I relocated to Ottawa in March 2018 as a single mom of 2 kids and expecting a third. While living in the emergency shelter in Lowertown I was introduced to the Lowertown Community Resource Centre and indeed my heart was immediately filled with warmth and welcoming people of different background, race and culture.
Although the shelter provided us with breakfast, there was no kitchen to prepare school meals or dinner at night, Anabelle (Outreach Worker) runs a Collective Kitchen where we all come together to learn, prepare meals and eat together. All of us at the shelter always looked forward every 2nd Friday gatherings.
Anne-Marie (CH Coordinator) who is in charge of the Community House at 145 Beausoleil made sure I had a clean kitchen to prepare meals for my kids and the laundry room was there for me too.
I went to the Centre to see Maria (Early Years Worker) for playgroups with my new baby, it gave me somewhere to go and people to talk to, I wasn’t a new mom, but I needed to be out of the house and meet people because I was in a new country/city.
Summer came and Stephen (Children and Youth Program Manager) gave me a call to come and register my kids for summer camps, swimming classes back to school packs and lots more.
I have a full time job today because of the Club 310 which is run by the Centre, because as a single mom on minimum wage I will never have been able to afford daycare for three kids.
Just recently my daughter was evicted from her daycare and I was given 2 weeks to find a replacement or quit my job and stay home with her. I asked the Centre for help and Karine (Intake worker) saw me and told me not to worry. I got a call from her the very next day and she got me a more convenient daycare.
Words only cannot express how helpful the Centre is to me and my kids. Seeing my kids so happy in this community, knowing their peers and the community staff and being involved in different activities I don’t know how I would have done all this alone. Thank you so much LCRC!
– Yetunde Amanda Ona