News Now • Thursday, August 13, 2015 • Page 9
To FORT’S staff & volunteers Our deepest appreciation for all you do to make our community a better place.
Thanks For 15 Great Years! Looking forward to many more. GRIMSBY STORE ONLY 44 Livingston Ave. • 905-309-TIRE (8473)
And congratulations to the staff & volunteers of FORT for 15 years of service to the community!
Supporting Youth For A Better Tomorrow
A salute to 15 years of building The FORT
FORT was born on a dark, snowy night...for real! It was a snowy night in December, 2000. Grimsby had just experienced an unheard of number of teenagers who thought that the best solution to their problems would be to take their own lives. Concerned citizens Elizabeth Arnold, Mandy Shanks and Brian Hutchings were discussing how our youth had nowhere to go and no one to turn to in times of need and distress. They decided to hold a public meeting at the Grimsby Seniors Centre on this particularly snowy night to see if other citizens in the community had the same concerns as they did. Roads were closed in the area and the speakers from St. Catharines were not able not make it to town, so bad was the weather. And, in fact, it actually would have been understandable if no one had made it out that night. More than 70 people, however, made the journey and also made it clear that the concerns of those three citizens were very justified. This was the night that the FORT (Foundation Of Resources for Teens) began its journey. Committees were formed, fundraising began and the search for a home was underway. A short four months later in March of 2001, the FORT opened in the old Rectory residence of St. Joseph’s Church on Robinson Street North.
The Fort began as a very grassroots organization and was run 100 per cent by volunteers. In the beginning, FORT had a clinic staffed by seven local doctors and a nurse practitioner who helped provide services to our youth. The Trillium Foundation gave the group its first major grant enabling them to hire a program coordinator to bring services to the next level. After a couple of years, it became clear the need for the FORT would be ongoing, but its location was less than ideal. While grateful to the Catholic Church for giving them a generous rate on rent, which was essential, a bigger and more open, local space was needed. The Carnegie Building (the original Town of Grimsby Library) was vacant and the town had put out a Request for Proposals for its use. Under the leadership of Brian Hutchings and with community partners Grimsby Historical Society and Adult Learning Resource Centre, Fort was able to put forward an RFP which was graciously accepted by town council. Another grant enabled FORT to renovate and restore the interior of the building and the big move came in 2004. FORT has had so many volunteers over the years that there are too many to mention. Each one of these volunteers, however, deserves thanks See FORT, Page 10