Tag: David S. Howes

Being close to an international border comes with serious challenges. For Niagara, its proximity to the U.S. border makes it an epicentre for human trafficking, with Niagara ranking among the top five Canadian communities for the crime. Furthermore, 75-80 per cent of human trafficking victims come through the Golden Horseshoe. 

It’s a harrowing infamy underscoring the need for support locally for those escaping such a life. Enter Safer House, a residential program run by the YWCA of Niagara for women and gender-diverse individuals bravely embarking on a life free from the harm inflicted by their traffickers.

With the help of a $100,000 grant from the David S. Howes Fund, the YWCA hired a support worker to help those living at Safer House to access community resources, attend appointments, and tap into other supports to start moving forward with their lives.

“Sometimes women who are coming into the program don’t feel safe going into the community so having a staff member with them helps them feel safe,” said Elisabeth Zimmerman, YWCA executive director. “These are people who have experienced a great deal of trauma and are trying to rebuild their lives.”

Safer House residents can stay as long as they need. In addition to connecting with community resources, some reconnect with their families after being socially isolated and controlled by their traffickers. Others learn how to live independently or move on to other programs depending on their needs. 

“It was a critical grant for us in terms of having a well-rounded program and we’ve made it very clear the importance of the role for the success of our participants,” Zimmerman said. “We have a very strong success rate.”

Additionally, the YWCA received $36,000 from the Howes Fund to purchase furniture and appliances for the common room and offices at its new location on Oakdale Avenue in St. Catharines. Now the organization can use the space to its full potential, including hosting workshops, staff meetings, celebrations, and food preparation for its shelters.

Niagara Health’s St. Catharines Site has never had an outbreak of any airborne illness.

The hospital, which opened in 2013, was designed and built after the 2003 SARS pandemic, so attention was given to managing airflow and ensuring the same air, breathed by someone with a severe contagious illness, wasn’t circulated throughout the rest of the building.

Two portable air scrubbers, purchased by the Niagara Health Foundation with a grant of more than $37,400 from the David S. Howes Fund, helped ensure the hospital’s track record during the COVID-19 pandemic. The units, each the size of a foot stool, could be moved from room to room, even hospital to hospital within the Niagara Health system, to help patients and staff breathe easier by living up to their name. 

They cleared the air of the potentially deadly COVID-19 virus from rooms where an infected person recovered in isolation from surgery or dealt with another medical issue. And they came in particularly handy during the worst of the Omicron variant when infections skyrocketed.

“It’s good for the patient and good for staff, and really good for the other patients because you’re protecting them from airborne viruses,” said Pamela Shanks, Niagara Health Foundation vice-president of development.

The scrubbers were among a list of equipment the health system needed, including additional beds and ventilators, during the height of the pandemic. Once the pandemic is history, however, they will continue to be used to keep people safe and healthy while in hospital, including against flu strains.

“The Niagara Community Foundation grant was a huge benefit,” Shanks said. “(The scrubbers) were critical to the fight against COVID-19. We’re still using them and we’ll use them going forward.”

A plan to make face-to-face emergency counsellors available to more Niagara teens paid off early when the pandemic hit. Pathstone Mental Health, which serves Niagara children and youth up to age 18, wanted to make its nine walk-in clinics, supporting youth in crisis, even more effective by adding more hours and allowing video appointments.

A $75,000 grant from the David S. Howes Fund allowed Pathstone to buy laptop computers and docking stations for staff and to extend its hours, said Kim Rossi, Pathstone’s director of philanthropy and public relations, as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to break down barriers to care. The tools are a life-saver, Rossi said, and that was true even before the pandemic hit – especially for youth who live outside urban centres.

“Access to travel was an issue. You can’t hold off on a mental health issue until you can get to a clinic,” Rossi said. With video counselling, “you can have instant face-to-face contact with a counsellor.” In the eight months from January to August 2020, Pathstone took close to 70 calls from children and youth experiencing suicidal thoughts, but Niagara Regional Police report there was not a single death by suicide of children under 18 during that time.

Counsellors for kids in crisis are available at the walk-in clinics, or by phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Referrals or appointments aren’t needed. But the added ability to do video counselling means children who are referred to short-term counselling (six sessions or less) will be able to continue treatment, despite distance, bad weather, transportation problems, or a pandemic lockdown. There’s no loss of care or pressure on waiting lists from missed appointments.

“This grant allowed us to answer a call right now and to fulfill a need during the pandemic,” Rossi said, “and it will make us better for the future.”

Beach days, regular hikes and daily walks used to be par for the course for many before the pandemic. During a global health crisis such outings took on new meaning and importance, especially for Community Living Fort Erie participants, who face barriers to community inclusion even when they’re not trying to keep safe from COVID-19.

“All people deserve the opportunity to participate in their community and get out,” said Margaret Fidler, manager of community development for Community Living Fort Erie. “Our mission is to promote inclusion, so we feel people should have the opportunity to participate in the same opportunities as everyone else.”

That’s why it was critical the organization receive a $15,000 grant to purchase a van that could shuttle participants to and from activities in their community. Funding for the van came from the David S. Howes Fund Grants Program, which provides financial assistance to support post-secondary, facilities, research, health-care services, education and humanitarian issues.

The new wheels were originally intended to get participants out and about to restaurants and other local events and activities. But the van became a vehicle for combatting pandemic-induced isolation and loneliness instead. It’s been used daily since it was acquired, getting Community Living participants to the beach on a summer day, helping them hit a local hiking trail, or taking them to popular spots for a stroll so they can safely reconnect with their community.

“The purchase of this van became even more important due to the pandemic,” said Vickie Moreland, Community Living’s executive director.

“The van provides an opportunity for people to travel safely during this crisis. Being able to travel outside of the home has helped to alleviate feelings of isolation and hopelessness by getting people to outdoor spaces where they can still social distance and participate in low-risk activities because they have transportation available.”

Adjusting to life at university comes with its own challenges for students. Throw a pandemic into the mix, which brings to a halt many of the rituals associated with post-secondary life, including living on campus and attending classes with peers, and the need for support becomes paramount.

A $40,000 grant from the Niagara Community Foundation’s David S. Howes Fund last fall ensured students at Brock University had access to vital mental health resources 24/7, via a year-long, university-wide subscription to the My Student Support Program App.

The David S. Howes Fund Grants Program provides funding that supports post-secondary, facilities, research, health-care services, education, and humanitarian issues.

The app, which launched at Brock in December, offers students real-time confidential counselling support over the phone or text in five languages, whenever and wherever they need it. They can also access topical articles, podcasts, videos, and infographics to help combat the isolation and loneliness many report feeling.

In addition, the app connects students to a virtual fitness program called LIFT. But mental health challenges aren’t all the pandemic has thrust upon students. Some are also dealing with food security issues exacerbated by precarious employment.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing we wanted to ensure was we continued to support students and focused on ways we could help them,” said Sonia Dupte, Brock’s director of development and stewardship. “With face-to-face drop-ins (with counsellors on campus) not being feasible, this was another way we could support students.” It’s also in keeping with Brock’s consistent first-place ranking in Macleans Magazine for mental health support for students, Dupte noted.

“Students feel like they’re doing everything by themselves. COVID-19 has been such a beast and opened a Pandora’s box,” she said. “In the David S. Howes Fund through the Niagara Community Foundation, we’ve found great partners to help fulfill this need for support for our students.”