P2P Newsletter: October 17th is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty!

Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty!

In this edition:

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
City and Welcome Centre Shelter Partner on New Emergency Shelter
Fall Registration is Open for Recreation Programming
Research Project on Changes to Recreational Programming in Essex
October EarlyON In-Person Evening Programs
Technical Support for Families at Connections
New Service to Help Marginalized and Vulnerable Youth & Families Access Mental Health Care
Y-Opportunities Program
2021 Windsor-Essex’s Vital Signs® Report Is Here!
In the News
Local COVID-19 Information & Resources

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

The United Nations designated October 17th as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in 1992.

The observance of this day can be traced back to the 17th of October, 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger.

They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected.

The theme for 2021 is Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet

Goal One of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

to be met in 2030 is to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere.”

Each year around this day in Canada, Dignity for All’s Chew on This! campaign mobilizes people from across the country to call for an end to poverty.

Dignity for All is a multi-partner, non-partisan campaign co-organized by Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Poverty with a vision to create a poverty-free and more socially secure and cohesive Canada.

Learn more about Dignity for All and how to get involved.

Statistics Canada has updated the Dimensions of Poverty Hub.

The Hub, sponsored by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), enables Canadians to track progress on poverty reduction. The updates include poverty statistics based upon the new 2018-base Market Basket Measure (MBM).

Visit the hub to learn more about poverty in Canada and check out Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy.

City and Welcome Centre Shelter Partner on New Emergency Shelter

Women and families experiencing homelessness in Windsor-Essex will soon have a new safe and secure place to go for shelter and support in finding housing.

On October 1st, 2021, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens was on hand with City of Windsor Commissioner of Human and Health Services Jelena Payne, and Welcome Centre Executive Director Lady Laforet, to officially announce plans to open a new shelter for women and families in early 2022 that will be led by the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families. The organization provides short-term emergency shelter and transitional supports to women and families with minors who are experiencing homelessness.

The purchase of the new building was made possible thanks in part to a $7.75-million contribution from the provincial government’s Social Services Relief Fund.

Fall Registration is Open for Recreation Programming

The City of Windsor’s Recreation and Culture department has opened registration for fall programming.

There are activities for the whole family available at various locations across the city.

Locations and types of activities are being offered based on demand. You can sign up now for yoga, dance, sports, art, gymnastics, and more!

Registration is open at activewindsor.ca with programming ready to begin November 1, 2021.

Eligible families interested in applying for Pathway to Potential can email p2pprogram@citywindsor.ca or call 519-255-1161 to speak with a Central Booking Team member.

As with all indoor recreation programming, proof of full vaccination is required for anyone 12 and over. Social distancing and mask use are also required to enter our recreational facilities.

Research Project on Changes to Recreational Programming in Essex

The Town of Essex, in conjunction with the University of Windsor Faculty of Human Kinetics, is seeking survey respondents for a research study examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participation in recreational programs.

The online survey seeks to examine how recreational programming and residents’ participation in programs changed over the course of the last two years. The results of the study will help the Town of Essex consider the impact of program changes and what barriers residents may have faced with the move to virtual and self-guided programs.

If you or someone you know has participated in at least one of the Town of Essex’s recreational programs in the year prior to or during the COVID-19 pandemic, and wish to provide feedback, you are invited to participate in the survey.

Submissions will be accepted until October 19, 2021.

October EarlyON In-Person Evening Programs

October In-Person Evening Programs are being held at the following locations:

Lassaline on October 21st, 5:30-7:00pm
Dougall on October 28th, 5:30-7:00pm

Sing, play and create with our EarlyON facilitators for some in-person evening programming.

Spaces are limited and pre-registration is required. To register, please visit: www.earlyonwindsoressex.ca.

Registration opens one week prior to programming.

Technical Support for Families at Connections

Thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Connections Early Years Family Centre is now able to provide Computer Access and Training to parents and caregivers who wish to join our virtual programs.

As part of this initiative, we are excited to offer families a space at the Centre where they can access computer equipment to join our virtual programs and receive technical training/support from staff. Families who require remote assistance to join our programs can also receive support with Zoom tutorials.

Do you need computer access or training to join virtual programs?

New Service to Help Marginalized and Vulnerable Youth & Families Access Mental Health Care

A new collaborative program between Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) and Maryvale Adolescent and Family Services has begun this month, helping underserved youth and their families access and connect with mental health care.

The Family Navigation Program for Child and Youth Mental Health will see two Family Navigators, a social worker from HDGH and Maryvale, working with youth and families who have historically experienced barriers to accessing mental health care. These groups include members of our Indigenous, LQBTQ+, Francophone communities, Immigrant, refugees or groups of ethnic and/or cultural minority, racialized youth and youth with disabilities.

Read the full news release on the HDGH website.

For more information visit www.HDGH.org/FamilyNavigation.

Y-Opportunities Program

Y Opportunities is a skill building and employment support program for individuals with unique needs. The program assists individuals with self-identified disabilities who face barriers to employment.

