TORONTO, (August 14, 2020)—A crisis like COVID-19 challenges communities at every level. From the struggles of physical distancing to loss of income, isolation and detachment from the social networks that provide care, people can often find themselves in need of more support, just as it becomes harder to find.
To meet this issue head on, the government announced the Ontario Community Support Program in April, a nearly $11 million (Canadian) fund distributed by the Ontario Community Support Association to help community support organizations deliver meals, medicine and more to community members who need it the most.
For Hospice Toronto, an urban, in-home hospice palliative care program, the emergency funding has meant the ability to partner with a caterer to bring nourishing fresh and frozen meals directly to their most vulnerable community members: people with terminal illness who have chosen to die at home.
For people already facing unthinkable challenges, a lovingly prepared meal is the gift of one less thing to worry about.
As those in the community support sector know well, funding isn't everything; the success of these programs also relies on people. At Hospice Toronto, as elsewhere across the province, staff are stepping in to replace volunteers—many over 70 years old—who've been forced to stay home and isolate themselves. For Teri Henderson, the Director of Clinical Services for Hospice Toronto, the opportunity to deliver meals to community members during COVID-19 has been incredibly meaningful.
"I've been in this field for a long time and I was really struck by the absolute gratitude people had that we were able to bring food into their homes," she said, noting that this appreciation has translated into neighbor referrals for the program and as a result, the high-density vertical villages that many of their clients call home, are transforming into communities.
Henderson is grateful for what the funding has allowed them to accomplish, saying, "If in one small way we can feed people emotionally or physically—it's been a gift."
For more information, visit ocsa.on.ca and hospicetoronto.ca.
