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3 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,July 22,2021 insidehalton.com For a Free consultation call oakville: 905.842.2022 ToronTo: 416.644.3999 Denied Disabled Benefits? I canhelp. My teamof experienced lawyers can help youwith: •Disability Claims Short-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPP •Car accidents •Slip and Falls •Wrongful Dismissal Injured? I don't get paid unless I getYoumoneY. oFFiCeS in oakville and ToronTo eMail: sspadafora@slspc.ca Disability and EmploymEnt law Over 120,000 satisfied custOmers 9 Locations to serve you better Heating & Cooling www.aireonewest.ca Beat the Price increase & shortageBeat the Price increase & shortage OAKVILLE 905-849-4998 1-888-827-2665 Beat the Price increase & shortageBeat the Price increase & shortage $700 OFF HIGH EFFICIENCY CENTRAL AIR HIGH-EFFICIENCY CENTRAL AIR & FURNACE $29 /MONTH OAC* *Call for Details Starting From $2,299 10 Year Factory Warranty *Call for Details Starting From $4,999 10 Year Factory Warranty Central air diagnostiC speCial Central air tune-up speCial $59 /MONTH OAC* $4,999 * $2,299* $49* *Call for Details $79* *Call for Details When people think of poverty, they think of the need to provide the basics -- food and clothing. Those are undoubtedly necessary, says Michelle Knoll, the executive direc- tor of Oak Park Neighbour- hood Centre, but there are other ways to help that will provide longer-term bene- fits. "We know when we get someone's taxes caught up, they're suddenly eligible for the child tax credit (which can provide about $5,000 per year per child) or other government in- comes. They're eligible to apply for social housing and for utility discounts," she said. "It opens up an- other door of additional in- come." The financial literacy program is one of 266 fund- ed by the United Way of Halton & Hamilton (UWHH). Those programs helped more than 310,000 people. Brad Park, UWHH pres- ident and CEO, said donor support was never more necessary with resources stretched and the demand for services increased due to the pandemic. "In a difficult year, local heroes came together to help meet the demand for resources and services for our community's most vul- nerable," Park said. Rosemary Aswani, manager of front-line set- tlement services at the Im- migrant Working Centre, said the pandemic has cre- ated unique circumstanc- es. "When you arrive as a newcomer, you have no family, no friends, so you are isolated," she said. "In normal times you are able to access community sup- port -- Immigrant Working Centre, YMCA, Empower- ment Squared -- to help you navigate the services. During the pandemic, these were not an option." Many services that were previously delivered in person, had to move online. That meant many clients were being approached for the first time on the phone. Aswani said that made it difficult to build a relation- ship and establish trust. As a result, clients were not as forthcoming with the prob- lems they were facing. Through its Reaching In program, the Immigrant Working Centre was able to hire a social service worker that was able to go to cli- ents' homes, advocate for them and help access the services they needed. 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 program and went on to become a psychiatric nurse. "The government is too big to catch the gaps," Johnson said. "The United Way has the ability to dig a little deeper." Nancy Rumple, execu- tive director of Food for Thought, said addressing those gaps early can help avoid future problems. With one in seven Canadi- an households experienc- ing food insecurity every month, Food for Thought partners with 130 schools in the region to provide healthy food to students. During the pandemic, with schools closed or lim- iting visitors, Food for Thought had to completely change the way it delivered food to students. She said studies have shown the benefits of a healthy diet. "We see an increase in 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." SUPPORTING THOSE WHO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY 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. Graham Paine/Metroland HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com NEWS LOCAL UNITED WAY AIDED 266 PROGRAMS OVER PAST YEAR