WELLINGTON COUNTY – Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield, announced federal funding for 38 local organizations on Dec. 1.
Announced on behalf of families, children and social development minister Jenna Sudds, the Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF) grants totalled over $2 million.
Among the agencies to receive funding in the Wellington County area are:
- Hospice Wellington;
- Community Living Guelph Wellington (CLGW);
- Compass Community Services;
- Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington;
- Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW);
- Guelph Wellington Seniors Association; and
- Guelph Wellington Women in Crisis.
CMHA WW
Since starting its Here 24/7 program nearly a decade ago, CMHA WW has evolved its programs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and there has been a need to look at expanding access to services beyond telephone and walk-ins.
“We’re wanting to look at other ways to have people reach us, and through a lens of equity, diversity and inclusion,” said CMHA WW director of services Jeff Stanlick.
The organization received $150,000 in CSRF funding and plans to put it towards modernizing the Here 24/7 program, and making it more responsive and available to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
The organization also helped launch 988, a new suicide prevention line, on Nov. 30.
“Anybody, anywhere can call for immediate support, 24/7 across Canada,” said Stanlick.
“We’re seeing an increase in people’s complexity when it comes to mental health and addictions.
“The needs, they continue to grow. And we want to be able to meet those needs in the community, and even the technology and the way in which people reach out and access services has evolved so much.”
Compass
Compass Community Services is receiving $100,000 in CSRF funding.
At the end of its last fiscal year, Compass received a six per cent increase in all combined ministry funding in the past decade.
That works out to 0.6% per year, according to executive director of the organization Joanne Young Evans.
She said Compass applied for the funding “with fingers crossed” because it needs to modernize operations with clients for service management, data and program delivery.
Much like Community Living Guelph Wellington, which had to shut down programs due to lack of funds, Evans told the Advertiser Compass is having the same problem.
“The families don’t get it; people are upset [and] we’re upset because it affects our clients,” she said.
“But I understand CLGW’s problem because we have exactly the same problem. And it’s not unique to CLGW, it is not unique to us.
“It’s a problem of all developmental service agencies across this province.”
(The Advertiser did not hear back from CLGW officials by deadline.)
“There was a lot of hooting and hollering when we received [the funding] because what it allows us to do is become much more efficient, it helps with our sustainability and our accessibility,” Evans explained.
“This $100,000 has gone totally to frontline infrastructure. And that’s just money we could get nowhere else. Nowhere else.
“And this just makes us faster, better, smarter and much more accessible.”
Application process
The application process for funding was managed by three national organizations: the Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada.
The CSRF was first announced in 2021 as a one-time, $400 million program to help community service organizations adapt, modernize and build internal organizational capacity after the COVID-19 pandemic.
It includes two funding streams: one for local or regional community service organizations serving a portion of a province or territory and another for organizations serving the entire country, province or territory, or multiple of them.
For more information, including a list of funded projects, visit communityservicesrecoveryfund.ca.
