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The 6th Birthday Party for the Windsor Residence for Young Men was a Great Success ! It was hosted on Wednesday, October 4th , by the Giovanni Caboto Club Charity Pasta Dinners Volunteers who hold fundraisers for 12 community charities each year, carrying on a tradition that goes back to 1925. Our 6th Birthday Party raised $3,657 for WRYM to assist “our guys”. “We like to give back to the community,” said Caboto volunteers’ chair Alex Sorrentino. THE YOUNGEST AND HAPPIEST DOOR PRIZE WINNER was certainly 4 year-old Leto Lehman, seen above being assisted in curbing his enthusiasm by his mother, Yvette.  The Solcz Family Foundation Grants WRYM $40,000/yr. for the next 5 years! Kyrsten Solcz, Executive Director of the Foundation said: “The Solcz Family Foundation is delighted to award Windsor Residence for Young Men (WRYM) with a grant to support their on-going efforts to help young males who are experiencing homelessness. Through their work, WRYM is addressing the root causes of homelessness and ensuring the youth they reach are better positioned for success. The Solcz Family Foundation is proud to partner with Windsor Residence for Young Men and support the great work they do for the Windsor-Essex community.”  Front with cheque: Nick Solcz (L) and (R) Kyrsten Solcz (Executive Director) – Back L-R: Len Solcz, Greg Goulin (Executive Director, WRYM), Susan Freeman (President, WRYM), Manuela Solcz, and Marty Solcz. The Plasman Group purchases a Complete Set of Specialty Mattresses for WRYM Shauna Hatch, Plasman Group’s Vice President of Human Resources, explained why the company chose to assist WRYM as follows: “Plasman Group is happy to again be a partner to the Windsor Residence for Young Men (WRYM) this year. Our Company’s giving mandate is to support children and youth agencies across the globe in cities where our Plasman Team Members live and work. WRYM is changing lives of young men from 16-20 years of age in the city of Windsor by providing supportive, transitional housing to those who are homeless or who are living in an unacceptable environment without appropriate adult support. Their assistance of 50 young men each year in their group home with individual counselling, and teaching basic life skills such as hygiene, food preparation, budgeting, social responsibility and work ethic betters everyone in our community. Our relationship with the residence dates back over five years and we have seen first-hand how our support gives opportunity for education, employment and independent living skills.”  Thank you!
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD Executive Director, (pro bono)
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WRYM’s 6th Birthday Party WRYM’s 6th Birthday Party is on Wednesday, October 3rd this year, from 4-7 p.m. at the Caboto Club. The Community Awareness Award winner is to be announced. Raffle prizes are needed.  Travis – A Success Story When Travis’s mother realized she did not have the time or ability to help her son overcome his mental health and behavioral issues which impacted their home life, she turned to Windsor Residence for Young Men for support. Rather than simply telling Travis to leave their home permanently, she wanted him to be able to return if he was able to improve on the issues that made their relationship unhealthy. From diversifying his coping mechanisms for anger, to developing a self-reliant mind-set, Travis spent three months in the program attempting to meet the goals needed for a family reunification. Travis participated in counselling, worked on Kid Next Door jobs, attended a summer art camp, and began taking an interest in both his appearance as well as his hygiene. On a regular basis, Travis, his mother and our staff would meet to review progress and ensure everybody was satisfied with the plan. With encouragement from staff, both Travis and his mother even attended family counselling together to work on their relationship. With both Travis and his mother committed to their relationship, the tireless efforts of our staff and the continued dedication of all our supporters have made it possible for Travis and his mother to now live happily together again. WRYM is “on target” The "What Would it Take?" Report Is a tool for change by Did French and Dr. Kaitlin Schwan , A Way Home Canada, and The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. In honour of International Youth Day 2018, the report captures the perspectives of over 114 young people about ending youth homelessness in Canada, and it serves as a useful tool for policy and practice change. Themes from the report were used at a recent Youth Conference held at the University of Alberta as a guiding framework for discussion. And, research is beginning to establish that your “investment” in our program designed to end homelessness - not support the state of being homeless - actually saves our community money. See the one-page download “Ending Homelessness Saves $”. 
