July 8, 2011
Stella Burry Receives Funding for Training of Housing Support Workers
As part of the Provincial Government’s commitment to help vulnerable members of society, the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and Lead Minister for the Poverty Reduction Strategy, announced $36,421 in funding support for Stella Burry Community Services today. The funding is part of the overall investment of approximately $840,000 to multiple community organizations that was announced recently from the 2010-11 Supportive Living Community Partnership Program.
“This investment is being used to provide training for eight housing support workers who will be employed in community-based agencies throughout the province,” said Minister King. “The training will ensure the new housing support workers can provide consistent and comprehensive services to people with complex needs because it is based in best practices that have been developed by leading housing advocates from throughout our province.”
The housing support worker positions were recently created to provide one-on-one support to people facing multiple barriers in their efforts to secure housing. The people chosen for these positions completed a five-day training event this week that included sessions about the “Housing First” approach, eviction prevention, client care and assessment, government programs and services for vulnerable people, and data collection.
They will now apply this training in the regions served by their community-based agencies: Carbonear, Clarenville, Marystown, Grand Falls-Windsor, Stephenville, Corner Brook, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and Labrador City. In the coming months, staff of Stella Burry Community Services will be available to provide ongoing support for these workers as they put their training into action. The workers will also attend four additional days of training at a later date in which they will discuss their experiences on the job and ways to address any challenges they experience.
“Stella Burry Community Services is proud to play a role in helping organizations throughout the province provide meaningful supports to people facing housing instability,” said Gail Thornhill, Director of Supportive Housing for Stella Burry Community Services. “The Provincial Government’s Supportive Living Community Partnership Program funding is creating great opportunities to enhance the assistance available in our province for people facing housing issues, and this training project is just one example of the great things community organizations are achieving with these funds.”
An initiative of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Supportive Living Community Partnership Program provides funding to community-based organizations so they can develop comprehensive housing supports for people who need them. Projects funded through the program have focused on building capacity among community-based organizations, extending regional outreach services, providing training and professional development, and sharing best practices.
The program began in 2009 with a budget of $1.2 million, which was doubled in 2010 to $2.4 million, and doubled once more to $4.8 million through Budget 2011 Standing Strong: For Prosperity. For Our Future. For Newfoundland and Labrador. A call for proposals will soon be issued for 2011-12 program funding.
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Media contacts:
| Bradley Power Director of Communications Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment 709-729-0753, 699-5707 bradleypower@gov.nl.ca |
Gail Thornhill Director of Supportive Housing Stella Burry Community Services 709-738-8390 g.thornhill@stellaburry.ca |
2011 07 08 9:35 a.m.