In the News
August 23, 2012 –
Inside View of United Way’s Work
Seeing is believing, and the KFL&A United Way knows it.
That’s why they took donors on a tour across the city Wednesday to get a glimpse of the inner workings of their partner agencies.
A total of 30 people piled onto a Kingston Transit bus at the Memorial Centre for the “Seeing is Believing” tour. The bus made five stops along the way, with each agency showing guests its facilities and giving information on its services.
Most of those in attendance were from government agencies and private companies that run their own United Way campaigns.
“A lot of these folks are people who are from workplaces. So it certainly gives them the information to be able to go back and answer questions that people have about where their money is going,” said Kim Hockey, director of community investment at KFL&A United Way.
The local United Way typically holds several of these tours a year. Those who attend, she said, are often amazed at what they see.
“People aren’t necessarily aware of all the things that affect a person’s life. This just sheds some light on some of the struggles people can encounter,”she said.
Jessica Park, from the Ministry of Government Services, will be helping to run a large United Way campaign at her office this year.
Before the tour, she wasn’t aware of the extent of programs available to people in the Kingston area.
“Here there’s a local impact,” she said. “It’s really important that we go out and see in the community what our money is going towards and have a personal connection to it.”
Canadian Hearing Society
First stop on the tour was the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS), whose offices are located in the Frontenac Mall. The CHS offers sign language interpreters, courses on sign language, communication devices and counselling for those with hearing loss.
The office itself caters to those who are deaf or hearing impaired. It was designed to be as open as possible in order to create maximum sightlines, and the televisions on the wall have on-screen interpreters.
Hearing care counsellor Kim Hennessy conducted what is called an “unfair hearing test,” which gave visitors an idea of what it’s like to be hard of hearing.
One part of the test had participants try to decipher a word after listening to it as it would be heard from a hearing aid.
“Unlike glasses that can correct your vision, hearing aids can’t completely correct hearing loss,” Hennessy noted.
And she was right. Many people in the group were unable to decipher words on the hearing aid setting, with some getting as low as four out of 10 correct.
Lunch by George
The bus traveled back downtown to visit Lunch by George at St. George’s Hall on Wellington Street.
The program offers free coffee, pastries, soup and hot meals to visitors five days a week. In 2011, they served 11,500 meals in total. This year, they expect to exceed that number.
“We have a lot of people with one part-time job and no benefits. Sometimes two part-time jobs. But it doesn’t cover their needs,” said program co-chair Peter Gower.
Wednesday morning there were about 30 visitors in the hall enjoying soup. Some were having lively group discussions while others ate alone.
But lunch isn’t the only thing offered by the program.
Paintings on the walls of the hall are the product of the art class that Lunch by George runs every Friday morning. Clothing items hanging on racks at the edge of the hall are offered free of charge to those in need.
According to Gower, the program relies on sharing with other local groups who have a similar mandate.
“Sometimes it’s practical ideas, and sometimes it’s soup,” he said.
Kingston Youth Shelter
Just up the road on Brock Street is the Kingston Youth Shelter, which was the next stop on the tour.
Senior counsellor Denise Lamb spoke to the group. The shelter is a good alternative to regular adult shelters, which are often bogged down by visitors, she said.
This is the only youth shelter in the city, and it can house up to 15 people at once.
The group toured the house, which is divided into separate living areas for boys and girls. Bedrooms are equipped with bunk beds and not much else.
To be a part of the shelter, youth must abide by tight rules.
Curfew is midnight, and those who stay overnight must be out of the house during the day. In the evenings, youth must perform at least one chore and help to make meals.
Even though stays at the shelter usually aren’t long-term, a sense of community develops, said Lamb.
“The conversations (that take place here) are like group therapy. It’s amazing,” she said.
Boys and Girls Club and Youth Diversions
Both these organizations are housed at Robert Meek Community Youth Centre on Bagot Street.
The United Way group was taken on a tour by Boys and Girls Club pperations manager Tony Gargaro. For the summer, the building is being used for the organization’s summer camps.
During the tour, the kids at drama camp were painting a backdrop for their upcoming play and those at sports camp were busy in the gym.
The second floor of the building houses Youth Diversion, an organization that offers support to struggling youth.
Over the years, Youth Diversion has gone from taking a reactive approach to a preventative one. Now, less and less of their youth have been involved in the criminal justice system.
The large building housing both these groups was a public school up until the 1990s.
Acquiring the use of its space in 1999 was a turning point for the Boys and Girls Club, Gargaro said.
“This gave us an identity in the community. It gave us a home.”
Major renovations are now happening in the centre’s basement. A new high-tech lab is being built, bathrooms will be redone and an elevator will be added, creating more space for the youth.
Source: Alison Shouldice / The Kingston Whig-Standard
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