 Thank You, Green Shield Canada! On Friday, the 10th of August, 2018, WRYM received $57,684 from Green Shield Canada for the fourth year of funding of our Mental Health Navigation program. GSC has provided the impetus to focus our ideas into an efficient and effective core program - one that is truly consistent with our approach to ending homelessness for “our guys.” By teaching life skills we provide our guys with the independence necessary to walk away from abusive situations. Teaching them how to access existing agencies in our community, particularly in the field of mental health, is a vital life skill. WRYM was founded on the principle that we would not duplicate existing services but assist in accessing them. Today the “magic word” is “collaborative” and we are proud to be one of the minor but dedicated players. For more information, download the document Frontline Collaborator below. Thank you so very much, Green Shield Canada! (PS - a "reliable source” says we should be able to announce more great funding news later in September!)  The Kids Next Door program resumes its school schedule On behalf of “our guys”, I would like to thank all of you who sought their supervised assistance this summer. It was a very successful program that put some money in their pockets while teaching a work ethic and providing the same opportunities as their peers from functional families. Now, we are resuming our school schedule - Saturdays only - under the volunteer supervision of Joel Thibodeau, owner of My Green Knight home services. Joel’s a gem. Here's a Kids Next Door flyer for you!
Welcome our new board member! We are pleased to welcome Rev. Dr. Matthew M. Durham, csb, of the Basilians, to our Board of Directors. To see a full listing of WRYM’s Board of Directors please visit our WRYM Board of Directors page. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD
Executive Director, (pro bono)  My time at WRYM Before I was living at WRYM, I lived with my mother. She was a single mom. My father left a few months after my birth. Me and my mother had our fair share of fights almost everyday, progressively getting worse. She sent me to WRYM to learn how to live on my own and deal with my anger. Now I’m doing extremely well. I worked with the Kid’s Next Door Program, and bought things I needed for a long time to further progress in music! I have also learned to cook things like stir-fry, and chicken. I have learned how to maintain a schedule and a daily routine for personal hygiene, and to do chores like washing dishes, sweeping and mopping floors, and so on. Me and my mother now go to counselling together to work on the way we treat and talk to each other. This was arranged by WRYM.  The Windsor Residence for Young Men has entered the Dowler-Karn Fueling Communities $75,000 GIVE-AWAY! Now, to be considered, WRYM needs 50 or more “sponsors” of our work for homeless young men! You, your friends and family can be a sponsor. There is no cost to be a “sponsor”, except that of your time. Get the project link by clicking on our project from the list shown at http://dowlerkarn.com/fueling-communities-75000-give-away-applicants/ and you can share to Facebook & Twitter directly from the project page (click on “Share” at the bottom ) **PLEASE NOTE: Sponsors should try to register using GOOGLE CHROME if they are having issues. They will not be able to register using Internet Explorer. If you are still having technical difficulties, you can also sponsor a project by emailing giveaway@dowlerkarn.com with your full name, email address, postal code & the project you would like to sponsor.  WRYM extends appreciation to:
 The WindsorEssex Community Foundation Needs Our Help As you may recall, the WECF gave WRYM $10,000 last December to assist in the continuance of our Kid Next Door project, from which we believe many of you, as well as our guys, have benefited. The WindsorEssex Community Foundation wants to hear from YOU! Please take 15 minutes of your time to let them know what you think of the quality of life in Windsor/Essex for their 2018 Vital Signs® survey. Released each October, the Vital Signs® report combines national, provincial, and local data with residents’ views of important issues. The report is used as an educational resource to engage the Windsor/Essex community in ongoing dialogue of what Windsor/Essex is doing well and where assistance is needed most so we can make our community an even better place to live, work, play and grow. Please click on this link to complete the survey: https://wecf.wufoo.com/forms/z1rkosop15mdfcd/ Those who complete the survey in full have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win $100! Let them hear your voice!  Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD
Executive Director, (pro bono), Why wrym is necessary in our community - Attached you will find a sobering report from British Columbia’s Coroner’s Office on youth transitioning from care, at risk of homelessness, or homeless. We are fortunate to have a good relationship with the Windsor Essex Children’s Aid Society, especially for those male youth transitioning out of foster care. For more information online, visit this link. The full report is also attached below. If you doubt what I say, read the second attached article. WRYM is the only provider of transitional housing for male youth in our community. We give “our guys” the basic life skills and continuing support to get and keep them off the streets. Their consequent ability to access the private rental market has become even more crucial as we have recently learned that the wait list for social housing units has increased from 4,040 in the Fall to 4,700; and, 68% of the homeless in our community are male.
