The Salvation Army in Peterborough is a Welcoming Place for Newcomers this Holiday Season
Moving to a new country will always be a daunting experience. For many families, moving to Canada usually means they must make some financial sacrifices until they can settle in.
The Salvation Army in Peterborough, Ont., is ensuring that new families in town can enjoy a wonderful holiday season with food and toys for their children.
Billi Balment who is the community and family services manager explains that over the past few years, many newcomers have come to Peterborough. To promote inclusivity, Christmas assistance programs have undergone some changes.
“Right now, we offer grocery cards and the toy program.”
“Right now, we offer grocery cards and the toy program. A grocery card is set up for denominations based on family sizes. We’re finding that it works well because it allows families of all different cultures to get what they need. We have also worked on getting culturally appropriate toys. We do get a lot of really good feedback about that,” Billi said.
The grocery cards are also a more accessible option for other members of the community. Major Naomi Dalley explains how providing a gift card is more effective than providing specific food items.
“A lot of people don’t have the freezer space. We have a very large homeless population, and they don’t have the space for that,” Major Dalley added.
As not everyone new to the country knows about the services available, The Salvation Army, works together with community agencies to refer clients to the Christmas assistance programs and more.
The Salvation Army is preparing for high demand this holiday season. They have increased their staff and are always happy to welcome new people who are interested in helping during the holidays.
“We’ve seen an uptake in the number of people that are using our food bank from week to week and using our breakfast program.”
“There are so many ways people can help us. They can volunteer and if they want to make a monetary donation, they can do that through our office, or online,” Billi said. “The community itself, they give us so much and we couldn’t ask for a better community with how they support us.”
The need in the community goes beyond just new Canadians. Many other people in town see themselves struggling financially and will need some assistance this Christmas.
“We’ve seen an uptake in the number of people that are using our food bank from week to week and using our breakfast program. So there is a pretty good chance we’ll see the same increase for Christmas registrations as well,” Major Dalley shared.
As many families are going through tough times, Billi encourages people to not feel embarrassed to seek assistance if they need to. She says the doors will always be open, and that the community will stick together for one another.
“It is remarkable how people come together and think about other people and the amount of selflessness that’s here. To me that is more valuable than material things. It shows you that the love of God is still here in this community and that people care.”
By Juan Romero
