The Downtown Windsor Mission has met its $1-million fundraising goal, and that means local philanthropist Al Quesnel will match every dollar resulting in a $2-million total donation.
Downtown Mission Executive Director Ron Dunn is thrilled, saying the money will be used to fund frontline services including the establishment of a new free dental clinic.
"So the next step for us is to recruit dentists," says Dunn. "There [are] 300 dentists in Essex County and I'm looking for 200 of them to volunteer one day a year and then we can offer a full-time clinic and we're really excited for the opportunity to do that. There is no free dental clinic in the city right now outside of agencies that will pull teeth. We want to get there before it needs to be pulled — we want to do maintenance and just offer people dental care."
The Downtown Mission Food Bank and Clothing Centre at 875 Ouellette Ave., November 2016 (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
Dunn says the free clinic is meant for all citizens who can't afford dental coverage not just the homeless.
"I want people to understand this is not about homeless people and dentistry. Certainly they'll be welcome to see a dentist, but this is about people who're living in poverty whether they know it or not. If you can't afford a regular dental visit chances are you're not bringing in a lot of money. This program is meant to help Essex County in general."
Dunn hopes to get the clinic up and going in 2018 and thinks start-up costs will be in the neighbourhood of $400,000.