Community Services Recovery Fund helps A Place Called Home plan for a bright new future
A Place Called Home (APCH) has been on a challenging pathway of unexpected growth and change ever since the organization was forced to uproot themselves from the very home that has served as the only emergency homeless shelter for the City of Kawartha Lakes and the County of Haliburton for over the past 25 years.
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the agency to make some seriously tough decisions when they were unable to meet the mandated COVID-19 restrictions. In March of 2020, staff and clients of A Place Called Home tentatively moved into the Knight’s Inn Motel to meet COVID-19 requirements to keep everyone safe. Shortly after moving into the hotel the board of A Place Called Home made the daunting decision to build a new shelter and embarked on the agency’s biggest fundraiser they had ever endeavoured in an attempt to raise 1.5 million dollars to build a new “purpose” built shelter. With support from the community, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and other government grants, A Place Called Home successfully raised the funds required to build the new shelter. In June of 2022, the shelter staff and clients moved into their brand new, efficient, and much larger shelter. Renovations to the old shelter buildings and to their newly acquired transitional house were completed, offering client’s leaving the shelter with new stable, and more affordable housing options.
With the organization securely housed and the addition of their new transitional and permanent housing units, the agency is looking towards building a positive and sustainable future to support those experiencing homelessness in the community. To accomplish this new vision, the agency will need to develop a new five-year strategic plan and applied to the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF) for funding in February 2023. The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support community service organizations, including charities, non-profits and Indigenous governing bodies, as they adapt and modernize their organizations. The Community Services Recovery Fund is being delivered through three National Funders – Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada. A Place Called Home is very pleased to announce that they have been funded $29, 450.00, an amount surprisingly higher than the agency was expecting, by the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund.
“The Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF) has given our agency an incredible opportunity to create a new strategic plan, built on valued feedback from our clients, our staff, our board, community partners and based on the needs of the homeless,” says Jen Lopinski, fund development coordinator at A Place Called Home. “We are so grateful to receive this greatly needed funding that will provide our organization with the essential tools to build a strong foundation for a successful future for our both the clients that we serve and our community. Thank you!”
“Community service organizations are at the heart of communities like Kawartha Lakes and the County of Haliburton, creating a sense of belonging from coast to coast to coast,” states Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. “The Community Services Recovery Fund will enable the organizations, like A Place Called Home, that serve our diverse communities to adapt and modernize their programs and services and to invest in the future of their organizations, staff, and volunteers. Together, we can rebuild from the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and build a more just and equitable future for those in Kawartha Lakes and the County of Haliburton.”
To learn more about the services A Place Called Home provides, please visit www.apch.ca
