You might be surprised to learn that WoodGreen's clients are your neighbours, and the people you see on
the bus or who you pass on the street. They are people who have immigrated to Canada in search of a
better life, but can't find affordable housing or access basic healthcare. They are youths and adults
who, no matter how hard they try, just can't seem to get a job. They are seniors struggling to cope
with significant health, mobility and socialization issues. They are adults living with mental health
and developmental challenges trying to find a place to fit in. WoodGreen's clients are the thousands of
individuals and families who come to us each year to access the essentials of life.
Helping a woman with Alzheimer's disease maintain her independence
Supporting a young man to achieve his life goals
Providing a stable home for a man living on the streets
Building a better life for two brothers who immigrated to Toronto
Supporting a local family with a new approach to early learning
Giving someone with a developmental challenge a sense of purpose
Mary is a retired professional with Alzheimer’s disease. Her husband, who
works full time, could no longer leave her home alone during the day because she
needed constant supervision. Mary’s husband did not want to admit her to a
long term care facility – he wanted to keep his wife at home and in their
familiar neighbourhood.
Mary and her husband turned to WoodGreen’s Adult Day Program so Mary could
be in a safe environment during the day, where she could be helped to maintain the
best physical and cognitive functioning possible. By participating in the Adult
Day Program, Mary has made friends and she has lots of opportunity for social
interaction. While she may have lost a lot in terms of her cognitive functioning,
she continues to love to hold the hand of our staff, go for a walk in the garden
patio and participate in activities with other seniors in the program.
Thanks to WoodGreen, Mary is one of more than 70 seniors in the Adult Day Program who are able to
continue to live at home with their families and loved ones – helping them maintain dignity
and independence.
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Opening the door to new opportunities, WoodGreen's
Employment Services help people set and achieve
important life goals. Rupert is one of these people.
A student at the University of Western Ontario,
Rupert was recently chosen as an Ambassador on
the 2004 Junior Team Canada Mission to China and
Hong Kong. Rupert believes that WoodGreen has
played an important role in helping him get to
where he is today.
Rupert's first summer job placement working
at the CNE was through WoodGreen's Youth Job
Centre which aided in his resume building and job
search process. He also began volunteering for
WoodGreen in grade 12, helping at fundraising
events and visiting seniors. He says that this experience
“inspired him to become more involved as a youth” as
he went on to become the vice president of external
affairs at his high school and a member of the Toronto
District School Board's Super Council working to
ensure that students' concerns were being addressed.
Today Rupert is studying business and international
development, and is involved in many extra-curricular
and volunteer activities at school. He is also the
recipient of two provincial scholarship awards.
“WoodGreen's services have had a positive impact
on my career and leadership development,” says
Rupert. “Getting involved as a youth has propelled
me to achieve my goals.”
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Nearly 20 years ago, Brian lost his wife, two children
and his mother in a fire. Struggling to cope with his
tragic loss, Brian ended up losing his job and becoming
homeless. During his last 10 years on the street, he
lived in Tent City, an illegal squatter community in
the east end of Toronto, and started using drugs and
developed multiple health issues. When Tent City was
closed down in the fall of 2002, Brian was evicted
from his trailer along with the approximately 100
residents who had been living there.
Thankfully with the assistance of WoodGreen, the
City of Toronto and Toronto Community Housing
Corporation, Brian has been able to find and maintain
housing in the private rental market. The City of
Toronto's rent supplement pilot project for the
ex-residents of Tent City ensures that Brian's monthly
rent is paid, while WoodGreen provides housing
support to ensure that he keeps his apartment. As a
result, Brian's life changed dramatically for the better.
Now 60, he finally has a stable home of his own and
he has stopped taking drugs. His health has improved
dramatically and he feels safe, no longer having to
worry about the security issues of being on the street.
A recent study of the ex-residents of Tent City showed
that since getting off the streets 70 per cent had cut
their use of drugs and alcohol, 15 per cent had gone back to
school and 11 per cent had found part-time employment.
