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Meet harbour swimmer Chuck Bezanson

To call Chuck Bezanson a passionate swimmer would be an understatement. The Assistant Chief of Operations for Halifax Fire swims 3km a night, training for a worldwide swimming competition in South Korea next month. We’re fortunate that he’s also got a big heart for community, and will swimming the annual United Way Harbour Swim in September. This year’s swim will be Chuck’s third swim across the harbour for United Way raising funds to support critical community needs, and it’s clear his enthusiasm has grown with each swim. While his other training keeps him in the pool most nights, Chuck heads down to Long Lake on Tuesday nights to train with other harbour swimmers. Chuck says Long Lake is a great location to train. “They have a course set up for open water events, and if you go around six of the buoys, it’s 1.5 km – the same distance as the harbour swim.” Training in Long Lake can also help mimic some of the conditions swimmers will encounter when they’re swimming the harbour. “Long Lake is a long, deep lake so it does get choppy. When you first get in the water, the cold and the choppiness can take your breath away. Getting out and training is the best way to get used to it.” Swimming has not only been important physical activity for Chuck, it’s helped keep his mind clear. “I’ve been a firefighter for over 35 years, so my head’s full of a lot of junk. Swimming helps offload that. For me, it’s an hour where I’m just thinking about swimming, and nothing else,” says Chuck. He recommends it to anyone, regardless of skill level. “Anyone can get out there and swim. Just make sure you’re swimming somewhere that’s supervised, and don’t go alone.” Chuck is excited to have some of his HRM colleagues swimming by his side, and feels like it’s a great opportunity for the city to show their commitment to United Way. He’s hoping 20 swimmers will represent HRM this year – including new police chief Dan Kinsella. This year’s swim aims to have 100 swimmers in total crossing the harbour, making it the biggest United Way Harbour Swim yet. If you haven’t signed up for this year’s swim, there’s still time left, but space is limited. Chuck will tell you the experience is worth it. “Just to get out there and swim in the harbour and be there with all those folks – you jump in the water, and you see 30, 40, 50 and last year 60 people all there with you, all wearing their wetsuits, all wearing their bathing caps, it’s cool. It’s really awesome.”

For more information on how to sign up or for details about cheering on the swimmers, visit https://www.unitedwayhalifax.ca/giving/ways-to-give/harbour-swim.html

Everyone Deserves a Home

People in Halifax often dismiss homelessness as a ‘big city’ problem. People tend to associate the issue with tent cities or people sleeping on benches or cardboard. We don’t have tent cities in Halifax, but we do have many people who are living in temporary housing, couch surfing, living in their vehicle or in a shelter. Imagine not being able to choose which building or neighbourhood you’d like to live in and instead being forced to accept unsafe, undignified, inaccessible or inadequate housing as your only option. This is the reality for more HRM residents than you might think. In Halifax, 19,565 households are living in extreme housing poverty and 40,000 households are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. This forces many to make difficult choices between shelter, food and other necessities like transportation. Creating more affordable housing has challenges, but creative problem solving is underway. United Way Halifax has been at the table as a convener and facilitator of the Housing and Homelessness Partnership (HHP). We heard from several excellent presenters at the HHP’s annual Housing Symposium in November, which included information on projects such as:

The National Housing Strategy: This $40 billion, decade-long comprehensive strategy prioritizes those in greatest need by focusing on increasing the supply of affordable housing and supporting the renewal and maintenance of existing housing. Its goal is to cut chronic homelessness in half over 10 years, build the capacity of the housing sector and re-build research and expertise.

Housing as a human right: In 2018, housing advocates – including United Way Centraide Canada – released an open letter urging the prime minister to enshrine the right to housing in the National Housing Strategy. Vince Calderhead’s keynote address at the Housing Symposium covered the topic as well. In April 2019, the National Housing Strategy Act was tabled, which introduces a human rights-based approach to housing.

Meanwhile, HRM’s Centre Plan offers the chance to look at how planning can affect our central neighbourhoods. It is set to be adopted later in 2019 and may include more opportunities for density bonusing to create affordable housing units, barrier-free streetscapes that improve walkability and accessibility, and the development of supportive housing and shared housing options, like rooming houses. While there has been a long-time struggle in our city to create more affordable housing, there are now more opportunities than ever to help make affordable housing a reality. We will be there every step of the way, bringing people together, contributing to and sparking conversation, using our voice and reach to advocate for change and fundraising for solutions that are making a lifechanging difference.

#affordablehousing #housing #homelessness

Volunteer Profile - Valerie Lemay

Valerie Lemay smiles a lot when she’s talking about her job – as an Onboarding Coordinator for IBM’s Client Innovation Centre in Bedford, she gets to know everyone who comes into the building. But what she gets most excited about is coordinating volunteer activities for IBMers to do in the community.

Valerie started at IBM as a project manager, and found she was often communicating virtually with people. She wanted to get to see more people face-to-face. IBM needed someone to coordinate the STEM for Youth initiative, which led to getting involved in volunteering. “My passion for volunteering really grew out of working with the kids,” Valerie says. “They just really love learning.”

One of the initiatives Valerie gets to work on for her job is coordinating IBM Volunteers Day, a volunteer experience that sees 80-100 volunteers coming together for a Day of Caring. Sometimes that means splitting employees between several projects, like last fall when they cooked meals for community organizations across the city. This spring, 80 volunteers will head to the Spryfield Urban Farm on May 15, to help do repairs and upgrades and prepare the gardens for the spring.

