THUNDER BAY - Growing up in the Simpson/Ogden Street area, Nick Mrozek said as the new kid, he didn’t really have many friends or know where to go. But that all changed when he discovered Evergreen A United Neighbourhood.
“It felt like a second home,” he said. “I could go there if I was having a rough day or needed some support. The program helped develop who I am, come out of my shell, and become more outgoing.”
“I might not have been one of the more at-risk families, however, I can see how much it impacted everyone else,” Mrozek continued. “To me and to many families, it’s a vital need. If Evergreen wasn’t there, they would have nowhere to go.”
Evergreen could be forced to permanently close its doors in the wake of changes to provincial funding, which has resulted in the loss of its community social reinvestment fund through the Thunder Bay District Social Services Board.
Linda Bruins, executive director with Evergreen A United Neighbourhood, said the organization has an annual operating budget of $104,000, which covers program costs, staff salary, insurance, and a bookkeeper and accountant.
“Because we are such a small agency, we cannot absorb that loss,” she said. “There’s no reduction of services or programs. We will be forced to close our doors March 31, 2020 unless we are able to secure a minimum of $30,000.”
Evergreen first opened in the neighbourhood in 2007 and has been operating out of a building on Heron Street for the past six years where it offers after school snacks, hot meals, safety plans, neighbourhood walks, recreation activities, a community garden, and workshops.
It also runs programming out of Minnesota Park year round and according to Bruins, Evergreen provides services and programming to more than 350 families on a regular basis.
Bruins said Evergreen is all about supporting one another and if someone needs something, Evergreen will do what it can to help.
“It’s like an old fashioned neighbourhood,” she said. “I’m just the connector to the neighbourood and community and agencies.”
On Wednesday, Bruins made a plea to the community and the city of Thunder Bay to help it keep its doors open and many people at the Evergreen house spoke passionately about how it is changing people’s lives, making the area feel safer, and providing vital support to families and at-risk youth.
“People would come in crying and Linda was a shoulder to cry on and they would leave with nothing but a smile on their face,” Mrozek said. “It’s a vital need. The community needs Evergreen to keep going.”
“I can’t even imagine the state of this neigbhourhood,” Bruins added. “Globally we are having a huge crisis with drugs and gangs and our neighbourhood is in the heart of it. Addiction is not just a poverty issue, but we are able to help a lot of folks with a very low cost with community partner support. The cost back to the community if Evergreen had to close, I don’t’ even know how you would measure that.”
Bruins said she will be making a request to Thunder Bay city council for $30,000 and she remains hopeful that the people in Thunder Bay will also step up and offer support.
Coun. Shelby Ch’ng said she agrees that Evergreen is an essential part of the neighbourhood and to remove it would be like removing its heart.
“It’s so important we keep this space open and going,” she said. “We are in some very difficult times with the provincial cuts coming down. They are already on a shoestring budget as it is. I think this is a time we are going to have to reassess how these organizations interact and how they will stay afloat.”
Ch’ng added that it will be up to council to look at how funding Evergreen could save money in other areas.
“Does that decrease crime rates and lower our police budget, or help mitigate some costs elsewhere because kids have a full belly,” she said. “I think we need to look at it as how we leverage so we can save costs elsewhere.”
Bruins said she will keep fighting to keep the doors open because she knows the neighbourhood needs Evergreen and there are many more youth out there just like Mrozek who need that space, a second place to call home.
“He is just one of many of the hundreds of kids who have come through,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful to be part of people’s lives and we need people to show the support. I really believe in our community.”
Donations can be made online at the Evergreen A United Neighbourhood website.
