Four community outreach projects targeting youth, unemployment, and drug and alcohol addiction will get funding help from the United Counties of Prescott-Russell.
Michel Chrétien, administrative coordinator for the Prescott-Russell Community Health and Well-Being Plan (PRCHW), introduced delegates from four regional non-profit agencies to United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR) May 28. The delegates presented funding proposals from their groups to help deal with issues affecting youth, people seeking jobs, and residents trying to cope with either drug or alcohol addiction.
The funding requests combined total $45,000. The mayors on UCPR council expressed support for the funding requests. The Nation Mayor Francis Brière noted that the proposals dealing with youth issues could benefit from promotion through local school districts.
“There needs to be some community outreach work to the school boards,” said Mayor Brière, “so they are aware these (programs) are out there.”
The two youth-oriented projects are from Maison Interlude House and Service aux victimes Prescott-Russell Victim Services. Both programs focus on helping youth cope with violence issues at home or school, including bullying, including cyber bullying, domestic abuse, sexual assault or intimidation, and other forms of violence. The two projects will involve partnerships between the two non-profit agencies and the OPP and other groups.
Hawkesbury Regional General Hospital is setting up a Stepped-Care project in partnership with other agencies to help people dealing with alcohol and drug addiction issues. Centre de services à l’emploi de Prescott-Russell Employment Centre in partnership with other agencies is developing a poverty reduction strategy aimed at helping people with chronic unemployment problems that are starting to make them believe they have no skills or ability to find and keep a job.
Council approved support funding for all four projects.
