Ontario Funds Over $5 Million In Program For People Experiencing Homelessness

The Ontario Government has invested $5,164,300 in Peterborugh for their new Homeless Prevention Program to help anyone experiencing or at-risk of homelessness announced on Tuesday.

Sheldon Laidman, City of Peterborough commissioner of community services (left); MPP Dave Smith (middle) and Coun. Keith Riel (right) outside Peterborough City Hall where the announcement was made. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

It launches on April 1 that combines the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative, Home for Good and the Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program.

Service managers will have more flexibility to target funding where it is needed and allow for greater financial accountability by measuring their progress in reducing and preventing homelessness according to MPP Dave Smith.

“Addressing homelessness is a complex issue and one key component is the personal relationship before social workers and outreach workers and their clients,” said MPP Dave Smith. “The new program is easier, streamlined and client-focused.”

The streamlined program plans to help anyone with resources find a place to live.

Access to the funding is based on a “by-name list” that meets provincial requirements while containing accessible information for anyone needing the program to be connected with local support.

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Ontario Invests $274,560 In Peterborough County Townships Through Municipal Modernization Program

The third intake of the Ontario Municipal Modernization Program will include the Townships of North Kawartha, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen and Trent Lakes.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The County of Peterborough, in partnership with its member municipalities, will receive investments for two projects.

The first project is a Joint Municipal Services Modernization Review. In partnership with the Townships of North Kawartha, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen and Trent Lakes, the County of Peterborough will purchase and implement new planning/land development cloud based software, which will enable planning customers to track their applications and status online and provide better levels of customer service.

This will enable the County to financially track work, make better data informed decisions and provide higher levels of customer response. It is estimated this will save the participating municipalities in excess of $500,000 in cost avoidance and cost reduction.

The second project is a Master Facilities Review. The County with participation from all 8 lower tier Townships will undergo a master facilities review. This review will look at each township’s current and future needs and locations and identify any opportunities for shared facilities/locations in the future. It is anticipated there will be cost savings identified and leveraged with this review.

The program’s third intake is providing over $28 million to help 322 small and rural municipalities find better and more efficient ways to deliver local services for residents and businesses.

“This investment will save the county and the lower-tier townships hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, with more areas to generate savings through a master facilities review,” MPP Dave Smith said. “The County of Peterborough, and the townships, will drive efficiencies and modernize the way local government operates in order to better serve ratepayers in our region,” MPP Dave Smith said.

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North Kawartha Receives $750,000 In Modernization Program For Efficiency Upgrades

North Kawartha received $747,975 for efficiency upgrades as part of their third and final intake of the Ontario Municipal Modernization Program announced Monday.

Carolyn Amyotte, North Kawartha mayor (pictured) was first elected to North Kawartha Council in 2003 and has served four consecutive terms as the Ward 2 Councillor. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Projects receiving the funding are for renovations to health care infrastructure, software upgrades, security installations, service delivery and organizational reviews. Small townships typically are not reviewed for technological upgrades according to MPP Dave Smith.

“Together, we have been able to identify and oversee more than 32 projects on behalf of the ratepayers of North Kawartha,” said MPP Dave Smith. “For a small community like North Kawartha, these projects worth over $747,000 mean real, tangible savings and better, more efficient services.”

With improved technological equipment, residents and anyone doing business in North Kawartha can save a trip of driving to the township by doing everything online such as paying property taxes according to Smith.

With modern upgrades for North Kawartha, the township will aid in providing better service to tourism which has taken a hit in past years due to COVID.

“That is the lifeblood of our community,” said Carolyn Amyotte, North Kawartha mayor. “We’re better able to serve the residents, we also serve visitors as well too. If we‘re modernizing things like our website, all of our online processes for people to come here, stay here and enjoy North Kawartha.”

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YWCA Announces the Hazel Education Bursary Call for Applications Opens on International Women’s Day

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Education Awards Committee has opened the applications for the 2022 Hazel Education Bursary, on Tuesday, International Women’s Day.

Photo courtesy of YWCA Peterborough Halliburton.

YWCA Hazel Education Bursary is intended to help women who have experienced gender-based violence reach their goals through education or training.

The Hazel Education Bursary was created by friends the friends and family of Hazel, a local woman who had a vision of helping women pursue their dreams and overcome barriers related to their experiences of violence and abuse.

“While battling the bout of cancer, she took us — my brother, sister, and I, from a life of domination and violence. We were faced with nothing, but what we were leaving behind posed such a threat that ‘nothing’ was better than how we had lived,” Hazel’s daughter noted on the YWCA website. “Alongside Mum, many have faced overwhelming battles and carried on. Rebuilding our lives through such hurdles as court, lawyers, house seeking, and remaining safe, she found ways to deal with her own pain on the side and showed us how to live this new life. These experiences she used later to give a chance to friends, colleagues and acquaintances.”

