Battling the poverty myth

The statistics cited in The Chronicle’s front page story 'Looking beyond the numbers' on Oct. 22 came as no surprise to West Island Community Shares. As a fundraising organization exclusively for West Island community groups, we have been battling the myth that poverty does not exist in the West Island for the 11 years of our existence. Areas of poverty do exist in the West Island and children from these areas are vulnerable and at-risk.

Several of the 29 local groups we support are dedicated to giving at-risk children and youth a chance to succeed. Some examples of these groups, the services they offer and the number of children they helped last year are: the Carrefour 6-12 ans provided educational support to 248 at-risk children from low-income families; West Island Youth Centre – De-Zone and Les Maisons des Jeunes de Pierrefonds, A-Ma-Baie and L’Ile Bizard provided safe and drug-free environments to a combined total of 333 youths; Pierrefonds Community Project offered services to 1,094 children of low-income and immigrant families; Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE) provided 140 youths with the support and skills needed to reject negative behavior and replace aggression with more constructive ways to be seen and heard; AMCAL Family Services helped 1050 teens in crisis and their families and Big Brothers & Big Sisters of the West Island offered responsible adult guidance to 257 children through quality Mentoring and In-School programs. In addition, the West island Assistance Fund dispensed food and clothing to underprivileged families that included 1,150 children and Cloverdale Multi-Ressources offered after-school and homework programs to 248 children, mostly from low-income families. This year we also added Action Jeunesse de l’Ouest-de-l-Île (AJOI) to the groups we fund. AJOI provides intervention services to West Island at-risk youth aged from 12 to 25

Many of these groups depend on the funding they receive from West Island Community Shares to continue the important work they do with children in our community. Last year, we raised $630,000 which was distributed to the 29 groups we support. They, in turn, helped 27,000 West Islanders, including 8,000 children and 5,000 seniors. This year, our goal is to raise $675,000 so that even more of our neighbors in need can receive the help they require. An information package was sent to 65,000 West Island homes as part of this year’s campaign. We invite all West Island residents who believe that it is important to protect essential services on the West Island to send a donation in the pre-paid return envelope included in this mailing, to make a donation via our secure Web site at www.communityshares.ca or to call 514-695-8694 to donate.