Impact Stories

Bike Share Program | A Place Called Home

One of our clients accessed our Bikeshare program frequently to get to his job. Having access to the bike provided a huge relief and a sense of empowerment to our client as he could now get to work on time without it costing him bus or cab fare or having to seek a ride elsewhere. This program was a big help to our client and has helped him successfully sustain his employment.

Food For Work | VCCS

One recipient of the Food For Work cards was a Refugee from Ukraine who arrived in Kawartha Lakes in the early days following the start of the war. Early on this individual was able to secure housing and provide some stability for themselves. However their employment situation changed recently, and they found themselves in a very precarious situation where they were at risk of losing their house and could not afford proper food. Through working with staff at VCCS to secure immediate employment, we were also able to provide a resource for food so that they could commit their limited funds to housing, without having to forgo proper food. Happily, this person secured employment in an environment which fits their needs and they will be well on their way to ensuring that they can meet their own basic needs.

Youth Outreach | BGC Kawarthas

A 14 year-old youth struggling with anxiety and not attending school. The Youth Outreach worker connected with the school and was able to initiate a Supervised Alternative Learning experience and co-op opportunity for this youth. Additionally, this youth was connected to mental health supports at a critical time to address the anxiety that prevents him from attending school. The Youth worker continued to meet and assist with working towards the youth’s goal of reattending school, which he is scheduled to do in fall 2025.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy Training | Community Counselling and Resource Centre

A client came to work on complicated grief related to a family death. Receiving EMDR treatment allowed her to open up more about the trauma she experienced as a child related to the family member. She was previously stuck in her grief and EMDR allowed her to process some of the trauma which her move forward. EMDR also helped her open up about some of her own internalized shame and how it relates to her trauma from her family member which made the grief more complicated.

Coming Full Circle: Dedicated Spaces for People with Lived Experience in Haliburton County | Point in Time Centre for Children, Youth and Parents

A very sad woman visited – she was putting her dog down later that day. She cried and was offered a friendly face with a listening ear. She had some snacks and took a couple to go. A Grandma, mom and child came in. The Grandma and child were glad not to have to wait with Mom in the wee waiting room. They visited for a while, talked about life, left with extra fresh food in ziplock bags for other kids at home. Another woman came by, she was initially skeptical, but then Lindsay talked to her, she ended up looking around and had a donut. A man said hi when we waiting room for a few weeks; he eventually peeked in a couple of times and took some snacks home. By the end we knew him – all about his cats, their names, his daughter, her dogs and more.

Leveraging Community Capacity Funding to Create More Opportunities

Our Community Capacity grants provide the groundwork for projects to expand and unlock additional grants and resources. Point in Time was able to leverage their Community Capacity grants to partner with the Canadian Mental Health Association of Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge to obtain an $800,000 grant from Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program. With this larger grant they were able to create a Haliburton home base for this program that matches Haliburton County residents dealing with substance abuse issues and mental health challenges with people who have lived experience overcoming them. This program provides supports, can help with food insecurity and housing concerns, or just a someone to listen.