For adults with various disabilities over the age of 21, finding opportunities for continued learning and growth can be quite difficult.
“The funding for day programs for adults in this category is very low. After they age out of the school system, there is very little for them,” said Nina Dehghani, who along with her husband founded Global Community Development Network (GCDN) in Pickering in 2023.
They operate out of space leased in an office building on Mc Kay Road, offering day programs with a wide variety of life building activities from cooking classes, financial literacy to fitness and arts.
“Without programs like this, many adults who age out of the school system can lag in development,” Dehghani said. “There is a need for places like ours.”
Christina Ducette, an adult who lives with a disability, was hired by GCDN to develop their programming.
“I was thrilled when this opened because I know from experience there are not enough places like this, especially here in Pickering.”
But the non-profit is facing an uncertain future. Funds are running low and it is struggling to continue paying staff to keep the doors open.
“We have so many people and corporations who want to help us financially, but they can’t donate without us getting a registered charity number.”
Dehghani said their application to receive charity status was finalized and sent into the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), tasked with approving charities, last March.
“We were supposed to receive it by November. November got pushed down to February. Now we’re being told it’s going to be end of April or May but even that is not official.”
The delay falls short of CRA’s own “Service Standard,” which promises to try and give an answer to completed charity applications within nine months.
“A representative told me there are lots of applications and they’re short of staff, and there’s not time to go through all the applications,” Dehghani said.
A CRA spokesperson says they review applications on a first-come, first-served basis and says the CRA aims to meet their service standard but says sometimes it may take longer.
“Each application for registration is unique,” said spokesperson Kim Thiffault. “As a result, factors such as the complexity of an application, the speed with which the applicant provides information to the CRA, and volume of applications received by the CRA affect processing times.”
Thiffault said registering a charity is a comprehensive process which includes in-depth research and analysis of an applicant organization’s structure and mode of operation. She mentioned that this process is crucial for safeguarding integrity within Canada’s charitable sector as part of CRA’s mandate.
Deghani feels hopeful GCDN can make it through these next few months while waiting for news about their application but admits time is tight. She believes that receiving charity status will not only help them stay afloat but also expand their services for many more clients.
Currently, they have just two full-time clients whose families can afford fees for the day program; they have room for about 20 more clients.
“Our hope is if we can get these corporate donations we can subsidize fees for those who want to use our services but cannot afford it. But we need that charity number first. I just hope they come through and approve our application because this place is greatly needed here in Pickering,” Dehghani said.
If you have an issue, story or question you’d like us to look into, reach out here.
Source link
Source link
