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HB NEWS SUPPORTING THOSE WHO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY apply for social housing ated unique circumstanc- LOCAL UNTED Wat 2 coca, housing ED 266 she said. "It opens up an- ““When you arrive as a other door of additional in- newcomer, you have PROGRAMS OVER PAST YEAR HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com othe financial literacy program is one of 266 fund- ed by the United Way of Halton Hamilton (UWHH). Those programs normal times you are able to access community su] port— Imm: Working Centre, YMCA, Empower- When people think of helped more than 310,000 ment Squared — to help poverty, they think of the people. you navigate the services. need to provide the basics Brad Park, UWHH pres- During the pandemic, — food and clothing. ident and CEO, said donor _ these were not an option." Those are undoubtedly support was never more lany services that were necessary, says Michelle the executive direc- tore of ‘Oak Park Neighbour- hood Centre, but there are other ways to help that will provide longer-term bene- fits. necessary with resources stretched and the demand ices increased due to the ‘pandemic. "In a difficult year, local heroes came together to help meet the demand for previously delivered in Person, had to move online. ‘hat me y clients wee being, ae on for the first time on the phone. Aswani said that made it difficult to build a relation- now when we get resources and services for shipandestablish trust. As someone's taxes caught up, our community's most vul- aresult, clients were not as they're suddenly eligible nerable," P: forthcoming with the prob- for the child tax credit Rosemary Aswani, lems they were facing. (which can provide about manager of front-line set- Through its Reaching In $5,000 per year perchild)or tlementservicesattheIm- program, the Immigrant other government i migrant Working Centre, Working Centre wasableto comes. They're eligible to said the pandemic has cre- hirea social service worker Graham Paine/ Metroland Tracy Hussey (left) and Nancy Rumple, here holding boxes with fresh produce, run Food for Thought, one of the many programs that benefitted from the United Way. that was able to go to cli- ents’ homes, advocate for and help access the services they needet While most agencies re- ceive government funding, there are important pro- grams not covered. Leo Johnson, the execu- tive director of Empower- ment Squared, said by the time government identifies and funds a program it is usually at a crisis stage. With United Way funding, he said they are able to identify needs earlier. Johnson told the story of a refugee, a Grade 8 stu- dent who was the son of a single mother. He became part of the organization's United Way-funded aca- demic mentoring pro; and went on to become a psychiatric nurse. Way has. ine ability todiga little deey Nancy. “Rumple, execu: & ive director of Food for in the region to provide heathy ie to students. ie pandemic, with s schools closed or lim- iting visitors, Food for Thought had to completely change the way it delivere food to students. said studies have nefits of a energy levels, readiness to learn, school performance and a reduction in at-risk behaviour," she said. "We're committed to mak- ing sure programs remain accessible." You've worked hard to enjoy Mountainview Residence by the Glen The only family owned & operated retirement home in Halton Hills. in a family, friendly atmospher cariety of food chet s), along to support daily well being. a Mountainview Residents oo We are growing with our community. Come see our new designs starting summer 2021! Located on the cusp of the Hamlet of 222 Mountainview Road North, G 90 800 len Williams et ORCA sidence.com www.mounta Greater » Toronto Shine On Child Care Jobs Available in Georgetown and Acton Send resume to: childcarejobs@ymcagta.org