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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, June 3, 2016 | 10 Kerr Street Mission's newest program: Restore Halton by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver Kerr Street Mission's (KSM) next step in responding to need in Oakville is Restore Halton. Announced Monday (May 30) at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (QEPCCC), Restore Halton is a new initiative to help people in distress create a healthier and sustainable life. Based on Restore Canada's Method of Care, the program recruits and trains Halton church volunteers (care planners) to help people develop a care plan, identify needed resources and ensure conditions for success. KSM recently received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant for $356,000 over five years for Restore Halton. "When people find themselves in distress, they're so overwhelmed they often can't do the basic things to help themselves. It's easy to be critical of that and say, `Why aren't they doing it?'" said Gary O'Neill, KSM executive director. "(Restore Halton) is about journeying with people, it's about helping people, it's about leveraging the resources already available in the community. It's about responding to someone in need with practical care, acceptance and love." O'Neill said KSM has been focusing on poverty-related challenges since 1996, when it began working with just one church. There are two areas of poverty the organization focuses on -- chronic (physical disabilities) and mental health issues. "We have people on that side I consider chronic cases, where they're stuck and there's probably no change coming. There isn't really an opportunity for change. It's heartbreaking, but we really want to respond and help them," said O'Neill. The idea of the Restore Method of Care is to give a Gary O'Neill hand-up, not a hand-out, by assisting volunteers to address the root causes of someone's situation and to create a viable plan that provides direction, accountability, relief and hope. "People need to choose those things (services) on their own. The Restore care planner will give them a menu of options to say, `Here's some of the things that could help you move to a healthier place,'" said O'Neill. "Then it's about encouraging them, sometimes walking beside them, sometimes giving them a push to keep them going when they don't have the energy or enthusiasm to do it." O'Neill noted much of the Trillium funding will go to administration costs to develop the training and programming and to make connections with the care planners. "When people are really stuck and they have that financial gap for one month, two months, three months, it's about reaching out to a broad community and saying, `Can people pitch in and help?'" "Instead of the burden being all on one person or one church, it ends up spreading it around the community." KSM area director Stanley Redwood said it isn't just building volunteers, but connecting churches to create a "wider Christian community of care." "Our volunteers are walking with them, supporting them as individuals and supporting their families through their challenges to help them (get to) a healthier place," said Redwood. Since April 2015, KSM has trained almost 60 care planners from 22 churches in Halton including several in Oakville (St. Jude's Anglican Church, King's Community Church, The Sanctuary Oakville, etc.). The program has helped more than 30 individuals/ families since January. What motivates the care planners to help others is the "renowned Canadian warmth and kindness," Redwood said. "Every case is different, but essentially, we are letting people know they're not alone. We are not going to allow them to go through their struggles alone, to suffer alone. We are going to do our best to support them," said Redwood. He noted KSM also received more than $19,000 from Halton Region to train 50 volunteers and 20 care co-ordinators. "The government support is solid recognition of Restore's value and impact, not just in Oakville or Burlington, but the entire Halton region," he said. "We celebrate our volunteers. We celebrate our pastors, who support us and the congregations that respond to our benevolent need." Owen Alton, Restore Canada executive director, said the number of churches and their volunteers "gives us the capacity to meet the need" in the communities they serve. In York Region, for example, 52 care planners helped 1,065 people last year. "From corner-to-corner in Halton, where churches are like-minded and want to help those who are verified as poor, no matter what mantle people are wearing, we want to be together in helping the poor," said Alton. For information on Restore Halton, contact Redwood at 905-845-7485 ext. 215 or stanley@kerrstreet.com. For more information on Kerr Street Mission, visit www. kerrstreet.net. Authentic Montessori at its Best - For Ages 18 mo.-12 yrs. · An empowering curriculum that engages children · Individual focus to learning your child's · Community atmosphere that makes students feel included and valued · Creative expression allows your child to explore their own interests and talents "Each space reflects the professionalism, pride and dedication of everyone in the school." -CCMA Accreditation Team AyA Kitchens of oAKville 1195 north service roAd west FAIRVIEW GLEN 905.634.0781 · fairviewglen.com 905.847.1522 ayaoakville.com MONTESSORI SCHOOL