The Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario has released Discussion Paper 2: Approaches for Reform and What We Heard: A Summary of Discussion on Social Assistance. You can find both papers HERE.

Feedback on Discussion Paper 2 is required by March 16th. The Poverty Task Force will be planning opportunities to collect community feedback. More information to come.

You may email your comments to socialassistancereview@ontario.ca or mail submissions to:

Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario

2 Bloor St. West

Toronto, ON

M4W 3E2

The Guelph Food Bank is offering a new bus service for clients to help get their groceries home.

The monthly service will be available the fourth Wednesday of every month from 12:15pm – 2:30pm.

Community members can catch the bus to the Guelph Food Bank from the following Neighbourhood Groups: Grange Hill East, Brant Avenue and Parkwood Gardens.

For more information on how to access the bus, please click HERE.

The STEPS 2 year program is a vehicle toward the path of opportunity, providing ongoing ability for intervention at critical moments in a youth’s life and acting as a vehicle for social and individual change. Through a cross-sector alignment of like-minded agencies and collaboration with youth, the STEPS program will achieve its goal of engaging community partners and at-risk youth to provide prevention-level healthy, recreation and leisure programs for Guelph and Wellington youth, in order to facilitate community integration, provide opportunities, and promote healthy decision making.

Please click HERE for STEPS programming for February 2012 for youth in our community. You are encouraged to print, post and distribute widely!

For more information, contact Eric Pool at aftercare@wyndhamhouse.org or 519-822-2768.

Expiration and best before dates can present a number of challenges for emergency food providers and their clients. This research profile outlines the key challenges for food banks and pantries and provides information for clients about when food is ok to eat, how food can be made to last longer and when food should be thrown away. This is a great document to share with those accessing emergency food in our community.

The full document can be accessed here: Emergency Food: Expiration & Best Before Dates

In June the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario released A Discussion Paper: Issues and Ideas to encourage dialogue on the key issues facing social assistance and generate ideas for change. The response to the paper was tremendous, with more than 700 submissions from across the province, including Guelph & Wellington. Many of these submissions are posted, and early in the new year the Commission will provide an overview of what they’ve heard through a consultation report. The Commission intends to release a second paper outlining possible approaches to reform early in the new year as well, instead of December as planned. Feedback from this paper will help inform the development of their final report and recommendations to the government in June 2012.

On December 9, 2011, Stuart Beumer, Director of Ontario Works with the County of Wellington, provided a presentation to members of the Poverty Task Force. This presentation provides a comparision of local feedback and recommendations provided by our community with the common themes that have been received by the Commission. The presentation also highlights key activities within Ontario Works locally that relate to items brought forward in the community consultation.

A copy of the presentation is available by clicking HERE. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Stuart Beumer at 519-837-2670 x. 3065.