Mom: Money well spent
Drop-in centre gets cash
By BRIAN GRAY, TORONTO SUN
You can't put a price on knowing your kids are in good hands, one Toronto mother said at a funding announcement for a neighbourhood drop-in centre yesterday.
Michelle Hamilton wanted everyone to know just how important the money being given to the Community on the Move Resource Centre through the United Way of Greater Toronto was to her and her family.
"I'm happy that it's here and the kids have somewhere safe and secure," said Hamilton, who has two sons, aged 14 and 16, who use the Trethewey Dr. and Jane St. centre regularly. "This place definitely keeps them off the street."
The money comes courtesy of a $1.1-million contribution by the Ontario NDP Marjorie Black Fund to the United Way of Greater Toronto.
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Black died in 1987 and left her money to the Ontario NDP to fund youth drop-in centres. but party leader Howard Hampton said it has taken this long to cut through the red tape and carry out her wishes.
The cash infusion -- expected to be about $150,000 over the next three years -- is great news for the Community on the Move program manager, Rohan Thompson.
"It means we'll be able to get the staff we need," Thompson said. "And it is good staff that bring the youth into these centres and encourages them to come back."
Many of the kids in the neighbourhood were able to find summer jobs this year through Community on the Move, said Hamilton.
"And that teaches them responsibility," she said.
"Without this place, there would be a lot of trouble and a lot more of our kids on the streets."
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