Valerie says IBMers are often surprised by the impact their efforts have in the community. “Working directly with the executive directors of the organizations, and being in the space and learning how many people are impacted – they’re just amazed.”

No matter where they end up volunteering, IBM staff appreciate the opportunity to get to know their colleagues in a different way, and to help make an impact. United Way is proud and grateful for their enthusiasm and commitment.

Volunteer Profile - Lynda Taylor

Lynda Taylor knows the impact United Way funded organizations can have on the community – she experienced this herself, when her son was referred to a United Way agency for support in 2008. It was that experience that led her to understand the importance of giving back as a donor and a volunteer.

Lynda has lived in three major Canadian cities – Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax – and has volunteered for United Ways in all three. When she moved to Halifax, she talked with our president & CEO, Sara Napier, and offered to help the organization. “I had been involved in fundraising cabinets in Edmonton and Winnipeg,” Lynda says. “I was very excited to be nominated to United Way Halifax’s Board of Directors, and invited chair the Strategic Fundraising Cabinet.”

With her fundraising cabinet experience, previous board experience and her background in finance – Lynda is the senior vice president, Atlantic, for BMO – she was a great fit for both volunteer positions. Still, she takes her board position very seriously and even opted to take a course to help prepare her.

As for fundraising, she believes it’s the ability to talk to people that really encourages donors to step up for their community. “As long as you have a desire to give back and you’re willing to talk to people and tell the story of lives impacted, you can be successful.” She says she finds poverty in Halifax is not as visible as it is in other cities she’s lived in, and that can make it harder for potential donors to recognize it’s an issue. “In some parts of the city, you can’t see poverty. You can’t see the working poor, people struggling to make ends meet,” says Lynda. “It just means we have to tell more of the story to make people look for it and understand that it is a big problem.”

Lynda brings incredible energy, passion and hustle to every room she’s in. United Way is so appreciative of Lynda’s commitment to the betterment of our community, and we value her ability to enthusiastically champion change and contribute to a better city for all.

Volunteer Profile - Sandra Mullen

This February, United Way and the NSGEU joined together to run Halifax’s first-ever Tampon Tuesday initiative. The response from the community was overwhelmingly positive, drawing attention to an often forgotten community issue – period poverty. Sandra Mullen, 1st Vice President of the NSGEU, had a big role to play in Tampon Tuesday’s success – her leadership was key to bringing it to Halifax, and rolling it out locally. Sandra is part of the National Union, Advisory on Women’s Issues, and first heard about Tampon Tuesday from a sister union in British Columbia. She knew the NSGEU could make a difference in Nova Scotia and approached United Way to partner on the initiative. Spreading the word happened quickly. “I wanted to get the word out to union members, to let them know how they could help. By partnering with United Way and using social media to gather more support, it wasn’t long before donations started to roll in – over 51,000 products in total.” Along with the NSGEU’s women’s committee, Sandra spent an afternoon counting and sorting donations from workplaces and Shoppers Drug Mart locations across the city. Sandra’s motivation wasn’t just following B.C.’s lead – she has spent time throughout her career working and volunteering with people living on a low income, struggling to make ends meet. “I saw first-hand how it affects women and their families, when they can’t afford the menstrual supplies they need,” says Sandra. In her role at NSGEU, she’s elevated the issue and now staff and public washrooms are stocked with supplies. “We’ve made that a standard practice because these items are a necessity, not a luxury.” Sandra was amazed by the response to Tampon Tuesday and the outpouring of support. “People told me they had never given it a thought, but once they understood the need, they donated without hesitation.” Seeing the business community and politicians step up and keep the momentum going has been really encouraging too. All the success doesn’t mean she’s ready to sit back on her laurels though, Sandra has some more in-kind donation drives in the works, and is already committed to taking on Tampon Tuesday 2020.

Volunteer Profile - Anthony Black

When people think about volunteering for United Way, they often think of our Day of Caring program where teams of volunteers spend one day helping out a community organization with a special hands-on project. These are great ways to serve our community, but there are also other ways volunteers can use their skills and experience to benefit the community through United Way Halifax. For National Volunteer Week, we’ll be profiling volunteers who have helped us in different ways – proving there’s no “one way” to give back.

Anthony Black Anthony Black is an Artistic Co-Director for 2B Theater Company in Halifax. He was a key volunteer for last year’s first-ever Songs of the City event. His role involved connecting with storytellers, listening to their stories, coaching them to tell their stories confidently onstage and managing the show’s production – everything from lighting to stage props and stage cues. Anthony was identified as someone who might have skills and experience to contribute. After hearing about the event in Toronto and Fredericton, a sneak peek performance at Celebration Breakfast sealed the deal.

Anthony’s background includes experience as a director, producer and performer. He’s performed both as an actor and as a storyteller, and was able to use these skills to support and build confidence in the storytellers at Songs of the City. He said it was both like and unlike acting. “I saw my job as helping storytellers feel as comfortable as possible,” Anthony says. “Sometimes that meant using strategies from the theatre world, and sometimes it meant encouraging people to just be their true selves – that’s something the theatre could use more of.” Anthony is proud of what he could contribute to Songs of the City, but he was also so proud of the storytellers, and surprised by their resilience. “It’s brave to get up in front of hundreds of people and tell your story. But when you hear about the difficult challenges these individuals have overcome, it’s even more incredible.” To Anthony, it was rewarding to meet the storytellers and work with them, and to see the result of the whole show as it came together. The excitement of the musicians and audience really drove home how impactful Songs of the City was to everyone. Would he volunteer for the event again? “If the timing worked out, I would absolutely do it again.”

