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Letter: A Call for Compassion and Kindness

As many in our community gather this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family, and give thanks, I’d ask that you also take time to reflect – with empathy and compassion – on the reality some community members are facing and the challenges they encounter daily.

Our community is still very much recovering from the incident that occurred at the Integrated Care Hub a month ago. In the wake of the tragic murders that occurred, we continue to send our thoughts and condolences to everyone involved including the first responders and frontline workers affected by the incident. In the wake of this incident, I and the United Way KFL&A network ask that community members continue to show compassion, patience, kindness and understanding for individuals in our community displaced by the Hub and its services.

The reality is that many individuals in our community continue to experience homelessness, many are also struggling with mental health issues and addictions. Frontline agencies continue to reach out and support these individuals, but these issues are challenging and complex and require more than just one service or program to address them.

The Integrated Care Hub plays a key role in bringing services together and helping support individuals in our community. As administrators work to figure out the next steps for the Hub and the services provided, United Way continues to work closely with agencies and staff to provide support in any way we can, facilitating conversations and working together with all sectors to find innovative ways to meet needs now and in the future.

For community members, there are ways to help. Resources can be accessed on the Path Home Kingston website and answers to questions about how to support individuals and who to call can be found there too. You can also continue advocating for these services and supporting agencies and United Way with donations of goods or financial contributions if you can.

Our community is compassionate and kind and I hope we can all remember that when we encounter individuals in vulnerable situations and instead of judging or looking the other way, ask what we can do to help. We need to support each other and together, we can move forward and make our community stronger.

It is important to remember that you can’t see what someone’s overcome at a glance. All community members have worth, no matter where they are on their path. Together we can work to ensure everyone can reach their full potential and live with hope, dignity, and a sense of belonging.

John DiPaolo

President and CEO, United Way Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington

United Way KFL&A announces highest ever Campaign Goal

United Way Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington will aim to raise $3,950,000 during its annual fall fundraising campaign. This goal represents the highest campaign goal in the history of our community.

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211 is Canada’s primary source of information for government and community-based health and social services. The free and confidential service can be accessed 24 hours a day, in more than 150 languages, by phone, chat, text, and web. 211 helps connect people to the right information and services, making their pathway to care and resources a guided and trusted one.

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United Way of KFL&A would like to acknowledge this traditional territory’s longer existence and its significance for the Indigenous people who lived and continue to live on Turtle Island.

We are situated on traditional Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat land. There are Métis and other non-status First People from many Indigenous Nations present in our community today. This acknowledgement symbolizes the United Way KFL&A’s first step, of many, along this path toward Indigenous reconciliation, in a respectful manner.

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