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Ripple Connection needs community’s help to continue its expansion efforts

The Ripple Connection Support Centre (RCSC) needs your help if they are going to be able to expand not only their services but their building.
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Ripple Connection Support Centre executive director Tracy Whitten and board chair Kristi McKort said they need the public’s help if the not-for-profit organization is going to be able to meet the needs of the community. Above, the pair pose in front of the former Flower Lane building on Main Street. Currently, the organization has a small space in the back of the building but they hope to be able to renovate the front end of the building. However, renovations have screeched to a halt.

The Ripple Connection Support Centre (RCSC) needs your help if they are going to be able to expand not only their services but their building.

The not-for-profit organization, which opened in 2010, provides services for people who directly suffer from mental illness as well as their families and caregivers.

The centre is in the process of a projected $110,000 renovation in order to expand. The RCSC is located on Main Street in the back of what was the Flower Lane building. In the last year, they have taken over the entire building.

As part of the renovations, board chair Kristi McKort and executive director Tracy Whitten said they hope to expand the centre’s kitchen capabilities, as well as to expand their restrooms to include shower facilities.

In the fall, the RCSC was hopeful that they would win a $125,000 donation from an online contest sponsored by Canadian insurance company iA Financial, which would have gone a long way in completing the renovations.

Unfortunately, the RCSC finished out of the Top Three and received only $10,000. While they were grateful for the donation, the amount didn’t go very far in their renovation effort.

“Basically it has come to a crashing halt because we have run out of money,” McKort said.

Among the services the centre currently provides is a subsidized lunch program called Warm Your Heart, a referral service to Alberta Mental Health and Addictions, the food bank and low-income housing.

RCSC also provides peer-to-peer counselling as a stop-gap measure until Alberta Mental Health services are available.

The centre also offers caregivers the opportunity to get together, share experiences as well as educational sessions and workshops, or just give them a place to unwind.

However, most importantly, the centre provides people living with mental illness with a safe place they can go to reduce the feeling of isolation that often accompanies mental illness, said McKort and Whitten.

“We also want to reduce the stigma of mental illness, because everyone has either experienced a mental illness or knows someone that does,” Whitten said.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), in any given year, one in five people will personally experience a mental illness regardless of age, education level, culture or income level.

Mental illness also plays a large role in many of society’s issues from drug addiction to homelessness.

“And just because we are a small community, doesn’t mean we are immune,” McKort said.

If anything she said, the problem is probably more exacerbated because rural communities don’t have the same resources to draw on.

She used the issue of homelessness as an example, estimating that there is a sizeable community of people without shelter who are either living in tents or discarded trailers and recreational vehicles.

“This biggest percentile of homeless in Barrhead are women over 55,” Whitten interjected.

The need also seems to be growing. On any given day, McKort estimates the RCSC serves between 20 and 30 people.

“And when we expand, that number will grow exponentially because our space is just too small,” she said.

As for how people can help, they said it is simple by donating. Whether it is food items for their lunch program or by donating redeemable cans on bottles.

On June 18, RCSC volunteers will be canvassing the community from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. as part of a bottle drive. For those who are missed, they can drop off their bottles at the Ripple. As the renovations are not complete people are asked to use the building’s side entrance.

The RCSC also has set up a GoFundMe page.

“We know the economy is tough right now, and that is one of the reasons why we are trying to expand because the need is so great,” McKort said.

For more information about the RCSC or access its services call 780-674-5548 or visit 5130B 50th Street Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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