www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 21, 2006 - 9 KSM marks 10 years, funded by World Vision to end child poverty By Wilma Blokhuis OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF World Vision Canada (WVC) is investing in Kerr Street Ministries (KSM). WVC, Canada's largest private relief and development agency known for its Third World relief efforts, child adoptions and potable water projects, is funding the new End of the Rainbow Ending Child Poverty project at KSM. WVC currently has 350,000 sponsored children worldwide and launches more than 60 initiatives in response to global emergencies and operates more than 300 long-term development projects. WVC has also been addressing domestic child poverty the urban poor, aboriginal children and new Canadians since 1979. The agency has received a three-year grant of $243,000, effective Oct. 1, to cover salaries and program costs at a cost of $81,000 annually. The funding comes at KSM's 10th anniversary. KSM, a project launched by Chartwell Baptist Church in response to a single mother's plea about what is the church doing for the poor, started as a food co-op and summer day camp. Over the years it has grown into a multi-faceted agency serving disadvantaged children, street kids, youth and adults, single parents, the working poor and the unemployed through drop-ins, counseling, free groceries, hygiene and household products to anyone in need, computer training, internet café and homework help to name just a few of its services. Both the funding announcement and anniversary celebration were held at The Meeting House. KSM is one of 25 agencies participating in the End of the Rainbow Ending Child Poverty across Canada. WVC hopes to increase that number to 100 in three years. The project aims to link adult mentors with at-risk youth living in the eight square kilometre Kerr Street area bordered by Dorval Drive, the railway tracks south of the QEW, Rebecca Street and Sixteen Mile Creek. KSM proposes to launch this project, under the direction of Madeleine Buhlau, by targeting 10 junior high school students at W. H. Morden, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Schools plus their parents and following them through their high school years. Each subsequent year, another 10 students will be added to the program. "We propose to provide effec- Madeleine Buhlau tive, comprehensive, proactive care and support for youth and their families," said Buhlau at the program's recent launch at The Meeting House, "(by) addressing social, vocational, physical, interpersonal and academic competence." Mentors will work one-onone with the youth on a weekly basis and provide guidance in specific identified areas of need. In addition, one or both parents will also be offered a mentor and their needs such as food, shelter and clothing plus mental and emotional needs will be addressed. The goal is to encourage the youth to seek post-secondary education, become productive individuals and break the cycle of generational poverty. Families will be asked to commit a minimum of four years to the program. Tutoring and academic support will be provided to the youth. Encouragement will be provided for good personal hygiene, fitness, nutrition, grocery shopping and food preparation. "Many kids at Kerr Street don't have opportunities to participate in sports, leadership and general interest programs-- for example, photography and auto mechanics," said Buhlau. " Many of these kids don't have access to cars or cameras." The goal of End the Rainbow Ending Child Poverty is to bridge the gaps, promote leadership among disadvantaged youth and encourage the youth to give back to their community through volunteer work "where they can see the end result. It's really important to establish opportunities for youth to give back and see the impact of their work," said Buhlau. "We have to look at how we utilize youth in more positive ways (then) stapling papers and stuffing envelopes." The program also aims to connect disadvantaged youth with the privileged in the community. "There's a real stereotype in Oakville and we need to get these kids together to break down this stereotype and build relationships." This would not only bridge the gap between rich and poor, but also across cultural boundaries. "KSM is unique in its multiculturalism," said Buhlau. "There are over 29 different nationalities, we are the only organization in our category in Halton Region which serves such a wide variety of ethnic groups. We have one of the highest concentrations of lowincome, single parent and immigrant families in Oakville. Our facilities are located in an area where 28-50 per cent are children and youth with one of the highest concentrations of ages 0-24 in Oakville (and) 82 per cent of the lone parent families are female. The majority of the population lives well below the poverty line. It is one of the few areas in Oakville that still has affordable housing." KSM celebrated its 10th anniversary in grand style Monday at The Meeting House with a fundraiser that included the live auction of 11 hand made Mennonite quilts, two of them crafted by Oakvillians, Betty Isaak and Vera Sinclair. "We're halfway there at $1.2 million," said Ron Shantz, KSM's founding executive director. The agency has outgrown its present site at Prince Charles Place, a 52-unit apartment building that has some subsidized units. "At St. Charles Place, we kept backing up our walls further and further into the underground parking space until we ran out of space," he said. "Fortunately, the space wasn't needed for parking." Shantz noted KSM's success in fighting crime on Kerr Street. "Kerr Street used to have the highest crime rate in Halton Region," said Shantz, "but sometime around 1999 and 2000 we turned the corner and now we have the lowest crime rate in the entire region. "KSM has transformed the community when people came together in much the same way Richard Messer worked tirelessly to bring people together to have a BIA for Kerr Street," Shantz said. Guest speaker at the celebration was Dr. Ron Sider, a noted Christian activist, social justice advocate and author of more Dr. Ron Sider than 20 books including the Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? Sider likened KSM to Lawndale Community Church, founded by Wayne Gordon to serve the poor and disadvantaged in Chicago's west side. He is also one of the founders of the Lawndale Christian Health Center, a multidisciplinary healthcare ministry that sees more than 100,000 patients per year, and the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, an arm of Lawndale Community Church that facilitates economic development, education and housing. It has seven different housing ministries and more than 200 units of abandoned housing have been rehabilitated. Gordon's church also has a legal clinic and mental health clinic. "You have to love the whole person," said Sider. "You cannot fix problems with a conservative political agenda that sees problems as a result of bad choices and unfair structures. You need good people and good social activism to change structures" Proceeds from the $75 a ticket event went towards building KSM's Dream Centre, a $2.4 million, 18,000 sq. ft. facility that will allow the agency to expand. The event was so success that Shantz announced fundraisers will be held annually. 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