On Thursday, March 17, local MPP Bill Walker met with representatives from The Women’s Centre Grey Bruce to hear how a $59,000 Resilient Communities Fund grant, awarded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), has helped it continue serving women in the community. The Resilient Communities Fund grant program was developed to help non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
“This investment will help support women in need, and I am proud to support the work of The Women’s Centre Grey Bruce through this Resilient Communities Fund grant,” said MPP Bill Walker.
Awarded in 2021, a portion of the funds were used to hire a temporary cook to address service gaps caused by COVID-19. The shelter also offered online kitchen skills classes to women staying in the shelter and the remaining funds will be used to upgrade the existing shelter appliances including an electric, double stove and a refrigerator.
“Before the pandemic, women prepared meals together but with physical distancing restrictions in place, we had to change how we used the small kitchen space,” said Heather Sheldrick, Executive Director, The Women’s Centre. “Early on, we limited client access to the kitchen by introducing staggered schedules. We switched to buying prepared meals and take-out but that proved unsustainable, so we later had frontline staff prepare meals. This grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation allowed us to hire a temporary cook throughout the pandemic so that frontline staff can focus on supporting the women and children staying with us.”
The Women’s Centre Grey Bruce provides emergency shelter, compassionate counselling, 24/7 crisis support, safety planning, family court support, and transitional housing to women and their children who are experiencing abuse and violence in Grey and Bruce counties. To learn more, visit www.thewomenscentre.org.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