Outputs vs. outcomes I have often said that WRYM does not support homelessness – we try to end it, for “our guys”. An “output” is the number of meals served or the number of bed nights our guys shelter under our roof; but, how does such end homelessness? Such “assistance” may actually support the state of being homeless. While we keep track of those statistics, to us they are meaningless. What counts is our “outcomes” – how successful we are at “getting our guys off the street”. That’s where our program becomes meaningful. Except in emergency, no one comes to WRYM to get a meal, but to learn how to make it – not to “flop” or “couch surf”, but to learn how to make their own home. “Our guys” must commit to learning the life skills that will turn them into productive citizens AND we’re good at it! Assisting on average 50 each year, 74% left the street in 2015, 80% in 2016, and remarkably 98% in 2017. Of those succeeding with our program, about 1/3 were re-united to family, 1/3 found supportive housing appropriate to their needs, and the other 1/3 found their own place to live with a job or educational funding, usually both. These are the numbers, the “outcomes”, that are meaningful to us: a success rate between 74-98% at getting an average of 50 young guys off the street each year!  Serious immediate need – new mattresses After almost 6 years of hard use we need 10 mattresses, but just not any mattresses – ours are institutional grade and must be bug proof, water proof and fire retardant. We have a good quote at $3,800 with tax, delivered; but, after our sewer disaster earlier this year, even with everyone’s generosity, we do not have such funds in the budget. If you can help, please contact me. A safe mattress is basic to safe shelter, which is basic to our program. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD
Executive Director, (pro bono) Evin’s Saga Continues I last reported to you that Evin had made contact with his mother who was safe in another country. Since then, Evin’s brother has joined us at WRYM through the efforts of Matthew House; and, as we thought, now permitted to work, Evin immediately found basic employment. It’s all a start on a new life. Yard Sale (But not in our Yard!) We would like to extend our appreciation to the congregation of St. Mark’s by-the-Lake Anglican Church for allowing WRYM to use their church hall and parking lot for a yard sale on Saturday, June 9th, 8am – 12noon. Please see the attached flyer for details. Donations are not accepted at WRYM.  Please feel free to circulate our yard sale flyer!
Home Depot Orange Door Campaign May 31 to June 24- Walker and Division Road Store The Orange Door Project fundraising campaign is taking place at all The Home Depot stores across Canada. Buy a $2 ‘paper door’ at the checkout or donate online. 100% of funds raised at the Walker and Division Road Store in Windsor will benefit the Windsor Residence for Young Men. Together, we can put an end to youth homelessness in Canada. Donate and learn more at orangedoorproject.ca  Special Thanks Goes To... Motor City Community Credit Union for sponsoring and John Fuerth of Capone’s for hosting “Celebrate Mothers”. Volunteers and donors who again made our Garden Day at WRYM a success, (greatly improving our front yard after sewer repairs) and CTV local news for covering our efforts to promote the mental health benefits of gardening with “our guys.” Lee & Maria’s for locally grown produce delivered weekly in a Lee’s Harvest Bin Mark MacInnis of MacInnis Contracting Services for repairing the damage to our kitchen floor caused by our dishwasher. Mike Salive of Sun-Parlour Weed & Spider for continuing to assist our guys in maintaining our weed free lawns. Present Needs We now have a new dishwasher and an emergency pull-out bed/couch in our recreation room. Just 3 more bookcases and we’ll be back to “normal” (whatever that state may be)! Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime.  Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD
Executive Director, (pro bono) Evin’s Joy Following up on Evin’s story in our last Netletter, I am delighted to share his joy in finding his mother, now a refugee herself in another country. As well, because of his willingness to volunteer within our community, and learn from it, I am sure job offers will follow once his status is fully regularized. I must also mention the generosity of the members of “4ever4hymn” who sponsored his first month with us which had remained unfunded. Celebrate Mothers with WRYM This event is proving very popular. Please see the attachment and reserve, as well as pay for, your tickets very soon. About 50% of the seating has already been claimed for both seatings on Mothers Day. Remember that: The tickets can only be reserved through me at 519 981 9917 or executivedirector@wrym.ca, not Capone’s. Meal selections must accompany reservations. Payment, only by cash or cheque, must be made to WRYM by Monday, 7MAY18, or we will transfer your reservation to those on our cancellations list.