Working together is key to solving poverty

The following was written in response to an opinion piece in the Chronicle Herald, written by Jim Vibert, titled “A lack of will to end poverty in Nova Scotia.” United Ways across the province coordinated to provide a response.

Jim Vibert’s opinion piece, A lack of will to end poverty in Nova Scotia, raises some excellent points. For people living in poverty in our province, a lack of income is certainly part of the problem. However, it’s not the only challenge people living in poverty face. And, as Vibert points out, anti-poverty advocates – like United Ways across Nova Scotia and their funded partners – believe that eradicating poverty is achievable.

The social sector has been raising the issue of poverty for many years, working toward a common poverty reduction plan across the province. And in many cases, we’re starting to see change. But clearly, with worsening poverty numbers, more still needs to be done in Nova Scotia. The public, private and social sectors need to work together to fight poverty. We believe when we work collaboratively, we will start to see more positive results.

We encourage Nova Scotians to talk to their elected officials about how poverty affects all of us. How not solving this complex issue leads to snowballing costs in healthcare and emergency services. How it impacts our justice system, our food systems and education. How it changes our infrastructure needs and how it will impact future generations. How many non-profits are providing programs, access to resources and addressing gaps in services to help move people out of poverty.

We need to talk about how poverty affects business. How it can hold businesses back from thriving or make Nova Scotia a less desirable place to set up shop. We need to talk about how many businesses are already working to reduce poverty, and how we can learn from them and partner to affect change.

We are committed to being strong advocates and to making issues like poverty, homelessness and social isolation unignorable. Please join us, and be a champion for change. There is a will to end poverty in Nova Scotia, and you can be part of the solution.

Lynne McCarron Executive Director, United Way Cape Breton

Terry Hearn Executive Director, United Way of Colchester County Cathy Skinner Executive Director, United Way of Cumberland County

Sara Napier President & CEO, United Way Halifax

Michael Graves Executive Director, United Way of Lunenburg County

United Way of Pictou County

Tampon Tuesday drive highlights community needs

Period poverty. You may not have heard this phrase before, but it affects thousands of people in our community. Period poverty happens when someone does not have enough income to pay for their menstrual products, and must make choices between those products and other necessities like food, transportation or utilities. You wouldn’t expect someone to go without toilet paper or toothpaste – why would you expect them to go without menstrual products? Tampon Tuesday is national initiative with different organizers and beneficiaries across the country. In Halifax, United Way Halifax and NSGEU have partnered for the first time to run a Tampon Tuesday product drive at workplaces across HRM. Collected products will then be distributed to those who need them through community organizations. At United Way Halifax, Daniel Blacquiere is leading the charge and engaging organizations and people to be part of Tampon Tuesday. While it may seem a little strange at first to see a man standing up for what is often seen as a women’s issue, Daniel is quite comfortable talking to others about what he sees as an unmet need in the community. “My role with United Way Halifax as the Donor Engagement Officer gives me the opportunity to rally donors and individuals in Halifax on variety of social issues,” Daniel says. “The Tampon Tuesday initiative is not a call to action for only women, but one that should be supported by the entire community. These issues are concerning human dignity and access to necessities.” Period poverty doesn’t just affect women either - it affects teenage girls and transgender or non-binary individuals as well. And, for single moms struggling to get by, it affects their children. With so many people potentially impacted by period poverty, it only makes sense to have everyone stand up to tackle the issue. And it’s been a mostly positive experience for Daniel, who says he’s received great feedback. “We should all set an example and support women and trans individuals and show that the subject of period poverty is not taboo.” Interested in starting your own Tampon Tuesday drive? Contact Daniel or drop off collected menstrual products at our office, 46 Portland Street, 7th Floor, until March 5.

Tackling the Unignorable challenges in our community

Poverty knows no boundaries. It exists in neighbourhoods across HRM – rural, suburban and urban. Sometimes we can see it and think we understand it, but often it’s hidden and cloaked in myths and misconceptions. Poverty can be defined in costs that are economic, but the real cost is human. Poverty robs individuals and our community of the opportunity to live a life of dignity and reach our full potential.

United Way Halifax is committed to tackling poverty in all its forms and building a strong, healthy community for everyone. It is with the extraordinary generosity of our donors that we have been able to inject more than $20 million from our community fund into local social agencies over the past 10 years. And that does not include the $15 million donors have directed to charities of their choosing through United Way.

During this time, allocations from United Way Halifax’s community fund have supported hundreds of agencies and benefitted thousands of lives. Donor dollars have served as seed funding for grassroots organizations to serve people needing safe and supportive housing, family support, and places for residents to connect and participate in neighbourhood-based programs, to name just a few. Donations and gifts have provided stable funding sources so front-line support workers can focus on what they to do best – serving people most in need.

The value of funding from United Way Halifax’s community fund is the network of services our generous donors enable across HRM each year.

This year, though, we face a challenge and allocations from our community fund will be particularly stretched. While we will be making significant investments in our community, we have to make tough choices. These choices are necessary and were made carefully based on a rigorous review process aimed at making the strongest impact for people experiencing the greatest marginalization in our community.

Next week, we will be telling some organizations delivering vital services in our community that they will not be funded this year, or that their funding will be reduced. This pains us, because we know it means the loss of programs or reduction of services for our partners. For the whole community, it means the network of services across HRM will weaken.

The unfortunate reality facing charities, particularly those working in the social sector, is that donations are not keeping pace with increasing demands. For United Way, this means finding ways to work smarter for the community to both respond to the changing philanthropic landscape and ensure we continue to target the root causes of poverty. For decades, United Way Halifax has brought people, organizations, governments, funders and not-for-profit partners together to create a more promising future for the most vulnerable people living in our community.

