Nelson Sanchez with our club Community Chair Carin Jansen van Vuuren
This week we welcomed Nelson Gomez to tell us about the programs at Prosper Place. Prosper Place is a program of the Canadian Mental Health Association. They have a building in the west end of Edmonton (10455-172 St) with a Café, meeting and program rooms. Members can join at no cost and are welcome to take part in any of the programs offered.
They have a cafe which offers subsidized daily meals to members for four dollars each. They currently have about eight hundred members with about thirty to forty people taking part in daily activities. They are open five days a week and offer programs to encourage skills building, personal growth, socialization, or simply a space to connect with others. Some of their current programs include Adjusting to Life in Canada, Parenting, Anger Management, Anxiety and Depression, Grief and Loss, Balancing Work and Family and many other topics. In addition, they have a small food and clothing bank on site. They offer drop-in professional psychiatric help every Tuesday which is open to the general public. They also sponsor a party for their members once a month with a meal and entertainment provided at a very minimal cost. Their members come from all walks of life and they are tied in to the 211 Help Line, local Hospitals, the Food Bank, Probation Officers, Group homes and many other agencies although referrals are not needed to become a member.
They have a very small number of paid staff and many of their programs are run by volunteer peer members. They receive funding for some programs through Canadian Mental Health but are also a registered Charity and rely on private donations for many of their additional programs. We would like to thank Nelson for his very interesting talk. More information on their programs can be found at www.prosperplace.org.