This morning I visited the Regional office of the YMCA Hamilton Burlington Brantford @ymcahbb. I learned a lot, but for this post I'll hone in on 2 programs: I learned about their Men's Residence, which houses 170 men in the downtown core with deeply affordable housing rates. 1/
About 80% of the men housed here have mental health struggles, and while the Residence was intended to provide short-term housing, many of the men live here permanently because they have nowhere else to go. 2/
I also learned that #HamOnt is the first city in Ontario to run an Alternatives to Suspension program that is community based, via the YMCA. Most programs are expulsion related. This YMCA program aims to reduce the number of repeat suspensions a student experiences by giving 3/
them a positive experience during their time away from school that's focused on: educational workshops, individual one-on-one support, andchool work and group activities aimed at getting to the root of issues that often lead to repeat suspensions. 4/
Lastly, I congratulate the YMCA for their successful @ONTrillium grants that seek to make their swimming programs more physically accessible, and also to support them in collecting and sharing qualitative data about the massive amount of life changing work that they do. 5/
It was great to connect with Niki, Shawn and Manny about the work that they continue to do across the region. 6/