Social planning – monitoring the overall health of our community.

The Social Planning program works closely with local community groups – those that receive United Way funds and those that do not – to address the social service issues identified through its research activities.

Below is a description of current community planning projects:

• Guelph and Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination
• Wellington & Guelph Housing Committee
• Report Card on the Well-Being of Children
• Kindergarten Parent Survey
• Wellington Developmental Services Planning Group
• Senior Services Network
• Youth Service Providers
• Growing Great Kids
• Guelph Inclusiveness Alliance
• Task Force on Children's Recreation Subsidies
• External Funding Review Panels

Guelph and Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination

Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination is a community initiative, with support from individual residents, non-profit agencies and all levels of government. The task force is taking a new approach to eliminating poverty in Guelph and Wellington County, one that looks at the root causes of poverty, and incorporates all voices in the community. Information on the task force, including how you or your group can help, is available at www.gwpoverty.ca.

Wellington & Guelph Housing Committee

The Wellington & Guelph Housing Committee is a non-partisan body providing a local focus for addressing housing and homelessness in Guelph & Wellington. The Committee’s mission is to encourage the development of an adequate supply of affordable rental housing for the residents of Guelph & Wellington.

The role of the Committee is to:

• Provide a forum for the exchange of information and the creation of partnerships among housing and social service providers and funding bodies
• Identify housing needs, gaps and priorities based on research and community consultations
• Maintain a Community Plan to address housing and homelessness
  • Review zoning and planning decisions made by local governments in terms of their impact on the supply of affordable housing in Guelph & Wellington
• Provide education and advocacy about housing issues

Participation in the Committee is open to everyone: landlords and tenants, real estate boards, housing and social service providers, planners, government bodies, and interested community members. The Committee meets the third Thursday of the month from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the County of Wellington Office, 129 Wyndham St. N., Guelph.

See publications for a list of recent reports released by the Wellington & Guelph Housing Committee.

Report Card on the Well-Being of Children

The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Coalition for a Report Card on the Well-Being of Children was established in 2005. The coalition is committed to raising the profile of children in our communities by examining and reporting on the state of their well-being. The coalition will accomplish this through the development of:

• Children’s Charter
• Report Card on the Well-Being of Children
• Community Engagement

The purpose of this project is to develop a common framework for measuring community trends, strengths and weaknesses. The intention is to go beyond a traditional report card, and to develop a tool that could be used for community engagement and knowledge transfer (i.e. to generate, share and apply knowledge through mutual learning and dialogue).

Wellington Developmental Services Planning Group

Since 1987, the Wellington Developmental Services Planning Group has worked to create a local developmental services system which addresses the needs of people with developmental challenges and their families. The planning group exercises its mandate through the exchange of information and provision of mutual support amongst its members. The United Way is a corresponding member of this group, remaining up to date with their work.

Senior Services Network

The Senior Services Network provides leadership for the improvement of health and long-term care services and supports for older adults in Wellington and Dufferin Counties. The group was established to ensure a comprehensive, system-wide perspective. Members facilitate information sharing and decision-making within their respective organizations in order to implement recommended changes within and between services.  The United Way is a corresponding member of this group, remaining up to date with their work.

Youth Service Providers

The Youth Service Providers come together four times per year to share information, learn about new youth initiatives and discuss challenges. These meetings are open to anyone in the community working with youth. Each meeting highlights one local youth-focused initiative.

Growing Great Kids Network

The Guelph Wellington Growing Great Kids Network leads in the development of collaborative system integration to ensure young children and families have simplified access and improved services to support healthy growth and development. The United Way staff assists the network with planning activities and the development of a community plan for children 0-6 and their families.

External Funding Review Panels

In 2008-2009, United Way staff led and/or participated on three external funding review committees:

• City of Guelph’s Community Services Grants - The City of Guelph provides financial assistance to not-for profit community groups and agencies by means of an annual grant program. The United Way is responsible for reviewing grant applications for the Health and Social Services sector, and making recommendations to city council.
• Homelessness Partnership Initiative (HPI) - Launched in 2007, HPI provides project funding to communities to address local priorities related to homelessness. It is administered by Service Canada, as part of the federal government’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) & the United Way manages all administrative & funding responsibilities.