You are making a difference.
It is all to easy to feel overwhelmed by the problems in our society. Every headline is about increasing hunger, homelessness, and poverty. It’s enough to make you lose hope for tomorrow.
But—together—we are making today better.
Meet Frank: like many Bruce House clients, HIV is not the only challenge Frank faces. After a stroke left him in need of a wheelchair, he found himself unable to maintain his independence and dignity.
His wheelchair didn’t fit through his bedroom door, forcing Frank to sleep on his couch. He couldn’t fully access his bathroom, forcing him to settle for sponge baths between visits from a personal support worker. He couldn’t cook, because his stove and countertop were too high to reach. His balcony was also off-limits—the doorway was too narrow. And the building wasn’t safe, resulting in thefts and several assaults.
Frank lived in fear, hiding his money and medications, desperately in need of more appropriate housing.
With the help of Bruce House staff, Frank applied for a transfer to a fully accessible unit in a safer building. Staff advocated for the urgency of this transfer, citing concerns with Frank’s mental and physical health and safety. We connected with the city’s social services, with the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), cleaners, and personal support workers to ensure that everything would be ready for him in his new home. We even helped him pack and unpack boxes.
All this took eighteen months. Can you imagine how much longer it would have been—if the move would have happened at all—without caring and dedicated support?
Frank has now settled into his new home, and he couldn’t be happier. He can cook his own meals, wheel into his bathroom and shower on his own, and sleep in how own bed. He can hang out on his balcony for some fresh air or go out into a neighborhood where he feels safe and welcome.
There are solutions to the issues we see every day! The problem is that these solutions aren’t sufficiently funded.
Organizations like Bruce House struggle each year to find enough funds to continue making today better for clients like Frank. Government funding only accounts for about half our annual budget, the shortfall has to be made up from donations, fundraising, and endless applications for one-time grants.
This is “budgeting on a hope and a prayer”, estimating revenues which can fluctuate from year to year due to everything from economic change to bad weather on a fundraising day.
Photo of fully accessible shower at Frank’s new home.
That’s why we are reaching out to you now. As we near the end of one fiscal year and plan for the next we need your help to make sure that we can keep supporting vulnerable people living with HIV in Ottawa. Your gifts are always important, but a gift now is even more impactful as it lets Bruce House plan next year with confidence.
Please help us continue this positive impact! We are counting on your help so that we can continue to offer hope, housing, and support.
