United Way Ottawa invests $27M in local programs, services
Posted Apr 30, 2012 12:46:44 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In its its 78th Annual Community Investment announcement, the United Way Ottawa unveiled an investment of $27M to support local services, programs and initiatives as part of United Way Focus areas including “Growing Up Great,” “Belonging to Community,” and “Turning Lives Around.”
The funding comes from the 2012 United Way Campaign which raised $33.5 M from the community and goes directly to local programs.
One-hundred and five agencies submitted requests for funding for 193 programs, totaling $17.2 M, three times the amount available for these services.
With the help of volunteers who put in over 2,000 hours the list was narrowed down to 116 programs, including 25 new ones from 11 new agencies.
One of the new programs is the “Family Navigators” program run by the Parents’ Lifeline of Eastern Ontario (PLEO), which works to guide families of teenagers suffering from mental illness.
Phyllis Grant-Parker is from PLEO and told 1310News this service supports teens’ support systems.
“We know that youth, when they have good family support, have much better outcomes,” she said. “I think every family wants to provide that support but, if you don’t know how or you don’t know where to turn, it’s very difficult to do that.”
Grant-Parker made use of PLEO’s services when her son was dealing with a mental illness and she said their help was paramount and gave her the hope she needed to give her son hope.
The “Family Navigators” service is a help-line where parents, who’ve helped their own children, guide other parents through similar situations, pointing them to the right programs and resources.
Grant-Parker told 1310News the funding from the United Way will launch this program and bring it from a service that was only available sporadically to one that is formalized with set hours and a strategy for providing the help parents need.
Unfortunately as new agencies and programs were added, ties had to be severed with some long-term partnering agencies but the United Way set up a fund of $811,000 to help ease the transition. The fund gives agencies nine months of support and ensures 60 days’ notice if they’re no longer being funded by the United Way, allowing them both time and resources to find new sources of funding.
Community Services Chair Lawrence Greenspon told 1310News the funding is crucial.
“It’s a transition fund that was set up deliberately to enable these agencies to have sufficient time, more than sufficient time, to go and find other funding sources, to adjust their financial needs accordingly,” he said.
Greenspon said the need for community support is greater than ever and he anticipates the next United Way Campaign will see an even stronger push for your support.
For more details of the 2012-2013 Community Investment go to the United Way Ottawa website.
