June, 2024



Kenshia's doing great!

Kenshia Richards first reached out to us in 2022 when the world was emerging from the pandemic. She had enrolled in the personal support worker program at Seneca College in southern Ontario, and we awarded her a scholarship and a bursary to partially offset the cost of tuition. To say she's made the most of it is an understatement.

by Glen Herbert

“My plate is a little full at the moment,” Kenshia says, meaning that she’s busy, but also that she finds the work extremely rewarding.

On completion of her PSW degree she got a job at Toronto's North York General Reactivation Care Center, which was just opening at the time. “The centre is a middle ground, for patients who are waiting to go to rehab, home, long-term care, or palliative care," she says. "There is never a dull moment. The staff that I work with are the best and I never thought that I would be so close to every one of them.” 

Kenshia with colleagues and a resident at the North York General Reactivation Centre, Toronto.

“I didn't expect working in this field to be easy,” she says. “However, the surprise to me is how much I love helping and meeting so many lovely people. From the patients to the families and the staff are so wonderful to be around. Given that there are hard days, they sure don't outweigh the good ones.”

After a year she received a second posting to West Park Long Term Care Centre. It is part of the larger West Park Healthcare Centre campus and serves patients with progressive illnesses like MS or ALS. 

“I love that I am able to help people at a hard point in their lives. You learn so much from them which makes you know how best to make them as happy and comfortable as possible.” 

She worked both locations—they are both in north Toronto, where she lives—until fairly recently, when she took a full-time position offering one-on-one care.

“I really appreciate everything you and Grenadines Initiative has done for me,” she says. “I will definitely be keeping you updated because I have even bigger plans for the future."

We are now accepting applications for elementary, secondary, and post-secondary scholarships.