Download a flyer for full details on the Y Opportunities Program.

2021 Windsor-Essex’s Vital Signs® Report Is Here!

The WECF 2021 Vital Signs Report is here! This is the ninth report published by the WindsorEssex Community Foundation on the Windsor-Essex Region.

The Vital Signs Report combines national, provincial, and local data with residents’ views of important issues. The report is an educational resource to engage the Windsor-Essex community in ongoing dialogue so we can make our community an even better place to live, work, play and grow.

Read the Report

Lakeshore Council Discusses Potential Regional Transit Plan

Reported in the Windsor Star, a fully regional transit system inched a step closer to reality Tuesday when Lakeshore council voted to develop a business case for linking the municipality with Windsor and Tecumseh.

Municipal staff are recommending council start by endorsing what has been dubbed route 1A running between Belle River and Tecumseh Mall.

Regional transit has been debated around Essex County for more than a decade. The idea picked up some speed in Sept. 2017, when a Windsor-LaSalle route began for the first time since the 1970s.

A pilot project providing service between Leamington and Windsor began in July 2019. Negotiations are also ongoing for a route between Windsor and Amherstburg.

Enhanced COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate with QR Code and Verify Ontario App Available for Download

In advance of October 22nd, the Ontario government is making the enhanced vaccine certificate with official QR code and the free, made-in Ontario verification app, Verify Ontario, available for download.

To ensure a smooth user experience, the province is initially making the enhanced vaccine certificates available for download in cohorts, based on birth month. Starting October 18 at 6:00 a.m., the COVID-19 vaccination portal will open for any individual to download their enhanced vaccine certificate.

Individuals can also call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900 to have their enhanced vaccine certificate emailed or mailed to them.

In addition, businesses and organizations can now download the free Verify Ontario app from the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Read the full announcement in the Ontario Newsroom.

Ontario to Strengthen Mandatory Indigenous Learning in School Curriculum

Working with Indigenous partners, Elders, Knowledge Holders and education stakeholders, the Ontario government announced a plan to expand First Nation, Métis and Inuit content and learning in the elementary curriculum. The province announced that these changes will further strengthen mandatory learning on residential schools and foster greater understanding within the province’s education system of the intergenerational legacy borne by Indigenous families.

This work builds on Ontario’s first phase of curriculum revisions in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, which were implemented in 2018.

Ontario Launches Free Menstrual Products in Schools

The Ontario Government will distribute six million free menstrual products per year to school boards under a new and innovative partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart designed to improve access to menstrual products. The agreement is the first of its kind for Ontario and will position it as one of four provinces to take action on the issue of period poverty within schools.

The partnership will benefit students who need menstrual products and are unable to afford or access them, resulting in an inability to participate in school and other activities.

Latest Research from Statistics Canada on the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Canadians

Ongoing research by Statistics Canada continues to measure the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, life satisfaction, and sense of community among Canadians.

Latest releases in The Daily indicate the following:

Nearly half of Canadians considered that their stress levels were worse than prior to the pandemic (Canadian Social Survey: COVID-19 and well-being);
One in four (25%) Canadians aged 18 and older screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in spring 2021 (Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health, February to May 2021);
Fewer Canadians reported excellent or very good general health and mental health than at the beginning of the pandemic (in April 2020), and Canadians were on average less satisfied with life overall in 2021 than in 2018 (Portrait of Canadian Society: Perceptions of life during the pandemic);
Groups designated as visible minorities and those born abroad have seen their communities as being less inclusive, consider their neighbourhoods less safe, and reported more of an impact on their financial situation and their ability to meet essential needs (Portrait of Canadian Society: Experiences during the pandemic);
One-third (31%) of Canadians aged 65 and older reported feeling like they wanted to participate in more social, recreational or group activities (Canadian Health Survey on Seniors, 2020).

Local COVID-19 Information & Resources

Download a Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your COVID Vaccine

The guide provides information on scheduling a vaccine appointment, childcare and transportation supports that are available for high priority communities, what happens at the vaccine appointment, and what to do if experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

Being FULLY vaccinated against COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex can make you a winner!

The WEVaxToWin contest is open to residents of the city of Windsor and the county of Essex who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Residents have the chance to win over $200,000 in prizes.

Visit WEVaxToWin.ca for more information on all available prizes and to enter the draw.

Connections Early Years Family Centre’s Be Back Soon Program is now extending unlicensed short-term child care to qualifying parents with young children while they attend their vaccine appointments.

ELIGIBILITY:

You live in these postal codes and you require unlicensed short-term child care while you attend a vaccine appointment: N8H, N8X, N8Y, N9A, N9B, N9C and N9Y.

Translated copies of the Be Back Soon poster are available for download in:

Please contact Connections Early Years Family Centre for more information or to book an appointment at 519.252.9696.

Ontario remains in Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen.

Step Three focuses on the resumption of additional indoor services with larger numbers of people and restrictions in place. The three-step plan is based on the provincial vaccination rate and improvements in key public health and healthcare indicators.