General News

Youth Diversion’s Kairos Program gets funding from Canada Post Community Foundation

October 4, 2023

By Mike Riley

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On Sept. 28 at the Canada Post Distribution site on Davy Road in Belleville, officials from Canada Post awarded $21,900 in funding to the Youth Diversion’s Kairos Program, to support the delivery of the Kairos Substance Use and Addiction Service. Shawn Quigley, executive director of the Youth Diversion Program and Doug Ettinger, president and chief executive officer of Canada Post, comment on this funding award.
The Kairos Program Substance Use and Addiction Service combines evidence-based screening and assessment tools to evaluate each youth’s needs and strengths in the development of effective action plans to address the substance use. By using the stages of change model, counsellors assess the readiness of the participant to address their substance use/misuse behaviours.
A fundamental component to the Kairos program is ongoing evaluations and action-planning with the youth and their family focusing on reducing the severity of substance risks present in their lives, The Kairos counsellors are also active in helping the participant transition from one service to another. For more information, go to www.youthdiversion.org/programs/kairos-program/.
Improving the lives of children and youth across Canada, the Canada Post Community Foundation oversees an annual giving cycle that provides about $1 million in grants each year to registered charities, school programs and grassroots organizations that benefit children and youth. Since 2012, it has granted nearly $13.5 million to more than 1,100 community projects across the country. To find out more, visit www.canadapost.ca/community.
Ettinger says that Canada Post is proud to help organizations and projects that make a difference in the lives of Canadian children and youth, like the Youth Diversion Kairos Program.
“Through the generosity of our customers and employees, the Canada Post Community Foundation is able to fund important programs in communities across the country every year,” he says.
Quigley told Bancroft This Week that this grant came at a very important time as they’ve had to reduce their Kairos services due to lack of funding from four staff to two staff.
“This grant has essentially stopped the bleeding and along with out United Way HPE grant, funding from the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board and from the John and Bernice Parrott Foundation, we can maintain our current level of service, at least until the end of the school year.”