FARE FOR FRIENDS

Brian has lived in poverty his entire life. As a young boy, Brian had to struggle to survive, living in unsafe environments, not being able to properly feed himself every day.

Living in poverty affects you, especially at a young age. Brian lived in a very unstable environment with his mother, which in turn, led him to befriend people who were there to bring him down. He started doing drugs as a teenager and drinking excessively. At the age of 16, Brian was homeless, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and had quit school.

He came across a program that was suggested to him by a friend. Youth Services Program at Home Base Housing helps homeless and troubled youth turn their lives around. Brian was accepted into the program. He has been clean off drugs and alcohol for 4 years, lives in his own place, and started working full time. Without the help and funding from the United Way to support his transition through Home Base Housing and into his newly formed life, Brian believes that he would never have been able to achieve these successes.

In the summer of 2011, after going through countless medical tests that no 10 year old should ever have to endure, I had the unfortunate luck of being diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.

For me and my family everything changed. The first thing we did was tap into a United Way Member Agency. I am a direct result of your dollars at work, I am a direct result of the impact the United Way has on this community. Strong people stand up for themselves but the strongest people stand up for others. I am asking you to stand up for the United Way, stand up for those who can’t, stand up for me.

If you need to put a face to your United Way dollar I AM IT!

The Canadian Hearing Society supports deaf people. As a deaf person, they’ve supported me in many ways, one of which is getting support for my mental health needs. Also for getting me technical devices that I may need like an alarm clock, hearing aid batteries.

I have lots of problems, and the Canadian Hearing Society has just made it possible for me to feel much better. To feel great as a per­son but also as a deaf person. I am now proud of who I am as a deaf person. Getting counseling with a person who is not deaf and who doesn’t use sign language is very difficult, but here, I can receive counseling through a person who is either deaf or understands deaf people.

I say thank you because this helps us in a way that I can’t even com­pletely explain. They help us to access services, to break down bar­riers. That’s really helpful because it makes us feel better as people. We no longer see the barriers as a problem but as something that can be brought down and that gives us more confidence that we can do things. It’s not a situation where we can’t, it’s a situation where we can.