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Board of Directors, through the Education Awards Committee, and with the generosity of donors in our community, offers bursaries of $1,500 or $2,500 to women who: 

• have experienced barriers related to the impact of violence and abuse; 

• have a dream to strengthen their economic security;

• are a resident of Peterborough or Haliburton County;

• seek to further their formal or informal education, or develop skills.

Women from rural areas will be given special consideration for this award, as per Hazel’s request.

Application must be submitted by email to Yvonne Porter by May 8.

two references (non-family members preferred) must submit a completed 2022 Reference Form by email to Yvonne Porter by May 16.

Application forms can be found here.

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Ontario Government Invests Over $360,000 Into Mental Health and Addictions Pilot Project to Aid 320 People

The Ontario Government is funding $367,480 to non-profit organization Right to Heal for mental health and addictions services for 320 people announced at the Peterborough County-City Paramedics on Friday.

Peggy Shaughnessy, Founder and President of Whitepath Consulting (pictured) has had her organization in operation since 2005. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The project, “Moving Beyond Addiction” will service over a 16-month period will use the Redpath program via Whitepath Consulting to treat addictions by using psychology-based methods to identify the reasons behind substance abuse and developing the social, emotional and practical skills to move beyond addiction and fully reintegrate back into society.

“Individuals with addictions more often than not develop addictions by using substances to either feel something or numb something. The root cause is almost always trauma; whether it’s from abuse, mental health challenges or pain,” said MPP Dave Smith. “If we are truly going to address the mental health and addictions crisis, a wide variety of treatments options need to exist locally.”

The program will work under a referral process administered by the Elizabeth Fry Society, enabling the funding for the pilot to flow fully to program services.

Clients referred to the program will typically be homeless, at-risk of homelessness, living with mental health/addictions issues and trauma, or disconnected from appropriate services.

Peterborough Police, Peterborough County-City Paramedics and Peterborough Regional Health Centre can refer clients who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing opioid overdoses.

Health and social services can refer clients from places such as the Consumption and Treatment Services/Opioid Response Hub, Brock Mission, Cameron House, and One Roof Community Centre. The program accepts family and self-referrals.

“With the recent announcement regarding the Consumption and Treatment Services funding, this funding will help expand addiction treatment services in our area and allow funding for the Redpath program that has shown great success in other areas,” said Peggy Shaughnessy, Founder and President of Whitepath Consulting.

Once referred, clients will undergo a rigorous and evidence-based assessment to determine the correct treatment for their unique needs.

The assessment will consider multiple variables to determine their needs including backgrounds of trauma, abuse, domestic violence, housing status, financial situation, and level of substance abuse.

After the assessment, they will enter into one-on-one counselling and/or the Redpath Intervention Program. It consists of 21 counselling and training sessions in three-hour spans in both community and institutional settings.

Sessions focus on identifying trauma and the cause, understanding why a client uses substances, the development of coping mechanisms and practical, emotional and social skills.

Clients will enter an After Care Program, requiring two hours on a weekly basis for group training sessions focusing on personal development and fully reintegrating back into society.

“We have had the opportunity to connect clients to the program and are witnessing firsthand the impact Redpath has. We at Elizabeth Fry can see this program coming alive through our referrals from various connections within the health care and criminal justice sectors,” said Debbie Carriere, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough. “As someone who has completed this program myself, I can truly speak to the excellent opportunity this is bringing to our community for healing.”

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Virtual Reality Simulating Life With Disabilities Gets Funded For Local Council; New Convention For Disability Awareness Announced

The Council for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) received funding of $26,340 towards developing a virtual reality program to be showcased at a new convention called Capable Con announced Friday.

(left to right) Andrea Dodsworth, CPD chair; MPP Dave Smith; Leslie Yee; Akira, Yee’s guide dog; CPD Vice-chair and Minister Raymond Cho dressed in capes to highlight the heroes involved with CPD. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The Enabling Change Grant went towards the CPD’s Time in My Shoes program and was administered by Minister Raymond Cho who attended the event with local councillors and government officials.

The virtual reality programs simulate daily tasks while living with a disability so anyone can experience the daily challenges of having an impairment. Disabilities included mobility challenges, invisible disabilities vision and hearing loss.

"Whether it's an aging disability like hearing loss or sight loss or it's something that you're born with, everyone is going to have a disability," said Leslie Yee, CPD Vice-chair. “It's just important to understand what the barriers are and how easily the barriers can be taken away just to make life simpler."

“We're always looking to promote universal design and give people the opportunity to see what it's like so that everyone has a better understanding," said Jason King, CPD Programming and Marketing Assistant. "The physical program and the new virtual reality program, it's a great tool to help individuals get that first-hand experience that they normally wouldn't have."

