Where can all the street
people go?
I read in a financial magazine that 95 per cent of Canadians
live within 30 days of bankruptcy.
It's stimulating to imagine what happens when your ability to earn screams
to a stop, you don't have a partner, you have a couple of kids. How
long could you last?
Louise Stinson says it's a good way to step into the shoes of many,
many clients who use the David Busby Street Centre daily. While it's
easy to "cast judgment" on people, it takes a lot more courage
to look at yourself and at where you (or I) would be if disaster struck.
If your starting gate is already back of most people, your ability to
recover is really compromised.
These are the people who fuel the work of Louise Stinson, counsellors,
medical people, board of directors, kindly business owners who donate
food and services, people who make up the community that is bursting
at the seams of 2,000 square feet at Trinity Anglican Church on Collier
Street.
The Centre, which opened in 1993 in the church hall, with the encouragement
of David Busby (rector of Trinity at the time), has to move. So do the
weekly AA meetings, flu shots, counselling sessions, showers, food,
beverages, resume help, housing help, someone to negotiate a room rate
or speak with a landlord.
In 2008, the Centre will see 34,000 visits. That means about 2,000 people
a year. Some people come every day. Some are transient. Some have mental
health challenges and soak up the care and the environment that makes
them welcome. Some have physical disabilities. Some are on disability
pensions.
Some are families.
Of those 2,000 people, about 40 per cent are regular 'members' at the
Centre. There is a small army of support in Barrie for people in need
... food banks, Sally Ann, David Busby Centre, E Fry, Youth Haven, Barrie
Community Health ... all of these are centred in the downtown core.
That's really the location where people without transportation and resources
need to be.
"We need 4,500 to 5,000 square feet of space, primarily on one
floor. We need to keep our services and by September 2008 (four months)
we need to be in a new location," says Louise.
The Centre's board of directors is looking; so are community supporters;
it's a tremendous challenge to find the right place with the right neighbours
who understand the work being done at the centre, within walking distance
to downtown services.
To that end, the board is holding its own Gala, on Friday, May 9. Georgian
College dining room will be aglitter with fine food and silent auction
items.
With tickets at $100 each, people can expect a $65 tax donation. This
is the first time the Busby Centre has tackled this kind of fundraiser
... its annual operating budget of $100,000 comes from donations, United
Way, County of Simcoe, Faithworks.
The community is leaping up to the plate, with corporate sponsors Kwik
Kopy, Galbraith Family Law Office, Jones Consulting Group, Boilermakers'
Union Local 128, Paul Wessenger Law Office, Tom Bolland Public Accountant,
Black & MacDonald, Mr. Rooter Plumbing.
Clearly the best part of the evening will be hearing from Rubin Carter
whose tumultuous life was played out by Denzel Washington in the movie,
The Hurricane.
For sports fans, lovers of life, those in the field of helping, those
with an eye on our whole community, this represents a real effort to
help.
Want a ticket? Call the Busby Centre at 739-6919. Or check in with one
of the Board of Directors: Don McNeil (B101), Anne Black (Simcoe County
Board of Education), Norah Busby, Linda Gibson (Autism Services), Rick
Jones (Jones Consulting Group), Eric Kennedy (Staff Sergeant, downtown
community patrol), Alys Murphy (counsellor) Bethany Obermayer (Trinity
Church), Paula Terry-Lancaster (Write First Time), Paul Wessenger (lawyer),
Lori Bedford (County of Simcoe).
These are the people who are mobilizing to find a new place for a critical
service.
Thanks, to the whole Busby team!
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