Ending poverty, however, requires more than fundraising. Many of our social challenges are perpetuated by systemic barriers. Breaking through some of these barriers requires government action, which we’re pleased to see is starting to happen federally, provincially and municipally. Other barriers, however, are subtler and therefore more difficult to tackle. These barriers require us to reflect as a community on our values and strengthen our sense of compassion and purpose for how we become good citizens, good neighbours and good stewards for the place we love so that we safeguard it for generations to come.

When positive social change is done well, it is good for all of us. Communities that know each other, that are connected and have lower levels of income inequality have the highest GDP growth, lower crime rates, better health and better employment. This is not a new idea but it’s one that works and requires us to be bold and steadfast as champions for change.

As we look forward to the next 10 years, we will continue to work hard to strengthen the network of services so the most vulnerable among us receive the support they need. We will embrace the opportunity to work with donors and community partners to create solutions in areas where we have shared interest, values and goals. And we’re committed to being strong advocates doing all we can to make local issues of poverty, housing, and social isolation unignorable so many others will join us in being champions for community change.

SARA NAPIER, PRESIDENT & CEO OF UNITED WAY HALIFAX MONICA FOSTER, CHAIR UNITED WAY HALIFAX BOARD OF DIRECTORS

#unignorable

Finding the Balance – Optimizing Community Investment and Impact

“If people could just see what their neighbours are doing to help their community, it should inspire all of us. We all need to step up so that work can continue.”

So says Robert Chisholm, a volunteer who recently served as a member on one of United Way Halifax’s volunteer funding panels.

Robert knew when he started this assignment it was an important one. As a former United Way Halifax board member, he remembered past recommendations being brought to the board, and how carefully and thoughtfully volunteers had gone through the applications.

“While I always had an appreciation for the role of United Way funding, this experience has been particularly eye-opening. It has made me realize how deep the relationships are between United Way and community agencies, and just how difficult it is to make funding decisions.”

Comprised of volunteers who represent a broad cross-section of our community, funding panels take on the task of reviewing applications from organizations that are seeking funding from United Way Halifax’s community fund. While the process is never easy, determining where to allocate funds in 2019 was particularly challenging. This is largely due to changes in donor behavior and philanthropic trends, which are resulting both in donations being more targeted and not keeping pace with increasing demand for funding.

Being part of a funding panel requires a significant commitment. In total, panel members spent over 1200 hours reviewing applications. They first looked at how organizations align to United Way Halifax’s funding priorities of poverty, housing and homelessness, and inclusion. They then considered the financial health of the organizations, the uniqueness of their programs and other potential sources of funding. The volunteers saw first-hand how community organizations are operating in gaps – meeting needs of people where governments and systems have failed to do so. In addition, panels visited with each organization to get a deeper understanding of the work they do and to ask questions in person. After evaluating all the information, panel members then made recommendations to United Way Halifax.

“Every application we reviewed described an organization and program that was important and deserving,” says Robert. “They are providing critical services for populations that are the most vulnerable. And it was difficult knowing we would not be able to fund all of them.”

United Way Halifax is grateful to our funding panel volunteers for the rigorous and thoughtful review process they used in making recommendations. The Community Fund is unique in the way it engages a diverse group of community members in the funding process. “The energy, care and critical questions volunteers bring helps ensure we are responsive and accountable to the needs in our community and allocate funds where they can have the most impact,” says United Way Halifax president and CEO, Sara Napier. “They bring their heads and hearts, genuinely caring about the community, something they share with the staff and Board of United Way Halifax.”

In the past decade, allocations from United Way Halifax’s community fund have supported hundreds of organizations and benefited thousands of lives. They have served as the start-up funding for organizations that formed to serve people needing safe and supportive housing, family support, places for residents to connect and participate in neighbourhood-based programs. They have provided stable funding sources so front-line support workers can focus on what they to do best – serving people most in need.

This month, agencies that applied for funding will learn the outcomes of this year’s allocation process. For some agencies, it will be difficult news to receive and will present immediate challenges as they may see a decrease or loss in what they previously received from United Way Halifax. For other agencies, the news will be positive – thanks to the generosity of our Community Fund donors, we will still be funding many essential programs that will impact people across our city. Our long-term goal is to continue to work in partnership to build capacity and grow resources to strengthen the network of services available in our community. We’re always open to welcoming more champions to the United Way Halifax community, feel free to share comments, questions or ideas.

Holiday Joy. Holiday Isolation.

Year-round, United Way Halifax is focused on building inclusive communities, funding community resource centres, neighbourhood hubs and organizations that deliver programs to seniors and newcomers to help establish a sense of connection, belonging and network of support.

As we prepare to begin the holiday season and ring in a new year, we thought it was important to highlight that while the holiday season is a time of joy, for some in our community it also exacerbates feelings of isolation and loneliness. And those at greatest risk are seniors who may find themselves feeling the loss of family, friends, their favorite traditions and simply not able to connect with services due to them being closed over the holidays.

So what puts seniors at greater risk for isolation? According to the Report on the Social Isolation of Seniors, published by the National Seniors Council, the factors include:

living alone;

being age 80 or older;

having compromised health status, including having multiple chronic health problems;

having no children or contact with family;

lacking access to transportation;

living with low income; and,

changing family structures, younger people migrating for work and leaving seniors behind, and location of residence (e.g. urban, rural and remote).

Other life transitions such as retirement, death of a spouse, or losing a driver’s license are noted as further increasing the risk of becoming socially isolated.

