A Simcoe County group that gives care and assist for adults residing with bodily and mental disabilities is closing two of its places, citing a scarcity of provincial funding.
On Friday, Empower Simcoe, a non-profit group, stated group houses on Anne Avenue in Barrie and Nottawasaga Avenue in Orillia are closing.
The choice impacts eight households who will likely be relocated to one of many 44 different Empower Simcoe places.
In November 2023, the group partnered with different provincial companies to launch a #5toSurvive marketing campaign calling on the federal government to offer a 5 per cent funding bump.
Empower Simcoe receives $40 million of funding yearly from the Ministry of Youngsters, Group and Social Companies to assist roughly 2,600 people and varied applications.
“From 2020 to 2023, the Financial institution of Canada reported an inflation charge of 16 per cent. That is equal to a $6.4 million funding reduce, or 183,000 hours of assist,” Empower famous within the November information launch.
The group stated it had been “offsetting income by means of fundraising and one-time grants” however added that wasn’t sufficient to maintain operations.
On Friday, Empower referred to as the scenario an “erosion of funding and providers.”
“Each penny we get is being eroded daily as a result of it might probably’t purchase us as a lot as we had been capable of purchase simply even yesterday.”
The group house closures is not going to influence worker jobs; nevertheless, the group famous that with out change, there could be “much more program closures inside our growth providers companies.”