@ptbo_canada Funding for VR software development of what it’s like to be disabled is being made for the first annual Capable Con for June 4! #disabilityawareness ♬ My Hero - Foo Fighters

Spreading awareness was one of CPD’s goals in developing the virtual reality software.

“All we're trying to do is create more empathy towards the reasons why we're asking for certain things," said Lee. "Making things more accessible, a lot of that is mobility accessibility which is totally great, that's what we need but it's trying to bring that awareness to everybody."

Minister Raymond Cho attempted to navigate with a wheelchair through a city in the virtual reality simulation. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Navigating in a wheelchair was the first simulation available as a demo where Cho was the first to test it.

The funding will aid in the development, equipment and staff wages to have the simulation program fully operable.

The finished product will be showcased at the first-ever “Capable Con” to teach anyone about disabilities, open a conversation and foster a community with those living with disabilities.

Family-friendly activities, entertainment and meeting community members will be focal points of the convention that will take place on June 4, the final day of AccessAbility Week.

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Consumption and Treatment Services Hub Receives $1.3 Million in Government Funding

The Ontario Government has provided funding of $1,357,000 towards consumption and treatment services in the City of Peterborough announced on Friday.

Dr. Thomas Piggot, Medical Officer of Health and CEO of Peterborough Public Health addressing the media at Showplace Performance Centre for the announcement. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The funding will operate in the opioid response hub Fourcast, located at 220 Simcoe Street. The services will provide harm reduction, primary medical services, pathways to mental health and addictions counselling, and pathways to mobile detox services.

“The creation of the Opioid Response Hub, mobile mental health and addictions clinics, expanded withdrawal management and outreach services and, now, Consumption and Treatment Services will save lives,” said MPP Dave Smith. “There is no silver bullet though; we need more treatment services for our community. There is much more work to do. Today we take one more small step forward but our work is not done.”

Community partners include the Peterborough County-City Paramedics, PARN, Fourcast, the 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, and the Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT).

“I believe that research has shown that consumption and treatment sites can be a safe and acceptable environment for people struggling with substance use, while also providing access to education, treatment and resources that help to reduce harm, reduce suffering and save lives,” said Randy Mellow, Chief of the Peterborough CountyCity Paramedics.

The Consumption and Treatment Services will offer pathways to off-site services including opiate replacement therapy; the Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic (RAAM); withdrawal management (detox) and community treatment services.

"The overdose crisis is an important priority in our region and the provincial funding for this Peterborough Consumption and Treatment Site led by Fourcast and supported by the Peterborough Drug Strategy partners is a critical step to support people who use drugs in our community,” Dr Thomas Piggott, Medical Officer of Health and CEO, Peterborough Public Health. “This service is a key harm reduction service and will save lives."

Treatment Services were bolstered by $500,000 in permanent, annualized funding for Fourcast mobile withdrawal management services. The mobile withdrawal management services program funds a nurse practitioner and several specialized addictions and outreach workers to deliver primary medical care, community outreach and withdrawal management to more individuals struggling with addiction.

The Canadian Mental Health Association – Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge also received $1,000,000 in annualized funding to staff and operate two custom-built buses. These will serve as mobile mental health and addictions clinics. These mobile clinics will travel throughout the County of Peterborough with teams of nurse practitioners, mental health and addictions counsellors and social workers to treat those struggling with mental health and addictions.

“This funding represents a key development in providing vital harm reduction services that our community clearly requires,” says Donna Rogers, Fourcast Executive Director. “With it, we’ll now be able to add another level of support to those affected by the opioid crisis.”

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$1.5 Million Funding Boost For University-Led Consortium To Address Ontario’s Ongoing Demand for Registered Nurses

A $1.5 million funding boost from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, will support the University-led Ontario Internationally Educated Nurses Course Consortium (OIENCC) in updating its successful competency-bridging program of study for internationally educated nurses to help address the Province’s demand for registered nurses.

Stock photo.

Trent University is a key partner with OIENCC, which aims to support internationally educated nurses (IENs) in their journey to become registered nurses in Ontario. The Consortium consists of partners and expertise from Trent University, the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University, the Health Leadership and Learning Network at York University, and Continuing Education at the University of Windsor.

“The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing participated in the creation of this Consortium in 2014, to address the need for a pathway for internationally educated nurses to utilize the credentials and experience earned in other countries, and support these nurses to become registered in order to practice their professions in Ontario,” said Dr. Kirsten Woodend, associate professor in the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing. “This collaboration and the additional funding will allow us to play a key role in addressing the demand for nurses across the province.”