In Nova Scotia, these factors are very real and experienced by many seniors living in our communities.

Living Alone

27 per cent of seniors age 65 or over lived alone in 2016

48 per cent of seniors age 85 or over lived alone in 2016

Source: DWPilkey Consulting, Seniors Focus

Living Alone and with Low Incomes

More than one third (35.5 per cent) of people 65 and over who live alone (not in an economic family) have low income in Nova Scotia — second only to people in one-parent families (47.1 per cent).

19.7 per cent of women aged 65 or more live in low income households, compared with 14.7 per cent of men 65 and over.

Source: SHIFT Nova Scotia’s Action Plan for an Aging Population

3 ways you can help over the holidays

For those who are socially isolated, it is important to take proactive steps to check-in and extend opportunities to involve them over the holidays.

1. Reach out to friends, family (even distant family), and acquaintances. The best way to do so is merely to ask about their plans. If they don’t have any, consider an opportunity to include them in yours. You can also ask if you can assist in other ways like offering to drive them to a event, or possibly helping them access technology that can connect them with friends and loved ones.

2. Participate in a community holiday card drive. Another way to bring a little joy to seniors in the community is by participating in a Holiday Card Drive. Drop off your card before December 18 at one of the specified locations across HRM and it will be delivered to a senior in time for Christmas.

3. Connect your elderly neighbours to community events. A number of groups, faith communities and neighbourhood resource centres offer events over the holidays. Spencer House, for example, is one organization that offers holiday programming for seniors. These services include affordable shopping experiences with Frosty’s Room and a special holiday dinner. For anyone who finds themselves alone on Christmas Day, there’s also a Community Christmas Day Lunch at St. Michael’s Church in Spryfield. Anyone is welcome to attend. For individuals who need food support over the holidays, 211 also hosts a registry. To learn more about his service and other options, phone or visit ns.211.ca/seasonal.

Looking for ways to take action and wondering how a donation to United Way can help? Consider these options:

$25 | Can provide a seniors group the snacks and refreshments to fuel their community connection

$120 | Can help provide a six-week mental health promotion program focused on personal wellness to someone in need

$365 | Can provide transit to 2 seniors for the winter months which makes it easier for them to get to where they need to be through the day and increase their ability to participate in community life, especially when the weather can make it more difficult to get around

Ready to donate, visit: unitedwayhalifax.ca/donate

#unignorable locallove holidays isolation

Volunteering –an excellent way to show your local love

At the core of every great non-profit organization are volunteers. Some volunteer positions are short-term and others require hours of commitment – but all of our volunteers help build a stronger, more resilient community – which benefits us all. United Way benefits from an incredibly committed group of volunteers who have been of great service to our community – they are members of our funding panels. This group of volunteers is tasked with reviewing funding applications that United Way receives from the community. As part of their review they are learning about community needs and visiting each organization, and engaging in many thoughtful discussions to offering funding recommendations.

This year, we have 38 volunteers with a depth of knowledge and experience that is reflective of our HRM community. Like our community, funding panels offer diversity: a breadth and depth of knowledge and experience that allow panels to review applications, engaging a diverse set of skill sets. Some of those skills include:

• panel members from the business community who have financial expertise, essential for reviewing the financial capacity of an organization to deliver the program they are applying to fund; • panel members who themselves at some point in their lives have experienced living in poverty, the knowledge and expertise that they bring to these decisions is essential to make the best possible decisions on which programs to fund to support people moving from poverty to possibility. • Knowledge of the non-profit sector; fundraising experience; cultural competency and more.

The richness of all of these voices coming together to work together to make decisions will shape how we fund organizations in 2019-2020.

So far, these volunteers have accomplished a great deal of work; they have:

• Assessed 52 of 60 funding applications • Committed 2-4 hours each week since October for each volunteer to review each application and attend meetings • Have completed 10 of 48 site visits – all should be completed by December 20

It truly takes a village to accomplish this work, and we couldn’t do it without our volunteers.

Thank you volunteers! Thank you for your commitment to community, your positivity, and your understanding that we must work together if we’re going to solve tough issues like poverty. You are truly building a resilient community we can all be proud of.

Show your local love this holiday season.

Looking for some ways to show local love this holiday season? Or do you need to find a special gift for a friend or family member? We’ve picked our best gift ideas from our Holiday Gift Guide that help make issues like poverty, homelessness, and social isolation #unignorable and change lives in our community.

$25 | The Basics

Can buy a hygiene kit for a homeless person with a month’s supply of items.

$50 | Start their day off right

Can supply breakfast for 24 homeless youth.

$120 | Special Day Gifts

Can buy holiday gifts for 10 children who are living below the poverty line.

$365 | Skills and Training Step Up

Can help one adult student access two foundational courses required to get their academic and career pathways off to a good start.

$50 | Warm Essentials

Can provide a frostbite kit for two homeless people, including a scarf, toque, socks, gloves and pocket warmers.

$125 | Healthy Meals

Can provide healthy meals to a person for one week.

$365 | Safe Place

Can provide accommodations for a woman and her children who have fled an abusive home.

$600 | Home Stay

Can provide a month’s worth of shelter, food and counselling to help someone break the cycle homelessness.

$25 | Afternoon Tea

Can provide a seniors group the snacks and refreshments to fuel their community connection.

$120 | Building Resiliency

Can help provide a six-week mental health promotion program focused on personal wellness to someone in need.

$365 | Community Access

Can provide one month of transit to a family of 4 which makes it easier for them to get to where they need to be through the day and increase their ability to participate in community life.

