's shelters last year. Mr. Goerz feels that current public policy is greatly affecting housing issues: Funding has been .reduced, and there's been an increasing dependence on crisis services (such as emergency shelters) rather than a national housing program. , The provincial and federal governments seem unable to work together: And the cost of housing has gone "completely out of reach" of many in Durham, because the removal of rent LIVE ENTERTAINMENT r -> r THURS., JAN. 20th - 9pm Ik "GARDEN OF EDEN" 600 Grandview, Oshawa 905-436-1476 For All Your Dental Needs w .... . Liberty: Dental '§i\ '• /)V\" We're open Saturdays ^ We offer prompt emergency care New patients are always welcome "/j\K /Vfx 60 Liberty St. 5., Bowmanville 905-623-7100 Canadian . &tatcaman Do you have some news to share with the our readers? We'd love to hear about it. Please contact editor Chris Bovie at cbovie® durhamregion. com or call him at 905-579-4400 ext. 2244 Canadian Statesman controls took away much of the available affordable housing. The same kinds of struggles are apparent apparent in north Durham, where Cinnamon Tousignant is in the process of setting up North House, a shelter and service, service, to help people people find housing. She said homelessness homelessness "takes a very different face" in the three northern municipalities. municipalities. "It's difficult difficult for people to access' the services services in the south," she said. "A lot of people don't recognize the time and space to even get from Brock to Oshawa." The maximum a single person on social assistance can receive is $6,400 a year, Mr. Goerz said. "There's no way to get housing and food for that much." Hugh Drouin At the John Howard Society's (JHS) resource centres in Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa Oshawa and Clarington, more than 24,000 people walk through the doors'each year. Then there's the Fire House, a drop-in centre for youth in Bowmanville, two residences in Oshawa and'Whitby* a needle exchange program, counselling and employment help. The JHS fills in the gaps, said Bill Fry, executive director. And the organization stresses prevention. "If you build programs around risk factors... factors... then you are providing programs which you can show have a preventive effect and help people avoid getting involved with the criminal justice system," system," he said. Many of the JHS's clients come in through their resource centres, mostly looking for help with employment. But it's here that the importance of digging into the root causes of problems is most apparent. "They come in and seek help about things they're OK talking about," Mr. Fry said. "Because there's a lot of people who are unemployed, it's OK to say that. "But if you stop and think about it, most people wouldn't want to say that they're hungry. It requires the skill of the worker to say, 'Have you had something to eat today?"' A man could be without housing, for example, because he has a marital prob lem and was kicked out because he was fighting with his wife. "You have to place things in the context of their community," Mr. Fry said. The changing landscape of the modem support system is putting even more strain on social services agencies. "I think society puts a lot of pressures on people, and they're not always given the right skills for coping," she said. "A social support system is so important so people know they can go and get help." The people and places we normally went to for help -- spouses, family members, members, friends, churches and the workplace -- are not as strong as they used to be, Mr. Drouin said. • Divorce is more common, friends are more mobile and harder to find, support support from supervisors has dwindled, he said. Fewer people attend faith-bdsed organizations such as churches and syna; gogues, which often help people develop relationships and expand their relationships. relationships. "People who have strong social support suffer less stress than those who don't," Mr. Drouin said. "Those traditional social' supports are no longer there." Next month: Living on income support