STILL GIVING A HAND UP
Unemployed Help Centre celebrates 40 years
When the Unemployed Help Centre opened its doors 40 years ago, those involved never could have imagined the sweeping scope of assistance the agency provides today across Windsor and Essex County.
During an event held Friday to mark the launch of its 41st year of operations, the help centre unveiled a new shuttle bus acquired to help clients attend programs at the east-end location off Lauzon Parkway.
The bus was purchased with the help of funding from Unifor Local 444, said June Muir, CEO for the Unemployed Help Centre.
“This will definitely make a difference,” she said. “We have lessons or programs that people want to access, but don’t have sufficient time or ability to get here.”
The Unemployed Help Centre was first conceived by local labour leaders in 1977 to provide food and clothing to individuals or families struggling due to unemployment.
The agency, located in the 6900 block of Cantelon Drive, has 54 employees and an annual budget of slightly less than $5 million, supported primarily by government grants and community donations.
The centre offers job search assistance, computer training, language programs, youth programs, plus a community kitchen and food bank.
The agency also oversees the annual Coats for Kids campaign.
“When this started 40 years ago, there was help with a resume, help to find jobs, then a food bank,” Muir said. “Now we have so many more programs and services.”
Many of those helping out at the centre, either on a voluntary or part-time basis, are former clients.
Among them is Johnson Athori, a refugee from Iraq who came to Windsor in March 2016 with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and their two children.
“It was very difficult for us,” Athori said. “Somebody told me about UHC . ... They helped put me on the right way. At the beginning, it was very difficult for all of us (in Windsor). Now, compared to our country, it feels like paradise.”
Athori holds a college degree in economics, but at age 65, it’s hard to find work. So, he helps out at the agency nearly every day.
“I wanted to do something to help people,” he said. “I volunteer at the food bank. I advise people on where to go for a driver’s licence or health card.”
The help centre’s jobs services assisted 3,000 people in 2016, with 1,900 securing employment.
Another 40,000 people were served by the food bank. And since 2012, 12 million pounds of food that would have gone to waste has been rescued by the centre’s plentiful harvest program for distribution to those in need.
“We have cooking lessons here to help teach people and also how to shop on a budget,” Muir said.