A statement from the consortium Program Management Working Group explains “COVID-19 has compounded the challenges IENs face in becoming Registered Nurses in Ontario. It has also increased the demand for IENs to work in our healthcare system to meet the diverse needs of our population. This funding for a flexible program is a timely response by the Government as the need to address these challenges becomes more pressing.”

IENs are essential to create a diverse workforce responsive to the expanding healthcare needs of Canada’s multicultural population. The competency-bridging program of study, supported by Careerspace at Trent University, is designed to help IENs meet the College of Nurses of Ontario's nursing education requirement, the College of Nurses of Ontario's evidence of recent practice requirement, and become eligible to write the National Council Licensing Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The components of the program of study will include: an orientation to the program of study; two English language, communication, and culture of nursing in Canada courses; seven competency-based courses; three simulation lab courses; two clinical placement courses; and a transition to professional practice course that includes employment supports.

“The Ontario Internationally Educated Nurses Course Consortium is thrilled to continue to support IENs through a flexible program that helps them transition to practice in Ontario. IENs provide valuable skills and expertise for Ontarian’s healthcare,” said Ayesha Bhatti, program manager of the OIENCC.

For more information about the competency-bridging program of study visit rncompetencies.ca. Applications will be accepted through the website until April 3, 2022.

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Over $200,000 in Funding Goes to YWCA Peterborough-Haliburton and Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton and the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre will receive a combined total of over $200,000 in funding from the Ontario Government announced on Thursday.

Kim Dolan (pictured) YWCA Peterborough Haliburton executive director has held her position since Feb. 2020, one month before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Screenshot.

Tee YWCA is receiving $142,949 to support the Haliburton Emergency SafeSpace (HERS) program along with an additional $8,272 for training initiatives.

The Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre will be given $55,088 to deliver crucial services and supports to survivors of human trafficking and women who experienced violence.

“The YWCA Peterborough Haliburton and Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre provide services to the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. “This funding will help ensure they can continue to deliver supports and operate local shelters during the pandemic, especially for those who are in rural and remote areas and face transportation barriers.”

The additional investment will provide agencies with more resources, strengthen culturally responsive supports for Indigenous women and reduce geographic and transportation barriers which will significantly improve access to quality care and services to victims in rural and remote communities.

Kim Dolan, YWCA Peterborough Haliburton executive director believes the pandemic has played a huge role in the growing need for women’s services in the past few years.

“I think that the uncertainty that people have been living with, are they going to be able to keep their jobs, it’s exacerbating in rural and geographical services and connecting with the community is minimized,” she said. “So all of the factors have magnified the reality of gender-based violence.”

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Peterborough Animal Care Centre Recieves $260,000 Grant From PetSmart Charities of Canada

The Peterborough Humane Society (PHS) and the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Humane Society received a $260,000 grant for the Peterborough Animal Care Centre on Thursday.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

PetSmart Charities of Canada donated the grant. The 24,000 sq. ft. Peterborough Animal Care Centre will be home to the Peterborough Humane Society’s Adoption & Education Centre and Regional Spay and Neuter Clinic as well as the Ontario SPCA Provincial Dog Rehabilitation Centre.

Construction is well underway and slated to be completed at the end of 2022. Fundraising is ongoing and PetSmart Charites of Canada’s support moves both PHS and the Ontario SPCA even closer to their goal.

PHS will use grant funds to purchase medical equipment required for the regional high-volume spay/neuter clinic within the new centre. The Spay/Neuter Clinic (which will serve the public as well as other animal rescue organizations) will provide up to 25 surgeries a day, helping 5,000 pets and their families each year according to the PHS.

"PetSmart Charities of Canada has been a phenomenal partner on this journey to the new centre,” shares Shawn Morey, PHS executive director. “Their support brings us that much closer to being able to raise the bar in animal care in our community and beyond.”

$75,000 of the grant will go towards the Ontario SPCA Provincial Dog Rehabilitation Centre. The Dog Rehabilitation Centre will be custom-built to help dogs who need more support and individualized care than an animal centre can provide. It will contain several unique features, including a real family living room to help dogs practice living in a home environment.

“We are grateful to receive this grant from PetSmart Charities of Canada to help bring the Provincial Dog Rehabilitation Centre to reality,” says Dr. Stephanie Black, Ontario SPCA and Humane Society chief veterinary officer. “Once complete, this centre will fill a critical and significant gap in current services by addressing the individualized needs of dogs most difficult to adopt.”

PetSmart Charities of Canada has cumulatively contributed over $421,000 towards the innovative new animal care facility located at 1999 Technology Dr. in Peterborough.

“We recognize the need for accessible health and wellness services for pets, which is why we are excited that the new Animal Care Centre will help bring those services to the Peterborough community,” says Dani LaGiglia, PetSmart Charities of Canada senior community grants manager. “Not only will the centre help more pets find homes, but it will help more pets receive the care they need to support their health and well-being.”

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