Friday, May 5, 2017 3 Brooklin Town Crier Brooklin Group Aims To Host Syrian Refugee Family By Richard Bercuson Ever hear of Gaithersburg, Maryland? It's one of the state's larger cities, having a population of around 68,000. Gaithersburg is considered the most culturally diverse city in the U.S., ironic given it's only 40 minutes from the capital and the current administration. Brooklin is a fraction of its size and can't yet boast of such diversity. However, that is changing thanks to the efforts of local individuals who are working to bring Syrian refugees to live in Brooklin. The idea sounds like a bit of a stretch, from the sheer economic weight of it to cultural and language support. In order to address those needs, ten citizens on a steering committee will host a Town Hall gathering on Thursday, May 18, at the Brooklin Community Centre on Cassels Rd, from 7 to 8:30 pm, to gauge just how much interest there is here to assist with such a venture. The group's steering committee is chaired, so to speak, by Sarah Jones who, she admits, fell into the role probably because of her work in the corporate world. "I guess I have the right experience with rigged corporate rules and such," she says. Her colleagues come from every walk of life and many didn't know each other before combining their skills to launch into the task. Port Perry It began with a connection to Port Perry, the tiny community north of here with about half of Brooklin's population. Its efforts to support Syrian families have been nothing short of monumental. There, too, everything began with a Town Hall meeting and the organizers were immediately flooded with donations and support, so much so that it was quickly able to adopt a family. Now, after raising $150,000, Port Perry is about to integrate its third Syrian family into the area. Jones describes how details can get lost in the government's bureaucratic forest. One family arrived just two days after the Port Perry community was apprised of their arrival. In other instance, after a so-called thorough vetting indicating a family was comprised of a couple and their two young children, they arrived - with the mother six months pregnant awaiting twins. Organizers had to scramble to get cribs, car seats and all the other accoutrements for new babies. She says the Port Perry experience is what this new Brooklin group is using as its model. "I know we're not the most diverse community. But there's a wonderful openness here which really has us all quite encouraged. Our spirits are high, they really are. Our support system has been growing. We know there's a huge need for sponsors to bring in families beyond the 25,000 people the government brought in. Heartstrings "About half of Syrian refugees are kids," she adds, "and that really does pull on the heartstrings." Within two days of mentioning it on Facebook, she had 136 followers. A number of people have already told her they'd help in some way, even if they can't make it to the May 18 Town Hall. While the federal government suggests $23,000 as a typical amount to cover a family's expenses for a year, Jones says their aim is $50,000 - for now. Certainly the cost of living in Brooklin accounts for some of that difference. With the process currently in its infancy, she figures it could be a year or more before a Syrian family actually arrives. One member of the fledgling group, Rebecca Calder, owner of the Calder pre-school on Cassels Rd, says the government's figure is unrealistic. "Besides, we're looking long term, beyond the one year. We have to consider second language courses, job creation and so many other things. There'll be a lot of struggles, which is why we need the financial support to go beyond that first year." Help and advice The group is getting advice from the Port Perry volunteers and is working with a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) from one of the federal government approved groups designated to act as intermediaries in the long and complex process. "I just felt like we somehow weren't doing enough," Jones says. "We haven't figured out a lot of things quite yet. For instance, the size of a family and so on. We won't be able to tackle that till the dollars are there." As to the size of the turnout on May 18, it's impossible to say at this juncture what the extent of local support will be. But Jones, Calder and their colleagues remain upbeat no matter what. Bryson Insurance, Isenor Mediation First With Blue Umbrella Designation Bryson Insurance of Brooklin and Isenor Live Mediation Services are the first businesses to receive the Blue Umbrella designation from Durham Region's Alzheimer's Society. Blue Umbrella is a specialized program that educates businesses about dementia and provides strategies to give good customer service to people living with the disease, the umbrella that includes Alzheimer's and others. It's paid for by the town of Whitby Mayor's Community Development Fund. In fact, Whitby was the first Durham municipality to move forward with the project with Ajax about to go through it. According to Denyse Newton, Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of Durham Region, 125 town of Whitby staff have been trained to make various town services dementia-friendly. Bryson had 11 people at its Brooklin location, including front-line employees, trained by the program along with those at its Ajax office. Isenor's owner Audrey Isenor was also trained in the Blue Umbrella program. At the May 1 Whitby council meeting, all councillors and the mayor received the Blue Umbrella training and will be given their designations on May 8. Jocelyn McGrath, the association's Blue Umbrella Program Lead, explains that the training begins with a business needs assessment. "We want to develop a sense of understanding of what the business knows about dementia." This includes an online questionnaire followed by an hour long training session. After this is completed, the follow-up, which includes being rewarded with the Blue Umbrella decal to post, involves a site visit from people with dementia to provide further help. Newton says one doesn't need a medical background to handle the training. "We try to normalize the experience of people living with dementia. So we're helping the public understand that even small tweaks to their businesses or approach can make a difference." For more information about the Blue Umbrella program, visit al- zheimer.ca/en/durham/ then type "Blue Umbrella" into the search window. A picture postcard of a dried up Brooklin Mill Pond. The pond was located in the south western part of Brooklin on the Vipond Farm and served as the mill pond for the Brooklin flour mill. Today it is near the site of Meadowcrest subdivision. Whitby Archives Photograph 25-000-315 The Mill Pond - dried out, c.1920 Advertise With Us... yeswomanbrooklin@gmail.com