Project SHARE celebrates 25th
It’s an anniversary that comes with mixed emotions. On one hand, those who work for Project SHARE wish the local food bank was no longer necessary.
On the other, they know they’re making a bigger difference in the community than ever before. Monday marked Project SHARE’s 25th anniversary of incorporation. Many Niagara Falls families have received basic necessities including emergency food and homelessness prevention from the agency during the past quarter century. Project SHARE has also evolved to meet the needs of those it serves.
Executive director Diane Corkum said the agency helped nearly 23,000 people in 1992. That number climbed to about 47,000 in 2016 alone. “Our entire staff, we would rather work in something else — not that we don’t love our jobs, we love to be here, but we would love to see people be able to buy their own groceries,” she said. “Back then we were just kind of a Band-Aid solution and we were focused primarily on food. Then we started to look at people holistically. We realized that if you had a $100 prescription bill and your rent was due, you’re going to buy the prescription for your child and then you face eviction. We kind of look at all areas of a person’s life.”
Corkum said Project SHARE has also increased the amount of produce it stocks and works with local growers.
“We want to give out more produce in our food room and we teach people what to do with it. We’ve got a wellness educator. We want to keep people healthy.”
Project SHARE started in 1989 and was formally known as Community Outreach Emergency Services.
The offices were located within a small building on Victoria Avenue. In 1992, the agency became incorporated and changed its name to Project SHARE, with the acronym meaning support, housing, awareness, resources and emergency.
The name change was accompanied with a move of its offices to First Avenue.
By 2002, the organization found a need for a bigger building due to the increase in demand of its services. Project SHARE relocated to Stanley Avenue, where it’s currently located. Corkum said when the agency first formed, it was supposed to be a temporary measure.
She said the organiza- tion was needed around that time due to a recession and because interest and mortgage rates were about 20 per cent. “I remember people leaving their homes in the middle of the night. You’d wake up and your neighbours would be missing. We started as a temporary measure just to get people through this recession.”
After 25 years, Corkum said the need for Project SHARE’s services are an an all-time high.
“In November 2016 we broke an agency record of supporting 183 families in one business day. While we’d love to no longer be needed, we are committed to providing basic necessities for families who are living in poverty in Niagara Falls.”
Project SHARE has recognized gaps in services available to lowincome families and recently launched new programs including the expanded garden and nutrition program, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and a new dental cleaning program, funded by Green Shield Canada.
“We strive for a future where everyone is food secure, but until that time we are committed to ensuring none of our neighbours go hungry,” said Corkum.
“We are so thankful for the dedication and support we receive from our community partners, donors, volunteers and staff who come together to support those who are less fortunate in our community.”