Blog Posts

Coldest Night--Biggest Success!

2/26/2020

Huge thanks to every person who walked, volunteered, donated or sponsored to make Coldest Night of the Year 2020 such a success for Northumberland. We are thrilled that together we have met our financial goal, but even more than the money, your caring act of solidarity--with our neighbours who are struggling with so many things—shows us that you see their humanity and understand that we are all in this together. There is no ‘us and them’.

CNOY proceeds support Green Wood’s street outreach where our approach is to build and maintain relationships of trust with individuals who may be struggling with substance dependence, homelessness or mental health concerns. These are folks who are often not connecting consistently with office-based, helping agencies.

Local business sponsors were a huge part of this year's Coldest Night of the Year success. We sincerely appreciate your generous support for people who are struggling in Northumberland.

Event Sponsor:
ACME Electric, Port Hope;

Distance Sponsors:
Lauria Auto Group, Port Hope; CIBC Northumberland;

Rest Stop Sponsors:
Basil's Deli, Port Hope; Happenstance Coffee Pub, Port Hope;

Food sponsors:
Dreamer's Cafe, Port Hope; Queenies Bake Shop, Port Hope; Food Basics, Port Hope; Davis' Independent, Port Hope; Metro, Cobourg; Olympus Burger, Port Hope; Arthur's Pub, Cobourg; Best Western Plus, Cobourg; Ganarascals, Port Hope; Millstone Bread, Cobourg; Railside Restaurant, Port Hope; The Mill Restaurant & Pub, Cobourg; Long & McQuade, Cobourg; Giant Tiger, Port Hope;

Signage sponsor:
L.A. Signs 'n Design

Media Sponsors:
Northumberland 89.7; UCB Canada, Cobourg; MBC My Broadcasting Corporation, Cobourg;

Photo courtesy of Snapd Northumberland West

We are indebted to these two brilliant Co-Directors of Coldest Night in Port Hope! Judy Hone and Phil Redford gave countless hours and much creativity to building the success that we saw on the night of the walk.

IMAGINATE the Possibilities

2/16/2020

Tickets are now on sale for IMAGINATE 2020.

Buy Tickets

Evening of Possibility Host, Christian Harvey will welcome Alysha Brilla, Brad Long, Corin Raymond, Kerri Ough, Leisse Wilcox and Lishai Peel to the IMAGINATE stage at Victoria Hall, on Thursday, April 16. The evening begins with a dessert reception at 6 PM, program at 7 PM. [Click on name for bio.]

The CommUNITY Project Film

From the keynote speech by Senator Kim Pate to live performances, films and interactive workshops, IMAGINATE'S One-Day Conference (9 AM-4 PM) will move, challenge and inspire participants to action in their community and workplace. Separate ticket available for keynote speech.

Full Conference Schedule

Next up at Community 101

2/13/2020

reFraming CommUNITY

1/29/2020

Thanks to Peterborough's reFrame Film Festival for hosting Sunday's ‘CommUNITY’ film screening and a panel discussion about the challenges of survival and recovery in the current climate of drug poisoning. Congratulations to each person involved in this beautiful project. Special thanks to filmmaker, Megan Murphy, who will host a screening of the film at IMAGINATE on April 17 in Cobourg.

IMAGINATE: Hold the Date!

12/29/2019

We are just weeks away from going live with tickets and full details about IMAGINATE 2020, but we are offering a peek behind the scenes so you can hold the date. Featuring prominent social justice leaders, artists and musicians, IMAGINATE will combine workshops, short talks, film and music to explore urgent social issues while informing, entertaining and motivating.

This year's lineup of presenters is shaping up to be very exciting with a diversity of voices, this time spread over two days, at Cobourg's Victoria Hall. The Evening of Possibility is set for Thursday, April 16 and the One-Day Conference will be on the following day, Friday, April 17.

Three names to start the list of presenters at IMAGINATE 2020:

Alysha Brilla is a Juno Award-Nominated singer, music producer and songwriter known for encouraging and promoting the voices of youth and young women across the world for their valuable perspectives on environment and social awareness.

Senator Kim Pate is a nationally renowned advocate, working on behalf of women who are marginalized, victimized or incarcerated, and for her research on women in the criminal justice system.

Christian Harvey, a perennial favourite of IMAGINATE audiences and Director of Peterborough's Warming Room and One Roof, returns as our Stage Host.

We appreciate the support of Northumberland United Way for IMAGINATE 2020.

It's Cold Out There!

12/29/2019

The Coldest Night of the Year
is set for Saturday, February 22 in Port Hope.

CNOY is a family-friendly national walk-a-thon that helps people like you raise funds for charities, like Green Wood Coalition, that serve hungry, homeless and hurting people right here in Northumberland, and in 136 communities across Canada.

Just follow this link to learn more, register to walk,
and see how easy it is to support Green Wood Coalition through CNOY:

CNOY PORT HOPE

Making a Difference

12/19/2019

I come from a broken family, father and mother both alcoholics. My stepmother was an ex-prostitute, so I grew up with drugs, alcohol everywhere. I started smoking pot when I was 11, and by the time I was 15, I was smoking crack. As a kid, it was an easy way to cope with all of the stuff that was messing me up, to hide from that pain and not have to deal with it.

I met Nicole, from Green Wood Coalition, about six months ago when I was living at a shelter. She really helped me with my addiction. I was on the street for about a year-and-a-half, and I was at the stage where I wanted to quit, but not succeeding because the support wasn’t there. Once you're an addict, you're an addict. And it’s just being conscious about that that keeps me sober and having the support group I have now.

With Green Wood I have a network of people that are there with positive reinforcement and support. You’re not just a number or a case, you’re a person. It’s really a friendship you're building, relationships that I know will last. I want to get my diploma in mental health and addiction, then my undergrad and Masters. Green Wood staff have reignited that fire in me.

With recovery from addiction, there’s a very fine line and a very small window of opportunity. If there’s not someone there, right at that moment when you say, “okay, I’ve had enough, I don't want this life anymore,” you could lose them forever. Because there may not be another chance that they’ll be ready to say “I’ve had enough”.

John Dudley completed his high school upgrading while living at Transition House in Cobourg.
He enters college this January to pursue his dream.

Paella--Port Hope Style

11/24/2019

Congratulations to Port Hope resident, Debbie Beattie, who was the winner of Green Wood's Around the Table 'Paella Party' Raffle on November 1. Debbie collected her prize this past weekend when she gathered a few friends around her family table for laughter, stories and a Spanish-themed meal featuring tapas, sangria, and paella as the centrepiece.

Thanks to Cultivate Festival and Foragers Farms for adding a local food angle to the prize package, and thanks to everyone that purchased a ticket for the raffle!

The Perfect Storm

10/23/2019

For 12 years, David Sheffield, Green Wood Coalition’s Community Director, has spent time with people who walk the dangerous line of drug dependency to cope with physical and emotional pain. David describes the “perfect storm” that’s now killing people in our community in an op-ed inspired by the recent Opioid Roundtable in Cobourg.

“Over-prescribing of opioids, shifts in the economy, stigmatization and lack of treatment options for mental health and dependency, along with increasing unaffordability of housing all contribute to daily desperation for many,” he writes.

If you care about the crisis facing our community, click here to read about the “four pillar approach” David says can help.