Visitors and guests –
Guest speakers Patrick Sweet and Jennifer Cox from Northumberland Hills Hospital
Carla, exchange student
President report:
• Rotary Citation, formerly Presidential Citation, needs to be done. Go to – Rotary.org, under for members click on Rotary Citation and in paragraph 2 – click on Rotary Citation Brochure. There is a list of goals for clubs – we need to choose our goals.
• District Conference November 3-4th at White Oaks, Niagara
• There is now a Rotary app to put on smart phones
• The motion to donate $1,200 of the International fund to Shelterbox was carried unanimously. Shelterbox is an international aid organization providing emergency shelter tents and items for people in disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
Club announcements:
Cathy:
Presented the 50/50 draw winnings of $531.50 to Kerry Lynch
Karen O’Hara:
Helen anniversary this weekend - kids in England
Karen T - Thanksgiving birthday
Karen L.
Horizons of Friendship is holding two public events with Guatemala health professionals visiting the area on Oct. 12 from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at the Horizons office, 50 Covert St in Cobourg and at Trinity United Church on Oct. 13 from 6:30 pm to 8 p.m. It is a chance to learn more about the project in Guatemala and traditional Mayan medical practices.
Happy Bucks:
Cathy - thanks to everyone who did Dragon Boat, we had a blast
Linda Givelas is happy for many things, - husband birthday, sister got married, daughter is here from Edmonton
Kerry - happy for the 50/50 winnings, will donate $400 of winnings to Rotary Foundation
Guest speakers – Patrick Sweet and Jennifer Cox from Northumberland Hills Hospital
Doug introduced:
Patrick Sweet is an outreach worker from Northumberland Hills Hospital - to help with the homeless situation – the Salvation Army helped 300 homeless people last year.
Jennifer Cox is his colleague.
Presentation:
Both Patrick and Jennifer work out of NHH Community Mental Health Services.
Patrick works with people facing eviction or who are homeless. People facing eviction could have one thing happen, such as a car breaking down, and they lose their home. It is growing in the county, rental units are few and costs are high.
Jennifer talked about a free walk in clinic for mental health open Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1011 Elgin St. W., they are hoping to be faster to respond to the needs as they get 80 to 100 referrals a month.
Yesterday was first day at the clinic and they had 12 people through
Patrick said a lot people are living rough, in the woods and facing mental health issues but have long waiting times, the clinic will get them started working on mental health right away.
Right now there aren’t many places people can go. The Transition House shelter has been full for the last couple months.
Cobourg Police station opened a warming and cooling room where people can stay the night also Salvation Army helps by giving out vouchers for motels.
There is virtually no housing right now. For people getting $700 a month on Ontario Works with rent starting at $800, it is impossible to find a place to live. Rent geared to income spots have a seven-year wait list.
Patrick’s job is a progressive role as there are many people struggling with a number of issues - addictions, mental health. Patrick has mental health training to help and that is something a new in the field.
Patrick has a 25-person caseload now.
50/50 draw
No winners this week
Karen O. offered a special Thanksgiving bottle of wine for the draw – Patricia won