$750 | Hope in Hard Times

Can provide a week of child care assistance for a lone parent in crisis.

Become a leadership donor by giving $1,200 or more annually and your gift will be matched!

Thanks to the generosity of the Griffiths family, all increased and new leadership donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

$100/month ($1,200) | Fresh Food

Can provide one month’s supply of fresh produce for 100 seniors.

$210/month ($2,520) | Household Basics

Can provide a household necessities package to twelve families who are making a life-changing move to secure housing.

$420/month ($5,040) | Much Needed Meals

Can pay for nutritious daily meals for 30 people for four weeks.

$625/month ($7,500) | Skills and Connections

Can provide five newcomers with eight months of English classes and childcare, helping them develop skills and build connections.

Ready to show your local love this holiday? Donate Online

#unignorable locallove

Opening doors to housing solutions

Everyone should have a place they call home. It is the foundation to individual health and wellness and it contributes to health and wellness of our communities. But not everyone can access safe, affordable housing in our city. For some, access to affordable housing is a struggle because of low wages and a lack of income. For others it’s the fact that “affordable” housing units are often in disrepair or located in neighbourhoods that lack employment opportunities, affordable and accessible transportation, and access to goods and services.

Understandably, homelessness and affordable and accessible housing was one of the most prevalent themes that emerged from the consultations United Way Halifax hosted one year ago for the poverty solutions report.

Housing poverty is measured by the percentage of income that is spent on housing costs. In Halifax, 19,565 households live in extreme housing poverty which means they are spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing and are at a higher risk of being homeless. 40,000 households are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing which results in many making difficult choices between shelter, food, and other necessities like transportation.

“By the time I have paid rent, I have little left for frivolities like food and toiletries. I do not LIVE, I EXIST.”

HRM Resident

To mark National Housing Day this November 22, below are five highlights of work underway to open doors to new housing solutions.

1) National Housing Strategy: United Ways across the country joined the effort to contribute to the development of the federal strategy by helping to convene the National Housing Collaborative. This collaborative was instrumental in informing the National Housing Strategy - a $40 billion decade-long comprehensive strategy. Importantly, this strategy prioritizes those in greatest need with a focus on increasing the supply of affordable housing and to support the renewal and maintenance of existing housing. It sets in motion the creation of a new Canada Housing Benefit, and doubles investments aimed at ultimately cutting chronic homelessness in half. It also takes significant action to build the capacity of the housing sector to deliver on the 10-year vision, as well as to re-build our research and expertise in this area.

2) Homelessness and Housing First: The federal government’s new strategy on homelessness, Reaching Home, doubles resources to support communities in working towards an ambitious goal of reducing homelessness by 50% over the next 10 years. It also builds on learnings over the last decade, embracing a Housing First model that incorporates wrap-around supports. A pilot program which helps shelter users collect comprehensive data and develop lists of homeless people, including their names and circumstances, and to streamline access to housing and support services is being expanded to 30 new communities including Halifax. In addition, private sector developers in Halifax recently came together to fund an extreme weather support program which will provide critical support services to help homeless people get in from the cold during the winter months. This development is an excellent demonstration of what our community can achieve when we stand together in generosity to help further address homelessness issues in Halifax.

3) HRM Centre Plan: While most would agree HRM needs more affordable housing units, the Centre Plan incorporates a number of elements that will help define a path to positively impact our city’s most vulnerable citizens. These include: barrier-free building and streetscape design, pedestrians first approach, a commitment to cultural planning and supportive housing and shared forms of housing options.

4) Data and Research: A point in time count conducted in Spring of 2018 is helping to highlight critical insights into homelessness. Learn more by viewing Everyone Counts - Report on the 2018 Halifax Point in Time Count available from the AHANS website.

5) Housing and Human Rights: And an emerging new focus on housing as a human right raises the bar on our discussion about core social needs as essential to the kind of Canada we want to build, and our values of fairness, inclusion and mutual care. This was a point powerfully shared by Vince Calderhead at the Housing Symposium this week in Halifax.

There is a significant amount of work being done in Halifax to address the issue of homelessness. United Way Halifax along with the other partners in the Housing and Homelessness Partnership are committed to changing these conditions. Together with the community and all levels of government, we are working to end homelessness and housing poverty in Halifax.

This National Housing Day join United Way Halifax to learn how we're making Homelessness UNIGNORABLE in our city. We'll be hosting an UNIGNORABLE exhibit at Halifax City Hall from 4-6 PM. You can also follow us online or simply post your support and use #UNIGNORABLE.

#unignorable

Belonging – Lessons from the Peace and Friendship Treaties for Truth and Reconciliation

In Nova Scotia, 30 percent of the Indigenous population resides in Halifax. While the trend of rural to urban migration is not unique to First Nations people, finding their sense of belonging in an urban community can be different.

As we celebrate Mi’kmaq History Month, we asked Wyatt White, Director of M'ikmaw Services at the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and member of United Way Halifax’s Board of Directors, to explore an Indigenous experience as it relates to the theme of community belonging. We also wanted to learn how our understanding of what it means to truly belong is enriched when we embrace the learnings of the Peace and Friendship Treaties and the emergence of Truth and Reconciliation. His answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

United Way Halifax: We are all treaty people. What is the significance of this statement and what does it teach us about how we build strong communities where everyone has a sense of belonging and responsibility for each other?

