Dear friends,
We are moving into our ninth month of the global pandemic and the world is getting tired. Our collective mental health is deteriorating, and we are all anxiously waiting for the next shoe to drop.
The staff and I, as we work on the ground, meeting our neighbours as safely as we can, are seeing increased food insecurity, job loss, increased mental health issues related to social isolation, job loss, suicides and increased domestic violence.
Flemingdon Park is experiencing homelessness for the first time, with increasing numbers of people living on the streets and winter coming upon us very soon. It’s heart breaking. The world is in chaos and we see snippets of it right before our eyes.
But even in the midst of darkness there is light.
FPM is part of a collaborative cluster group initiated by the city of Toronto that brings together agencies from a specific geographical area. In recent weeks we have heard all the gut-wrenching data and stats, but we have also heard and shared how communities are growing and connecting online.
More people are interested in what is going on in their communities and are getting involved. Community connection is growing and that’s a beautiful upside to this pandemic. People are looking to connect and are seeking that basic human need of belonging.
Agencies are now also working more strategically and with one another to reach more people. We are working toward a network, or telephone tree, where people check in on their neighbour and ensure their well being. We are actively seeking out areas that are underserviced to ensure no one is families left behind. Our online groups are growing, and we are looking to add more – more connection and less isolation.
The Common Table Farm thrived this season and thanks to agency partnerships, more received healthy produce this summer than ever before, and it is ongoing. The snow may be in the air, but the kale is still being grown under row covers and shared with the community each week.
There is hope and a sense of optimism as we move into 2021. We continue to work and bring light to the darkness. This winter will be difficult, but we are not without hope.
If you would like to support our work, please consider donating through our website or by following the link here to our Canada Helps page. If you can’t manage a financial donation at this time and you’re the praying kind, please add us and our neighbours to your prayers. We can’t continue bringing light into the darkness without your help.
May light be shone for you in this dark season of winter. May you see joy, seek connection and continue to thrive. Keep safe. Be well.
Regards,
Beverley Williams
Executive Director of FPM
