The Town of The Blue Mountains will have its grants and donations committee consider a request for funding support from the Hospice Georgian Triangle Foundation.
Foundation executive director Sandra Sullivan and hospice executive director Trish Rawn were a delegation at council’s committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 30. Sullivan asked that council consider making a donation to the foundation, which raises money to support the hospice’s local operations. A specific amount was not requested. Over the years, the town has provided $26,000 in funding to the organization.
Hospice Georgian Triangle operates the 10-bed Campbell House in Collingwood, and provides a range of in-home programs and grief and bereavement counselling for families in The Blue Mountains, Collingwood, Clearview and Wasaga Beach.
Sullivan explained that the need for the hospice’s programs, which she outlined in a presentation to council that can be found here, continues to grow.
“We’re getting more calls every day. Last year was our busiest year to date,” said Sullivan.
In the last year, hospice has provided: 243 stays at Campbell House, including 40 respite visits, 144 group grief sessions, involving 915 participants, 1,859 community visits, 1,155 individuals served through community programming, nine children and youth supported with 52 individual sessions for grief and bereavement and 143 virtual visits and 80 in-person visits at the Palliative Pain and Symptom Management Clinic
In comparison to other health care providers, hospice receives significantly less funding from the provincial government. The foundation raises funds from the community at large to support the organization.
“We don’t get funding for grief and bereavement clinical services. We’re fundraising to pay people’s salaries,” said Rawn.
Sullivan said they anticipate the funding needs of hospice will be $2 million this year, with that amount growing to $2.35 million and $2.7 million in the next two years.
Members of council were supportive of the request and passed a resolution requesting that the grants and donations committee consider providing funding to hospice over the next three years.
“It’s a very valuable service. It’s very important. It’s very personal,” said Coun. June Porter.
