Stratford & Area

Together we improve lives through support for basic needs, service connection, advocacy, research and cultivating innovative initiatives.

United Way Perth-Huron helps here in the community you care about. Thanks to United Way, its partners and donors, vulnerable people in Stratford and area have the chance for a brighter future including…

• 74 participants in food skills programming
• 393 individuals benefited from access to YMCA passes
• 44 people in crisis accessed financial support
• 13 men accessed post-incarceration supports
• 19 children who witnessed violence counselled 
• 20 at-risk youth accessed housing and supports

#UNIGNORABLE Local Issues

Lack of Housing: A single bedroom rental is over $1,200/mo. 149 people are experiencing homelessness in Stratford, St. Marys and Perth County.

 Low Income: About half of people with incomes in Perth-Huron earn less than a living wage ($41,405 annually).

 Mental Health: By the time Canadians reach the age of 40, 1 in 2 have experienced a mental illness.

 Access to Services: Navigating the local social service network is challenging, especially for our most vulnerable.

 Intimate Partner Violence: Stratford/St. Marys police received 564 calls related to intimate partner violence in 2022.

 Food Insecurity: 1 in 6 Canadian children live in a food insecure household.

 Discrimination: 69% of immigrants and visible minorities and 80% of Indigenous people in Perth-Huron reported experiencing discrimination.

Holistic Approach

United Way is committed to cultivating innovative initiatives addressing root causes of local social issues. We research and advocate for a living wage, affordable housing and improved social assistance rates and services.

We also understand that long-term goals don’t solve the challenges of a person facing eviction next week, or the parent with empty cupboards and hungry children right now. To that end, we also fundraise and invest in programs to help ensure people get the immediate help they need.

Changing Local Lives

Thanks to United Way and a supported partner, Leon has the support he needs:

Leon never thought he’d be facing homelessness. As a new Canadian, he’d worked hard for everything he had and felt blessed to have a job and a place to call his own. Then Leon was fired, and his life started to crumble. Without a job he couldn’t pay his bills, and because the place he worked also provided his apartment, he lost his home too. Leon didn’t know where to turn until he found the Stratford Connection Centre. Staff worked with him to find a place to stay, apply for EI, and connect with counselling to cope with the trauma of losing everything he’d worked so hard for. Now, Leon is doing better, and he’s looking forward to starting on the next chapter of his journey.

And so does Mark:

After being incarcerated, Mark felt hopeless thinking about what his life would look like upon his release, but a meeting with an Institutional Worker from the John Howard Society changed all that. Together, they created a release plan to help him successfully re-enter his community.

Stratford Connection Centre

In an effort to tackle the #UNIGNORABLE issue of chronic homelessness in Stratford, a drop-in space opened for those experiencing homelessness or otherwise vulnerable. 

The Stratford Connection Centre offers wrap-around supports including trauma-informed care, substance use and mental health counselling, as well as basic needs such as showers, laundry and food. Services are client-centred, providing dignity and choice with an unrelenting focus on securing permanent housing.

Goals

Meet basic needs. A place to use a washroom and shower. Have a cup of coffee with access to clean water, and/or an indoor space out of the cold or heat.

Build social ties. Build trust with service providers and volunteers, leading to opportunities for more formal supports.

Connect to social services. Volunteers and staff can help clients navigate entry into formal support with existing agencies.

Build pathways out of poverty that provide dignity and choice, empowering clients.

United Housing

United Housing is Perth-Huron’s first non-profit housing organization dedicated to developing, building, and managing mixed use rental housing in the community. The initiative’s goal is to support and build on existing work being done by the City of Stratford and the County of Huron, further increasing the amount of available housing stock. It’s a local solution to the very real issue of housing affordability we face across the region. GO HERE for more information.

Urgent Needs Fund

388 local residents accessed assistance

The Urgent Needs Fund is designed to support local residents in a time of crisis with funds for essentials such as rent, groceries, car repairs, medication and child care. United Way is also working for long-term change, lifting people beyond poverty while still ensuring their immediate, basic needs are met:

Daima was struggling to pay the utility bill AND buy groceries for her family. The Urgent Needs Fund provided support so she didn’t have to choose between keeping the heat on and buying food for her children.

Stratford & Area Community Committee

–> United Way Perth-Huron Manager Community Development, Stratford & Area: Debbie Colclough

Supported Partners

Want to read more?

Stratford & Area Trifold Pamplet (PDF)