CORNWALL, Ontario – Bereaved Families Ontario – Cornwall have announced that they will be forced to cease operations as of May 31, 2019.
The reason is a lack of funding to keep the organization going.
Bereaved Families has 11 offices that operate independently across the province, but they receive no government funding.
The office in Cornwall has one paid staff member who works 21 hours a week. The total operating budget for the organization is $50,000 a year.
“It is with heavy hearts that the members of the present Board of Directors announce that, unless some of our grant applications are accepted or some major sources of funding are found in the immediate future, Bereavement Programs & Services offered at our office for 33 ½ years will be ending on May 31st, 2019,” Bereaved Families writes in their farewell letter.
Bereaved Families have applied for Municipal Grants from the City of Cornwall, but were denied for a few consecutive years.
The organization helps people going through some of the most difficult times of their lives, the loss of a loved one.
In 2018, their services were used nearly 1,000 times. They had 126 new adult clients in 2018, and 21 new children or youth clients.
The organization is supported by 25 to 30 volunteers who help with activities and 12 volunteer facilitators who help to deliver services.
“This has become a family,” said Gisele Roy, a long time volunteer with Bereaved Families Ontario – Cornwall. “A lot of the people who attend groups come back as volunteers.”
Bereaved Families Ontario – Cornwall acknowledge that there are many local organizations who are looking for financial support. They state that they will continue to find workable solutions so that they can remain operating going forward, and barring that, that they will still offer their services until May 31.
“We have reached out to other prominent agencies in our community to propose a partnership so that Bereaved Families could continue to offer some services, in a different format and location,” the Bereaved Families farewell message goes on to state. “As of this date, our efforts have not been successful. However, until closing date, we will continue our search for new venues to serve the bereaved of our community.”
