PORT HAWKESBURY: A peer support group based in the town is looking for a new headquarters.
Fresh Start Peer Support president and founder Michael George said the group lost its rental property at 307 Granville Street on July 30 after moving in three years ago.
George said the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the group’s ability to raise funds and maintain their office and program space.
“We couldn’t come up with the rent,” George told The Reporter. “The networking was just stopped. We didn’t have qualified people around that area to do our media. COVID just cut-off the ties of communication, then we hung on as long as we could to the building but then we had to close it down.”
George said they are unable to purchase their former location which is up for sale. He said the former facility had a kitchen and dining room area, a shower and change area, and space for groups and programs.
At their former location, George said they conducted remodelling according to their needs, with plans to put eight beds upstairs, then COVID-19 hit.
“We just couldn’t come up with the money to buy it,” he explained. “It’s an excellent building and location for us. There’s two apartments upstairs that would’ve actually funded the upkeep on the building.”
George said the group offers shelter, addiction and mental health support.
“The majority of people are going through troubles,” he said. “You’ll see people coming out of jail, you’ll see people with addictions, you’ll see homelessness, you’ll see anger. We’ve actually had clients that were working and actually had a career, and actually came to us before they go too far with something.”
George said Fresh Start provides help using facilitators in group settings that do not require an appointment or personal information, and they provide programs to fill the gaps between groups.
“We have an open door to people to walk in and just start peer support, basically to find out which direction they might want to go. Then we have programs that we’re developing to maybe fill in the times between groups,” he explained. “Fresh start truly believes that our community is made up of all groups of people and that for any community to thrive we must take the village approach to care for one another.”
George said the group is currently trying to find ways to transition their services, and plan to provide updates on their web site and Facebook page.
Without a permanent building or finances to rent a facility, George said it is difficult to maintain this much needed community service. Office and program space is necessary in the non-profit world, and George said Fresh Start Peer Support cannot do this without community involvement and financial backing.
“It’s quite a chore to develop this. Building our board or working with that is very challenging,” he said. “Over the last three years, I have dedicated my time, finances and efforts to build this outreach centre and programs with many dedicated people. Today I ask the communities to come together to keep this outreach moving forward to either purchase or set aside donation funds to rent a property in Port Hawkesbury.”
Although their former location was perfect for their needs, George added that he is looking at other sites in area.
“I’d really like to see this succeed and go forward,” he added. “It’s needed for all our communities.”