Wyatt White: We are all treaty people opens the door in quiet way for every person to acknowledge and give thanks to our historical sovereigns, the Mi’kmaq and Crown, for the land we now share today. It’s also an opportunity to look back to recognize how treaties have allowed us to flourish, but also dig deeper to consider how the benefits of sharing the land and its bounty have not been experienced equally. This is where the rich conversation can begin.

UWH: What are some of the misunderstandings we have of Indigenous populations?

WW: There is a perception that First Nations people step outside their own community only when they need to access a service. They are often not given credit for wanting to step out for the purpose of forming new relationship, partnerships or opportunities to enhance their skill set and education so they can contribute in ways that enhance our shared sense of success.

From a cultural context, it’s helpful to understand the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. In the Indigenous context, you learn from your elders, you listen more than you speak, and you wait until someone engages you. Generally speaking, in the non-Indigenous context, it’s a bit of the opposite. If you want to be heard, you shout louder. If you want to be seen, you step to the front and speaking has great value than listening. I think we’re getting to the place where community organizations and schools are trying to be more flexible and where they recognize we just can’t hear about people that emerge to the front or speak the loudest, we have a responsibility to reach out to engage everyone in meaningful ways.

UWH: Why is Reconciliation a Canadian issue for all Canadians (not systems or institutions) to address?

WW: To paraphrase the words of Senator Murray Sinclair, every person deserves to have a sense of belonging to their country and community and we hope no one wants to intentionally deny this to anyone else. These are the values we share as Canadians. Reconciliation enables us to truly live these values. Reconciliation has room for all gestures, big and small. It has awakened an opportunity for everyone to ask questions without guilt, without shame, and without digging too deep into some of the most uncomfortable parts of our past. We will eventually move forward when we all become more comfortable with being less comfortable. Reconciliation focuses our attention to a future filled with hope and optimism – we can’t change the past, so what decisions and what choices can we make in the future that will have a positive impact on people everywhere, regardless of the community you call home. After all, as Maya Angelou said, “We are more alike than we are unalike.”

UWH: How can our community be more inclusive and supportive of Indigenous peoples?

WW: We’ve started on the path and the work of building a more inclusive community has been elevated in its importance through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC has created an understanding that when we do the right thing from a reconciliation perspective, it is not just bringing social justice to Indigenous community members, it is bringing it to everyone. The road to reconciliation enriches everyone’s opportunity to live together, co-exist and live in more of the peace and friendship our treaties intended.

To highlight some of the progress that has been made, it’s helpful to use an example from our education system. Requests for a culturally specific courses used to be considered only when students from that community or culture group attended the school. The view was, ‘why would we bother offering that course’. Today, this narrow perspective still does exist but in fewer pockets of the education system. Now we believe we owe it to our entire school community to ensure that all children and youth have a chance to rich experiences rooted in culture like Mi’kmaw, African Canadian or Gaelic studies.

Another example that demonstrates a renewed commitment to Treaty Education is the process that’s been undertaken to Indigenize school curriculum and programs. With this approach, every student in every course will have a chance to learn in ways that are more inclusive of Mi’kmaw and other Indigenous perspectives and worldviews.

Within public school, there is full recognition that in order for Indigenous students to achieve success (however it is defined by either themselves or their community), it is the system’s responsibility to ensure they see themselves and their goals reflected in the environment around them. This is supported by our growing commitment to ensuring students can access culturally specific curriculum and resources delivered by education leaders they can identify with and view as role models.

From a community perspective, we all have a role to play in creating environments that promote kindness and respect through dialogue and understanding. It is our community’s job, as stated by Sen. Murray Sinclair, for every citizen, and for younger ones in particular, to confidently be able to ask themselves and answer these four seemingly uncomplicated questions: Where am I going; where did I come from; what’s my purpose; and who am I?

#indigenous

Celebrating Social Innovation in Halifax

Nominations for the Harold Crowell Social Innovation Awards open September 4!

These awards celebrate the vision, creativity, and accomplishments of community champions who are finding new ways to tackle the issues of poverty and bringing new thinking to how services are delivered to support and improve lives of Halifax’s most marginalized residents.

Along with the well-deserved recognition from the community, a total of $10,000 will be awarded to the top three finalists, to invest directly into the poverty initiatives, social enterprise, project or program for which they are nominated.

In 2017, Jessie Jollymore took home the top prize for her work with Hope Blooms and other community projects in North End Halifax. Deborah Dickey, executive director of the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre and Melissa Phillips of Shelter Nova Scotia were also finalists.

Honouring the legacy of Harold Crowell

Harold Crowell was a true champion of Halifax who lived his life every day to create change in our community and is widely recognized as Halifax's original social innovator. Through his mentorship, kindness and creativity he had a huge impact on many lives - changing how we viewed poverty and more importantly helping to find solutions that create meaningful and lasting change. Harold’s social innovations garnered the respect and recognition from many experts worldwide. As a former director of The Halifax Assistance Fund, these awards honour Harold’s legacy.

Partnering to inspire social innovation in Halifax

In 2018, the Halifax Assistance Fund (HAF) is partnering with United Way Halifax and Volta to host the awards. The partnership will enable more opportunities for Halifax’s community champions from the social sector, business community and tech start-up communities to connect and learn from each other. Through workshops, an Awards program and Social Innovation Summit hosted by Volta, we also hope to inspire more social innovation and foster an active culture of innovation that has meaningful impact in HRM.

Award Ceremony - November 14

Social Innovation Summit - November 24

Stay tuned. Event details will be posted once they're finalized.

Putting forth a nomination is easy. All you need to do is follow the steps in the nomination form, outline how your nominee meets specific award criteria, and ask two people to support the nomination.