This same study also showed that helping people with
a history of homelessness through rent supplements
and housing support is much more cost effective – 28
per cent less – than supporting the same individuals
in the shelter system.
Sadly many people still die on the street every year
because of a lack of affordable housing. That's why
more programs like this one are needed. For Brian,
it has meant that for the first time in 20 years, he has
hope for the future.
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In the summer of 2003, after years of being moved
around and brutalized by their father and his relatives,
two teenage brothers were referred to WoodGreen's
Immigrant Services by the Children's Aid Society in
Toronto. Having first immigrated to Canada in 1999,
they were being treated as illegal immigrants and being
asked to leave the country, after their father (born
in Zaire) had withdrawn his sponsorship of them.
Their lives had taken them from an early childhood
in Switzerland, to being kidnapped by their father
and taken to France and then to Canada. While
reunited with their mother for a few short years in
her homeland of Zimbabwe, she died suddenly there.
So the brothers were sent back to live with their
father in Canada who abused them both physically
and psychologically, and refused to feed them. In
part, as a result of the abuse, the younger brother
developed a schizophrenic condition.
WoodGreen intervened to keep the brothers in
Canada. Assembling a team of individuals, including
a refugee lawyer, the boys' guidance counsellor at
school, a staff psychiatrist at the Hospital for Sick
Children and their Member of Parliament, WoodGreen
helped to convince Citizenship and Immigration to
allow the brothers to become protected persons of
the Government of Canada. The brothers are very
excited about becoming citizens of Canada – the one
place they feel truly accepted and safe. It has given
them a sense that they really belong somewhere and
that they can now finally go on and build their lives.
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When Keri, a mother of four, enrolled her daughter in
the Bruce/WoodGreen Early Learning Centre, she could
see the advantages of the program almost immediately.
One of five Toronto First Duty Projects, Bruce/
WoodGreen combines kindergarten, child care and
parenting supports into one comprehensive program.
Lower teacher-to-child ratios, available parental
supports and regular communication between all
the staff in the program create a place where children
feel comfortable and secure – a place ideal for
optimum learning and development.
Having had the experience of one daughter who
went directly into kindergarten and one daughter
in the Bruce/WoodGreen program, Keri says that
the differences are incredible. She believes the
Bruce/WoodGreen approach has made it much easier
for her daughter to adjust to a new school, new
routines and other children. She stresses that her
daughter is much more comfortable going into new
situations and generally more excited about going
to school than her older sister, who did not have the
benefit of the program.
While the results of a recent study on the program
have not been released yet, initial data indicates that
children within this new model are advancing quickly
academically and that they are thriving both socially
and emotionally. Keri attributes the program's success
to the ongoing support available to parents and to
the excellent communication between staff, who meet
weekly to ensure that they are accommodating the
children's individual interests and needs within the
program. “Having everything integrated into one
program really works,” says Keri, adding that it
should be made available to all families.
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Chris is an adult with a developmental challenge. Due
to a delay in his cognitive processes, he can not hold
down a job or support himself financially. At 32,
Chris still lives with his parents. After his siblings left
home a few years ago, it was very difficult for him to
adjust, often feeling left behind. Chris was spending a
lot of time at home alone, feeling bored and often
isolated. Becoming an active volunteer at WoodGreen
about two years ago has changed all that.
Today, Chris volunteers two to three days a week
carrying out important responsibilities, including
shredding all of the agency's confidential papers, filing
reports, and going to the supportive housing cluster
every week to unpack and put away the groceries.
According to Chris's mom, volunteering at WoodGreen
has given him a reason to get out of bed each day.
She says that Chris's work at WoodGreen makes him
feel valued and gives him a real sense of purpose. He
looks forward to coming in to WoodGreen each week
and getting his work done, and he's made many friends.
Chris is just one of the more than 75 individuals
with developmental challenges in the community
that WoodGreen helps each year. He's also one of
more than 900 volunteers who give their time and
share their talents to support WoodGreen's many
essential programs and services.
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