One of the few individuals in the city who has his finger on the pulse of Prince Rupert’s street scene is going to have to scramble and make do with a whole lot less and forgo a paycheque to get it done.
Myles Moreau, a local outreach worker who has long been a fixture around Prince Rupert has effectively been put out of a job as the funding for his Street Outreach Services has dried up.
Moreau has had many hats to wear over the years and a variety of funding formulas to deal with, but his most recent time on the streets has come at a most important time for the city, as the local economy which has been weakened over a number of hits over the years leaves more and more Rupertites at risk.
His work in the last nine months had been funded by North Coast Community Assets and more recently through the good graces of Northern Savings Credit Union, who took on the bulk of the financial requirements over the last little while. There should be credit directed to them for stepping up in a time of need, even if their efforts could not be matched with other like minded organizations eager or able to help out in the city.
However despite their best intended efforts, the amount required keeping the program viable and the ability to access key grant money seems to have been an insurmountable hurdle at the moment, leading to the decision to end the program and effectively send Moreau to the Unemployment and volunteer lines for the time being.
Considering the vital and unselfish service that he has provided over the years, one would think that City Council could become more pro-active with the province to try and find ways to keep the safety net of sorts financially solvent and at current levels of service if not indeed able to expand on it.
Likewise, the various elected officials on the North Coast such as MLA Gary Coons and Federal MP Nathan Cullen should weigh in with suggestions and support to try and access any programs that might dovetail with the program as it was set up in the city.
Considering the wasteful ways that all levels of government seem to find to spend money, it seems unconscionable that a program that offers direct and much needed assistance should find itself shut down due to a lack of accessible monies.
Prince Rupert is at one of those periods of its time where the optimism of the future is kind of running into interference with the reality of the present; Moreau’s work at least helped those that were at the very end of the spectrum who need perhaps the most help.
He also provided a valuable sounding board for city officials should they be inclined to listen, as to some of the underlying issues in the community that need to be addressed, it would be a shame if his words and more importantly his actions were to be silenced or curtailed for any length of time.
The Daily News featured a front page story on Thursday with details on where his program is at today and the background on how things evolved to the point of having to cut the outreach program when it may be needed the most.
OUTREACH WORK ON SHAKY GROUND AFTER FUNDING CUT
But man who tries to help street kids vows to carry on as best he can for now
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Pages one and three
It was with great disappointment last week that Street Outreach Services Coordinator Myles Moreau learned his position was no longer being funded and that he was effectively out of a job.
Originally launched as a nine-month pilot project by North Coast Community Assets, Prince Rupert Street Outreach Services has been a presence in the community aimed at establishing healthy homes and safe neighbourhoods.
Myles Moreau, a local outreach worker who has long been a fixture around Prince Rupert has effectively been put out of a job as the funding for his Street Outreach Services has dried up.
Moreau has had many hats to wear over the years and a variety of funding formulas to deal with, but his most recent time on the streets has come at a most important time for the city, as the local economy which has been weakened over a number of hits over the years leaves more and more Rupertites at risk.
His work in the last nine months had been funded by North Coast Community Assets and more recently through the good graces of Northern Savings Credit Union, who took on the bulk of the financial requirements over the last little while. There should be credit directed to them for stepping up in a time of need, even if their efforts could not be matched with other like minded organizations eager or able to help out in the city.
However despite their best intended efforts, the amount required keeping the program viable and the ability to access key grant money seems to have been an insurmountable hurdle at the moment, leading to the decision to end the program and effectively send Moreau to the Unemployment and volunteer lines for the time being.
Considering the vital and unselfish service that he has provided over the years, one would think that City Council could become more pro-active with the province to try and find ways to keep the safety net of sorts financially solvent and at current levels of service if not indeed able to expand on it.
Likewise, the various elected officials on the North Coast such as MLA Gary Coons and Federal MP Nathan Cullen should weigh in with suggestions and support to try and access any programs that might dovetail with the program as it was set up in the city.
Considering the wasteful ways that all levels of government seem to find to spend money, it seems unconscionable that a program that offers direct and much needed assistance should find itself shut down due to a lack of accessible monies.
Prince Rupert is at one of those periods of its time where the optimism of the future is kind of running into interference with the reality of the present; Moreau’s work at least helped those that were at the very end of the spectrum who need perhaps the most help.
He also provided a valuable sounding board for city officials should they be inclined to listen, as to some of the underlying issues in the community that need to be addressed, it would be a shame if his words and more importantly his actions were to be silenced or curtailed for any length of time.
The Daily News featured a front page story on Thursday with details on where his program is at today and the background on how things evolved to the point of having to cut the outreach program when it may be needed the most.
OUTREACH WORK ON SHAKY GROUND AFTER FUNDING CUT
But man who tries to help street kids vows to carry on as best he can for now
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Pages one and three
It was with great disappointment last week that Street Outreach Services Coordinator Myles Moreau learned his position was no longer being funded and that he was effectively out of a job.
Originally launched as a nine-month pilot project by North Coast Community Assets, Prince Rupert Street Outreach Services has been a presence in the community aimed at establishing healthy homes and safe neighbourhoods.
The pilot project had more recently been extended in duration after being supported by Prince Rupert Urban Aboriginal Justice Society, with the understanding a five-year plan was in place and work was ongoing to ensure the project had funding stability. But with no organized body in place and a severe lack of funding, the Aboriginal Justice board decided to discontinue the position.
“Northern Savings Credit Union was actually funding the program by themselves the last bit of it, and there wasn’t enough money for the program to be viable,” said Theresa Wesley, coordinator of the Prince Rupert Restorative Justice Program.
“That program was living from month to month, and because we can’t incur the deficit at the expense of another program, we gave notice we could no longer act as a flow-through agency for the program due to the funding instability.”
Moreau says he doesn’t hold any negative feelings about being laid off, and he thanks Northern Savings Credit Union for the support they’ve been able to provide to his position and the project in the past, as well as numerous other groups and individuals that have been supportive of the street outreach worker he has been doing in Prince Rupert. And even though he will not be receiving a paycheque, Moreau says it won’t stop him from getting up every day and doing the same work.
“There’s work to be done, and I hope I’m not in this situation long term,” he said.
“I’ve started some projects and I want to complete them. Without an office it makes things difficult, but I’m going to keep hitting the pavement, networking, bringing the issues forward and getting citizens involved.
Just how long Moreau may be volunteering his services is unknown at the moment. But thanks to Northern Savings and a group of stakeholders who see the benefits of the program planning is underway to find a viable solution to keep outreach services in the community.
A meeting of interested stakeholders was held on Monday, where it was agreed by members of the RCMP, School District 52, the City of Prince Rupert and the Salvation Army that street outreach work was important for the community.
However, the group also agreed that the program needs an administrative structure to oversee services, conduct research and take care of tasks such as writing grant proposals and securing funding.
Representatives from some other groups and businesses wanted to attend but were unable to because it was put together at short notice.
“Reluctantly, the Credit Union decided to stop funding, but not give up on the concept of street outreach service in Prince Rupert,” said Kathleen Gablemann, community reinvestment manager with Northern Savings Credit Union.“We hope we, along with other local participating groups, will be able to create a sustainable organization to continue this work in the community.”
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