Give the Gift of Sight This Holiday
Donation protected
A Letter to the Editor was recently published in the Lethbridge Herald by one of our Clean Sweep Program (CSP) employees, Richard Anderson. The letter was in response to a previous editorial about clearing up misconceptions about Syrian refugees.
Here is a copy of the letter to the editor Richard wrote: http://lethbridgeherald.com/commentary/letters-to-the-editor/2015/12/05/how-can-we-house-refugees-when-needs-of-homeless-not-being-met/
For those of you who do not know much about the CSP, it's a program managed by the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ in partnership with Social Housing In Action and the Heart of Our City committee. CSP members receive practical work experience, earned income and stability. The majority of CSP workers are either homeless or recently housed individuals in our community.
Richard is an intelligent, conscientious individual who is up at 5:00 a.m., Monday to Friday, ready to work to keep our downtown clean. It truly saddens me to hear that along with Richard, there are many more people in our community that are in a very similar situation as his in our shelter. He is a voice amongst many and I applaud him for having the courage to shine a light on our disenfranchised citizens.
As this is a multi-pronged issue within Lethbridge, we at the DBRZ would like to, at the very least, help Richard out with the gift of better vision this holiday season. We are taking donations to be able to provide him with an eye exam and a new pair of glasses.
Our hopes with this gofundme page is to be able to provide not only Richard with the gift of better vision this holiday season, but to start a health care spending account for our 30 plus Clean Sweep Program members. Any money raised will also be set aside for other homeless individuals in our Clean Sweep Program without access to health care who do not have the means to be able to pay for glasses, hearing aids, dental work and any other unexpected health expenses.
Here is a copy of the letter to the editor Richard wrote: http://lethbridgeherald.com/commentary/letters-to-the-editor/2015/12/05/how-can-we-house-refugees-when-needs-of-homeless-not-being-met/
For those of you who do not know much about the CSP, it's a program managed by the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ in partnership with Social Housing In Action and the Heart of Our City committee. CSP members receive practical work experience, earned income and stability. The majority of CSP workers are either homeless or recently housed individuals in our community.
Richard is an intelligent, conscientious individual who is up at 5:00 a.m., Monday to Friday, ready to work to keep our downtown clean. It truly saddens me to hear that along with Richard, there are many more people in our community that are in a very similar situation as his in our shelter. He is a voice amongst many and I applaud him for having the courage to shine a light on our disenfranchised citizens.
As this is a multi-pronged issue within Lethbridge, we at the DBRZ would like to, at the very least, help Richard out with the gift of better vision this holiday season. We are taking donations to be able to provide him with an eye exam and a new pair of glasses.
Our hopes with this gofundme page is to be able to provide not only Richard with the gift of better vision this holiday season, but to start a health care spending account for our 30 plus Clean Sweep Program members. Any money raised will also be set aside for other homeless individuals in our Clean Sweep Program without access to health care who do not have the means to be able to pay for glasses, hearing aids, dental work and any other unexpected health expenses.
Organizer
Melissa Belter
Organizer
Lethbridge, AB
