The Downtown Mission is heading out into the community.
The mission is holding a community outreach series starting next week that will run through June.
Rukshini Pooniah-Goulin, the mission’s executive director, says five sessions are currently planned from May 19 to June 16.
She says the sessions will be held at different United Churches across the region and will provide community members a chance to learn about programs and services the mission provides.
Pooniah-Goulin says it’s also a chance for residents to ask questions about the mission.
She says the purpose of the campaign is to connect with people one on one.
“For them to ask questions, for them to learn about the work of the mission, the different programs of the mission, the impact, and the work that is being done every day, every night that maybe some people don’t all know about,” she says.
Pooniah-Goulin says the mission wants to learn what people in different areas of Windsor-Essex are experiencing and seeing.
“What are the needs that they are maybe experiencing or seeing or hearing about that maybe they don’t know we are already helping in those areas or that we’re working with individuals struggling with those kinds of situations, or it might actually become a situation where it’s a need we’re not aware of,” says Pooniah-Goulin.
She says the mission has been dealing with both positive and negative information in the media and social media.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out, and we actually started thinking about this a few months ago, but just timing was never right, and other things came up that we needed to take care of right away, so we just kept on putting it off. This is now a good time,” she says.
The mission says the series comes at a time when community connection and understanding around local support services is more important than ever.
The first session is on May 19 at 6 p.m. at Glenwood United Church on Grand Marais Road West, followed by a session on May 25 at 6 p.m. at Roseland Trinity United Church on Howard Ave.