Nominations are open until September 28. View the Harold Crowell Social Innovation Awards Guidelines for full details. And if you’re ready to nominate your community champion, click here to access the form.

Spread the word. We want to hear about all the great work happening in Halifax. Please share the information about the awards with your networks so we can truly celebrate those champions who are making a real difference in Halifax.

#socialinnovation

Agency Gathering Update – June 2018

On Friday June 8, United Way Halifax gathered with agency partners to provide a look back, reviewing key initiatives over the past year; and a look forward, outlining how we are evolving and responding to current community needs and our fiscal reality.

The agenda for the day had four main components:

United Way Halifax – Review and Outlook

Community Impact Update (team overview and roles, funding update, program reporting and poverty solutions review)

Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Blueprint

Building our collective capacity – Facilitated networking exercise

Below is a brief recap of what we covered during the day and links to the presentation and handout materials.

Agency Gathering Presentation

Impact Report 2017 - The collective results from funded program reports

Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Blueprint Presentation

1) 2017 Review and 2018 Outlook

Sara Napier kicked off the meeting reviewing major initiatives completed in 2017-18 including United Way Halifax’s partnership with HRM on the poverty solutions report, work with the province on the poverty reduction blueprint, and changes to our Community Impact Committee and governance model. She also highlighted some of the challenges that will have a direct impact on the funding that is available to support 2019 Community Investment.

As United Way Halifax shared in its most recent Community Report, the $4.2 Million investment enabled in our community this year was not easy. It required all hands on deck and focused dedication and commitment from many. And while we were pleased, we were able to keep community agency funding levels unchanged in 2017 and 2018, it is important to acknowledge it has left the organization financially over extended. (Funding 2017 community investments required United Way Halifax to draw on reserves, and funding 2018 investments required an investment from the Tomorrow Fund.)

Going forward, United Way Halifax needs to strengthen its focus on sustainable investment and revenue growth. While the organization remains 100% committed to growing revenue so it can in turn grow our long-term community investment, we expect our short term (i.e. 2019-20) funding decisions will be very difficult.

2) Community Investment Update

Sue LaPierre provided an update on the Community Impact team, more specific details on the funding framework and timeline, the results of the most recent program reports, and a review of the poverty solutions work.

Community Impact Team Update: In terms of the team update, this past spring United Way Halifax’s community impact team was restructured to better align the roles around our poverty solutions focus and community partners.

Kevin Hooper is now in the role of Manager, Partnerships and Community Development. In this role Kevin is providing oversight to all of our partnership work including our work with community agencies, Try Do and the Housing and Homelessness Partnership.

Kevin joined United Way Halifax in 2017 in the role of Homelessness and Housing Facilitator. In this role, he facilitated our work with the Housing & Homelessness Partnership where he demonstrated a strong ability to build effective working relationships with partners from all sectors and understanding for how we align efforts towards shared goals. Kevin has background in urban planning and is very passionate about creating a stronger community for everyone.

In addition to Kevin’s new appointment, a new assistant that will support administrative functions for the community impact team was hired. Skye Cross joins the team on June 18 in the role of Community Impact Assistant and Data/Information Steward.

Other members of the Community Impact team that continue to support the work of our agency and community partners include Michelle Johnson and Jen Wilcox. As our Inclusive Communities Specialist, Michelle supports our efforts to increase capacity and competency around inclusion and equity. Jen’s focus is to strengthen our understanding of community needs in her role of Engagement and Learning Specialist. Two vacant roles that will be filled in the near term are an Evaluation and Reporting Specialist and a Facilitator role for our overall work in poverty solutions as well as housing and homelessness.

Funding Framework & Timeline: Sue shared details about the new funding framework that will focus impact in poverty, housing and homelessness and inclusive communities. While this framework will honour the great work United Way Halifax has achieved with funded agencies over the past years, the fiscal reality will constrain the funding envelope available for 2019-20. Agencies will be kept informed as the framework and process are finalized over the summer and applications will be initiated in the September 2018.

3) Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Blueprint

Frazer Egerton, a director from the Department of Community Services, provided an overview of the Province’s Poverty Reduction Blueprint. A key goal of this blueprint is to employ an action-oriented approach that tests innovative ways of addressing poverty and using the results to better understand:

What projects/programs/initiatives measurably help lift people out of poverty?

What activities or attributes of programs are most critical to achieving its outcomes?

What combination of programs will provide the greatest overall long-term impact?

How can knowledge gained further inform decision-making?

The audience raised a number of questions in response to this presentation. To address them, United Way Halifax will work with the Department of Community Services to develop a Question & Answer summary and share it with our agency partners.

An additional component of this presentation included a review of the Building Vibrant Communities (BVC) Poverty Reduction Grants. This year, there is $1 million dollars available for these community grants. The application process is now open. To learn more about the grants, check out these links to the guidelines and application.

4) Building our collective capacity - Gives & Gets Exercise

The gathering ended with an interactive exercise titled “Gives & Gets”. This exercise helped identified common needs of our agencies and ideas for how we might collaborate to address them. Some of the needs included:

Evaluation, Outcome and Indicator Development

Increased networking, collaboration and resource sharing

Data gathering and management systems

Social media training

Professional development opportunities (such as mental health first aid, non-violent crises intervention, etc)

Fund development (including fundraising, grant writing, and building legacy programs)

With the input gathered from this exercise, United Way Halifax’s CI team will begin a more thorough analysis and develop a plan to address priority needs with a collaborative, cross-sector approach. Stay tuned for an update in the late summer/ early fall detailing our next steps and possible offerings.

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