OTF Grant Gives Front-Line Workers Resiliency and Wellness

Mississauga, ON – On Wednesday, local MPP Deepak Anand met with the team at Services and Housing In the Province (SHIP) to hear more about the $136,600 Resilience Community Fund received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) that was used to fund programming focused on resiliency and wellness of workers providing much-needed housing and supports services across the province. The initiative, which began rolling out in August, gives health care workers at SHIP supports targeting physical and mental wellness with the objective of alleviating burnout and helping staff maintain overall health.

The programming that SHIP rolled out includes access to the TELUS Virtual Care service, providing personalized medical support of Mental Health Counselling, virtual therapy and primary care for staff when and where they need it most. SHIP has also contracted the services of experts to assist staff on specific topics of wellness, with specialists available to speak on topics such as addictions, diabetes, and eating well.

“Responding to the global pandemic and the many changes this meant for our daily work put significant stress on our workforce,” said Lesley Nagoda, Chief Executive Officer of SHIP. “Our staff are committed and dedicated to delivering the highest quality service they can to our clients, but the needs of our staff need to be taken care of too. This funding allows us to offer wellness programs to our staff to maintain their own health and wellbeing so that they can continue to serve our communities. We also want to congratulate the Ontario Trillium Foundation on 40 years of granting and building healthy and vibrant communities across the province.”

SHIP is very thankful to be able to continue providing staff with these supports and expand upon these measures in the months to come. For more information about SHIP, please visit their website at www.shipshey.ca.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grantmaking in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

Organization Contact for Media Inquiries:

Ross Harding, Communications and Social Media Specialist

Services and Housing In the Province

416-294-5046

ross.harding@shipshey.ca