Northern Bruce Peninsula is going to consider giving $15,000 to Grey Bruce Hospice during its 2024 budget deliberations.
Council agreed during its meeting on Aug. 14 to consider the request by Grey Bruce Hospice Chapman House when it gets into next year’s budget.
A letter sent by Chapman House Executive Director Janet Fairbridge on July 21 requests support for the organization in the amount of $5,000 for the next three years. This funding will help plan for the expected increase in needs for the community in a sustainable manner.
She says Grey Bruce Hospice receives partial funding for their operational costs each year from the Ministry of Health. To subsidize the needed costs, Grey Bruce Hospice rely’s on the community to help raise an additional over $1.2 million each year through fundraising efforts.
Fairbridge says in her letter, in the fiscal year of 2022-23, Grey Bruce Hospice supported 48 individuals who called Bruce County home. This represented 25.7 per cent of the 187 Grey Bruce residents who were cared for at the Chapman House.
“The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association estimates that for every person who is cared for at a Canadian hospice, an additional five people receive support services, including grief and bereavement supports. This puts the number of people served by Grey Bruce Hospice at 935 in just one year. That number continues to grow,” says Fairbridge in her letter.
Mayor Milt McIver voiced his support for providing funding to Grey Bruce Hospice.
“I really support the work they do and think it is something maybe we could look at budget time,” says McIver.
Northern Bruce Peninsula is not the only municipality Grey Bruce Hospice has approached asking for a three year commitment, having also gone to Grey Highlands.