STEPHEN RICCIO
CHAPEAU Dec. 11, 2020
The West Pontiac Connects (WPC) recently received a sizable federal government grant that will allow it to upgrade several aspects of its infrastructure to become fully accessible to those with physical disabilities.
Pontiac MP Will Amos announced the $69,240 grant in a press release on Dec. 11 as part of the small projects portion of the Enabling Accessibility Fund.
WPC President Gene O’Brien said that . . .
the upcoming changes will be to the facility’s ramp, doors and bathroom, and that they are much-needed given the volume of seniors that the organization works with.
“[The ramp] was pretty steep and you need to have the proper doors to get people in and we’re going to be able to modify our bathroom because right now … you never would be able to get in there with a wheelchair or a walker or anything,” she explained. “Since [at] the West Pontiac Connects, we do serve elders as well – seniors that come in – it’s going to make a big improvement for our building.”
O’Brien said that government requirements for officially labeling a facility as accessible are stringent, and so the fact that the grant will cover the entire required upgrades was crucial.
“Something like this is just too costly for a non-profit to even undertake so it was good that we had the funding come through,” she said.
“Will [Amos] knows the amount of work we do [here] to serve the community, both the youth and the seniors and everything. It is a public building so public buildings are held more accountable for being accessible to the public and the people that are handicapped. [So] we were pretty excited when we were approved for the funding.”
O’Brien said that the organization is still in the process of procuring price estimates for the renovation work, but that it could begin in spring 2021.
Amos was pleased to announce the grant approval and said that the WPC has consistently sought out grants, which he said reflects their hard work.
“It’s important for rural regions to be able to offer solid pathways for diverse youth employment,” he said, reflecting on what the WPC brings to the community. “We need to make sure that there are opportunities to grow and to learn that you get to take for granted if you live in a city. But you can’t take that for granted in rural Canada because we don’t have the same breadth and depth of service offerings, including around youth employment.”
O’Brien said that Amos last visited the WPC in-person in early 2020 to check in on the organization, so she was satisfied to see their needs met through the grant.
Amos said that he is always eager to do what he can to help approve grants for community non-profit groups like the WPC.
“It’s one of those institutions that keeps us going strong and so every time they get a new grant from the Government of Canada, that’s something that’s worth working on from my perspective, because it just keeps building what is an important institution for our region,” he said.
