By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On June 5, Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns hosted a Community Cares Forum, which gave Burlington residents an opportunity to learn about different charities and organizations that operate within the city.
The forum was held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at Burlington City Hall.
Some of the organizations in attendance were Get Involved Burlington, Goodwill, Food for Life, the Burlington Food Bank, the Compassion Society, the Halton Learning Foundation, Smith’s Funeral Homes, Halton Food for Thought, the Centre for Diverse Learners, the Angel Project, the Repair Café, Distress Centre Halton, and Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services.
Kearns explained her inspiration for organizing the event.
“We know that our community is both compassionate and resilient,” Kearns said. “And this is one of the ways where I can bridge the conversations I’m having with people in the community who are looking for some softer edges around their life’s obligations, who are wanting to be fulfilled by ways of volunteering their time, talents, and treasures.”
Kearns also spoke about the benefit that connecting with organizations in person can provide.
“Having those face-to-face connections can help break down those feelings of loneliness and isolation, and help everyone get a better sense of belonging in their communities,” Kearns said.
One of the stations that attendees could visit displayed three new proposals for redesigning the front of City Hall, and by holding the event at the building itself, helped give residents a more informed opinion on which of the new designs for the exterior of the building they like best.
Jennifer Johnson, the senior project manager of facilities and buildings at the City of Burlington, spoke about the need for change.
“Part of the project is to revitalize the square itself, [by] having it more like an attraction that people can come and use,” Johnson said. “Right now, people sort of walk by and go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the square,’ we use it for the festivals and Sound of Music and stuff like that, but during the day it’s pretty quiet and some of the slopes and stairs are no longer per our accessibility guidelines.”
The three design options are titled, “canopies,” “atrium,” and “portals,” and each feature different visions for the front of City Hall. Johnson explained the intricacies of each design.
“So, this option [canopies] has a canopy that starts up Brant Street and wraps around the front of the building to give shade,” Johnson said. “The flagpoles are still there. We’re incorporating a new water feature, and there’s a pattern to the concrete that will eventually marry with the street because we’re going to do rolling curbs.”
“Atrium has a single entrance. As you can see, we have three different entrances here, all from different streets,” Johnson continued. “This one will have one main atrium entrance. There’s more architecture involved in this one, it has a different pattern, a different type of water feature, with more geysers coming out of the ground for the kids to jump around while mom and dad are sitting under the canopy watching them.”
“And then the next one is called portals, almost like a portal hole in a boat,” Johnson said. “Again, [it’s] a different pattern in the concrete, now we’re doing stripes, but the same idea. We’re trying to do the rolling curbs, to make this all functional.”
The community organizations on hand were also ready to chat with attendees.
Ashley Silva, the program manager of Halton Autism Services for Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services, spoke about the services that the organization provides to residents.
“We offer a variety of mental health programs for children and youth,” Silva said. “There are group therapy programs, as well as counselling programs. We also have our autism services where we use applied behaviour analysis therapy.”
O’neil Edwards, the executive director of the Compassion Society of Halton, spoke about the opportunity that the event provides for organizations to collaborate with each other, as well as let people in the community know what is available to them.
“We are strategically trying to figure out better ways to reach the community, both [with] other organizations that are working in a similar field, so we can collaborate, and then ways to actually reach out to people who need our services,” Edwards said.
“We do the social media, but nothing beats word of mouth, and having people connect and understand who we are,” Edwards said. “Even if it’s other people who are just curious about us, they might know someone who would need our services.”
Marc Clare, the CEO of the Halton Learning Foundation, echoed some of Edwards’ comments.
“It’s awareness,” Clare said. “Letting people know that there are amazing organizations in the community that they could either support or access. And then I think the other thing that’s a real benefit is for the organizations themselves to be able to learn what other organizations are out there and potential opportunities to collaborate together and strengthen the impact of hiring.”
Kassia Vrhovnik, a member of Dare to be You(th)’s Community Youth Council, spoke about the success of the event.
“At every event, we’re not looking for quantity, we’re looking for quality,” Vrhovnik said. “So, the connections that we’re making here are really great and meaningful. We’ve had two people come up to us and be interested in learning more about us and how they can help, and how we can collaborate with them.”
