Due to lack of on-going funding, a program at WDSS is under the gun.
On the brink of closure is the Partnership, Achievement, Cultural Awareness, Engagement (PACE) program at Wallaceburg’s high school, which is a student success initiative focusing on supporting students who are experiencing various difficulties that affect their success throughout the school year.
Cherrie Lalonde, a support worker with the program, said they received $60,000 total from Enbridge Pipeline Inc. and Enbridge Green Power, Transmission & Emerging Technology to help fund the program for the last three years.
However, the funding has now dried up.
Lalonde said the program did receive some temporary bridge funding this week from the Lambton-Kent District School Board, but the dollars will only carry the program until the end of the semester at the end of January
“The program is very important to the kids obviously… they’ve made a lot of noise not wanting it closed,” she said.
Emma Houle, a Grade 12 students at WDSS, helped spearhead a petition, which is circulating around the community, distributed fliers to various businesses around town, created a Facebook Page and also a GoFundMe campaign (which has already raised $5,400 in just one week.)
“I’ve been in PACE since Grade 9,” Houle told the Sydenham Current.
“They’ve helped me a lot and I’ve watched them help close friends of mine. I know a lot of people that need it, including myself. I don’t want to see it go.
Houle said her and some friends are talking to student council to discuss setting up some potential fundraising projects.
Lalonde said the program is in its 10th year and helps 40-60 kids annually.
“We help them with any kind of difficulties they might have,” she said. “It may be at home, it may be with school, we help with medical stuff, crisis intervention… we’ve helped with housing, helping them find a place to stay. Anything to help get kids through the school year.”
Lalonde added: “We are still in contact with kids from the program. I still get phone calls from students from the program from four of five years ago. So we did make an impact. We’ve had some students say they wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for this program.”
Lalonde said the PACE program does a lot of referrals, and they work with different organizations such as:
– Counselling services
– Addiction services
– Social services
– Diversion programs
– Native support services
– Treatment centres
– Health care professionals
– Mental health services
The school board can’t afford to run the program on its own, so they are reaching out to the community, Lalonde said.
“We’re just trying to get the community to help out so we’re not trying three months at a time for funding,” she said. “We can’t just keep going a couple months at a time… it’s not fair to the students either. We start helping them, and then say well next week we’re not going to be here.”
The program coordinator has been in touch with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and plans are in the works with the United Way of Chatham-Kent, to discuss potential future options.
“Right now we’re looking for anything that can help keep us running,” Lalonde said.
Watch for more on this story.
