Peterborough artist, Deb Reynolds, led a three-week series with our weekly art group, introducing printmaking techniques using gel plates. We also hosted Art Blast with Heather Roy, exploring colour through less conventional media, in a four week series, open to all members of the community. Monday, March 28, 7:00 PM This month marks a year since we started Community 101, and, as usual, we have several, very interesting guests, including Dr. Alan Konyer, staff physician with Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres (OATC). Dr. Konyer will share OATC's approach to harm reduction and will take questions from the audience.
We also have a couple of surprises in store for Monday night. Community 101 is an interactive series that explores ways of becoming a more healthy and vibrant community through caring for each other and seeking long-term change. Presenters from Green Wood Coalition and other like-minded groups share information and stories about the good things that are happening in Port Hope and surrounding area, seeking to inspire further thought and action. The series runs monthly, on the last Monday (7-9 pm) of each month at Green Wood's space, 18 Ontario St., Port Hope, ON. Green Wood Coalition presents IMAGINATE: An Evening of Possibility at Cameco Capitol Arts Centre in downtown Port Hope. Six outstanding presenters will explore this year’s theme, We All Have a Story, followed by a locally-sourced reception by Cultivate. This year's IMAGINATE stage host is popular Canadian broadcaster and musician, TOM POWER. As the one of the youngest hosts of a national program on CBC Radio, Tom Power is a rising star in broadcasting. Hailing from St. John’s, Newfoundland, he started his career programming folk music on college radio, eventually becoming the permanent CBC RADIO 2 MORNING host in 2011. A beloved and well known presence in the music industry across Canada, Tom sits on the board of the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society, he is a juror for the Polaris Award, and a member of the JUNO Roots/Traditional committee. See the rest of the lineup for IMAGINATE 2016 here. A Port Hope resident, Laura, and her family have been on journey they hadn't planned to take when they welcomed a young man into their home a few months ago. They've had a series of lessons in the painful reality of homelessness, here in Northumberland:  I have chosen to share this picture today to tell you a story. While you can’t see the owner of the shoes, he does exist – his name is Kyle. This is Kyle’s long board (his method of transportation if weather permits), and his “kicks” … bought recently to replace his very old and worn out shoes … Kyle is homeless. Kyle lives mostly in my son’s top bunk bed … he has waited over 3 months to find housing here in Port Hope … he is one of our invisible homeless … this is part of his story, which he has permitted me to share with you today ... "After struggling with homelessness and unemployment (or very little employment) in Kingston, I relocated to Port Hope in November of 2015, believing I was going to have a home with my father for December 1st. There was no place for me to stay until December 1st – until the Steen family offered me a temporary solution. I am very grateful for their kindness. While I have been here looking for permanent housing, I have been caught in 3 vicious cycles … and I believe these would be common to many in my situation Cycle 1 – no job, no permanent home; no permanent home, no job. This is a frustrating cycle for someone who is trying to make changes in their circumstances. I need a job to have a home, and I need to have a home (a permanent address) to have a job … Talk about being hungry for a change in your life … Cycle 2 – no references, no apartment; no apartment, no references. Even though we explain our situation, no private renter will approve us for accommodation. We don’t qualify without references. And we cannot gain references by remaining homeless. Talk about hurting … Cycle 3 – this is perhaps the most difficult cycle of all … you have a small glimmer of hope for an accommodation – maybe through a discussion, or an “I’ll call you soon.” from the landlord … but, no call comes, you call back, the property is rented, or worse, they just don’t want to rent to someone in your circumstances, someone wearing shoes like mine. So you move from hope to despair … and are caught in this cycle with each little glimmer that makes itself known. Talk about hopeless … I would change my circumstances if I could, and I am working on it; but these cycles make it terribly difficult. I am working within a system that has so many gaps. I look around and see space in town not being used at all … large, empty space … yet, I don’t receive enough money to be able to afford a single room. I am on every rent geared to income housing list, but there is a wait of at least 18 months. Landlords ask for money just to make an application … yes, they take advantage of our desperation. I have been grateful to connect with Tower Inn and Green Wood Coalition … they understand those gaps, they understand my circumstances, they offer me community – they see me … but they can’t work miracles … it’s a difficult system .. and the uncertainty for me seems endless. So I struggle on, not knowing from one day to the next whether this may be the day that I find housing … that my Dad and I can begin to be a family … with space of our own … a place to kick off our shoes, and call our own …"  |
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