On January 17, the Fabulous Fenwick Lions Club presented a $4000 cheque to Jennifer Sinclair for The Hope Centre. Sinclair attended the club’s dinner meeting and spoke to members about the Hope Centre’s work, which includes a variety of services that help individuals and families in Welland that are facing poverty-related challenges including mental health, addictions, food insecurity and housing instability.
The Centre provides housing-focused shelter, transitional housing, and prevention programs to assist homeless people and those at risk of losing their housing in Welland. They help people who are struggling to meet their basic needs by providing access to their food bank and community lunch program.
They also assist and advocate for the most vulnerable members of their community with counseling services, financial assistance for medical expenses, and an on-site REACH Medical Clinic. The Centre’s Return2Hope Counseling service offers free psychotherapy and/or supportive counseling services for low-income adults living in Welland. The REACH Niagara Medical Clinic is open every Wednesday afternoon from 1 PM to 4 PM. The Clinic provides non-judgmental, low-barrier healthcare services for people who need it, said Sinclair.
“2023 was an unprecedented year for our food bank usage. We had 19,079 visits throughout the year. In 2022 we had 11,489. This is a 65 percent increase, with 2,212 of those being first-time users. It is thanks to support from the Fenwick Lions Club and other organizations that we are able to continue to help these people.”