Garden Day at WRYM
You are welcome to join our guys at 10am on Saturday, 19May18, when we cleanup our yard and plant our gardens, including our vegetable garden. There is a lot of work needed this year as we recover from our drainage system replacement. Donations of bags of garden soil and hardy plants like hostas would be appreciated to replace our front garden as well as seed potatoes, onions, carrots, beans or peas for our “stew garden” in the backyard. Check Out Our New Website at www.wrym.ca It is very impressive! Click the “Menu” button in the upper left corner to fully explore it, (even past copies of my Netletter stored on it). The computer savvy of Brian Worrall and design skills of Susan Freeman, both past recipients of our “Heart and Soul Award”, are to be highly praised in this volunteer production. Help WRYM to Help a Valued Supporter On behalf of the WindsorEssex Community Foundation (WECF), a significant donor to WRYM, I am requesting your assistance on their Vital Signs Survey concerning a range of issues that are important to our local community. For the past five years the WECF has produced a Vital Signs® survey which asks Windsor/Essex residents a variety of questions on 11 areas vital to the quality of life in our community. Please help them, by taking and promoting the survey. Here is a direct link: https://wecf.wufoo.com/forms/z1rkosop15mdfcd/ If you’d like to read the 2017 Vital Signs® report, please visit http://wecf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Windsor-Essexs_2017_VitalSignsReport_Final.pdf WRYM’s Present Needs for “Stuff” A new dishwasher, 2 long vinyl couches to double as emergency beds, and 3 book cases. I am always impressed at how somebody knows somebody else who can provide for our needs! Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD Executive Director, (pro bono), The Windsor Residence for Young Men Partners in Blue Uniforms You may find the correspondence attached from our police supporters impressive and their view unique. They truly do understand and appreciate what we are about.
Evin, an Amazing Young Man
At WRYM we pride ourselves in ensuring every young man experiencing homelessness can receive help. In late February “Matthew House,” which provides “comfort and security for refugee claimants in Windsor by providing transitional housing and settlement assistance,” was at maximum capacity. Unfortunately, this meant that Evin, a recent refugee claimant to Canada, was left homelessness, while Matthew house was willing to continue processing his refugees claim. Evin was on a student visa, when his mother in Rwanda seemed to disappear. Various international settlement agencies informed him that his mother was believed to have been arrested, is a political prisoner; and, it would not be safe for him to return to his home country. This meant that Evin could no longer continue school as he was not receiving financial support; he could not afford to maintain his living accommodations; and, he was not entitled to any government supports while his refugee claim was in-progress. He could not work nor attend school; and, was without purpose, lost and severely depressed. School, job search or work is mandatory in our program. It was also quickly observed that Evin was an outstanding, responsible, mature, and kind young man who grasped and flew through our program without any place to transition to upon completion. We had to do some hard thinking and concluded that volunteering for WRYM and other groups that support us as well as unpaid internships was “work” that benefitted WRYM and our community, as well as providing experience that would assist his future employment potential and improve his mental health. Evin has now earned his place in our semi-independent apartment. However, Evin could not receive any form of government assistance, not even $17.50 a day for room and board. At an average cost of $159 per day or about $8,000 per resident that we assist, WRYM needs your help to “sponsor” this young man. As an individual, group, or organization, please consider helping us to provide for Evin. Stuff We Need Lunch time is when we teach our guys how to prepare healthy meals with staples and canned goods available from food banks. We need canned beef, chicken and turkey – not tuna, salmon nor ham. I am afraid our guys may soon grow gills and start to oink after lunch. Thank You to a New Corporate Program Partner We must extend our heart felt appreciation to Fabio and Massimo De Mench of CareerStreams Resources Inc. Fabio and Massimo are voluntarily enrolling our guys in their program which develops the full potential of our residents for employment with businesses of our community. They truly perceive the “win – win” benefits to our guys and our economy. They are “completing the circle” with employers such as Green Processing, Canadian Tire and others who seek to employ our guys. Tours and Talks We are continuing our Tours and Talks every Wednesday from 1-3pm for those of you interested in our residence and learning why as well as how our program produces a 98% success rate in moving young men off the street and on to productive citizenship. By reservation only due to demand. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD Executive Director, (pro bono), greggoulin@cogeco.net Cell: (519) 981-9917 Another Success Story Jonas came back to us knowing he could rely on his WRYM family when his own was breaking apart, again. This was caused in part by his decision to stop taking his prescribed medication. With the support and guidance of WRYM staff, he came to accept that he indeed needed professional help. WRYM assisted him to reconnected with his doctor and then with a psychiatrist. WRYM provided the stability needed to adjust to his medication again while he remotely upgraded his education. Jonas always wanted to return home. WRYM accessed counseling to mend his family breakdown, which ultimately led to his return home, with the confidence that we will still be here for him as needed through aftercare. Sponsor a Resident? From the attached material, you will learn that we had a remarkable 98% success rate last year; and, we measure success by the number of our guys off the street and on with life, not by the number of meals served or beds occupied each night. At an average of 50 guys assisted each year, this breaks down to between $8,000 and $11,000 per year for each resident, or $1,086/day minimally for up to 12 at a time. Many of us already “sponsor” residents, often more than one; but, there are simply not enough sponsors to continue funding our efforts for more than a few months. Will you, or you and your friends, church, work or service groups undertake a sponsorship? We do deliver “bang for your buck” when one considers that the average cost of one child in the care of the Children’s Aid Society is $310/day. And, it looks like our dishwasher’s door is about to fall off. Remarkably, it has lasted about 4 years in our main kitchen! Thank You! Thank all of you who joined me to celebrate my birthday “on the street” last Friday. It was “an experience”; and, we raised enough funds to sponsor one more resident – best possible present!  Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD Executive Director, (pro bono), 98% successful outcomes in 2017! 80% in 2016. Open the attachment. What more can I say? When “our guys” become a part of our family, they do not “age-out”. 
Tours & Talks
Because of the number of requests from supporters and others; and, unfortunately, misunderstandings of what we do, or rather do not do, I am now conducting tours and talks on Wednesdays from 1-3pm beginning February 7th, when there is the least possibility of interrupting our program. Only 4 persons at a time and only by reservation. Please email or give me a call at the number below to join a tour. We obviously do things a bit differently, for good reasons. Come and find out what we do, how we do it, why and how you can help. Greater understanding results in more meaningful assistance. Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD Executive Director, (pro bono), The Windsor Residence for Young Men E-mail greggoulin@cogeco.net Phone 519.981.9917 2017 Year End Stats
This is not a warm and fuzzy edition, but it is important. Attached you will find the statistical breakdown of the results of our efforts in 2017, which you supported. This material is impressive. We are honouring our pledge to you. The full impact of our efforts will not be felt for a few years yet when our guys are more mature and fully take their place, at your side, as established and productive citizens of our community. We are in this for the long term, and so are “our guys”. We don’t feed them – we teach them how to prepare a meal. We don’t provide a place to sleep for a night – we teach them how to create a home. Total Clients Served
Admission Related Statistics
Discharge Statistics
Education
Employment
Mental Health
Substance Use
Demographics
Aftercare
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Gregory D. Goulin, LSM, JD Executive Director, (pro bono) |
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