Bridges to Belonging (B2B)

BE-Friends

BE-Friends is a volunteer matching program that connects people with any disability 17 years or older (Friend) with a community volunteer "Buddy" (19 years or older). The pair gets together as often as they want, enjoy fun activities they choose and become part of each other's world. BE-Friends is a bridge to meaningful reciprocal relationships and lifelong friendships.

People are being matched and friendships are blooming. We invite you to become part of this friendship adventure!

If you are 17 years old or older, living with a disability, and want someone to spend time and build a lasting friendship with, we invite you to Click Here and fill out an application to be matched with a Buddy Community Volunteer.

If you are 19 years old or older and want to create an authentic friendship as a Volunteer Buddy to a person with a disability and be part of their journey to living their best life, we invite you to Click Here.

None of this would be possible without the generous support of the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation. We are grateful that they are partnering with our entire community to ensure that friendships are free.

LINKS

LINKS is an opportunity for youth with disabilities along with a planning partner of their choice to participate in four interactive small group workshops designed to discover and align their gifts, strengths, social connections, and community resources with their goals to create a personal plan and pathways to create the life they want.

A past participant said, “It was nice to hear the things my Planning Partner loved about me because those are things you don’t hear every day.”

After the personal reflection phase of identifying, gifts, strengths, special interests, and passions, the group moves to the next stage of mapping their social connections (paid or unpaid) based on the quality of the relationships. The map is used to identify individuals the youth could access as a resource to learn a new skill, find employment or volunteer opportunities, participate in recreation or leisure activities, or be part of a future network of support. The final phase of the process involves envisioning their next life stage and setting short-term goals related to post-secondary education or skills training, employment/volunteering, health, and wellness, living independent of their family home, enlarging their circle of friends, or engaging in a recreational or leisure activity.

A LINKS alumni said “I really enjoyed the vision board because I found it interesting to choose what I want to do in the future” and a Planning Partner noted: “ I really liked how [The Storyboard of My Life Sheet] is all giving my daughter all the building blocks. It is teasing out all the pieces for her so it’s not just all jumbled.”

If you or your loved one is looking for a unique way to figure out the next steps to take to create a life of meaning, contribution, connection, and belonging as a valued member of the community, while meeting new people and possibly new friends, then we invite you to consider participating in one of the upcoming LINKS workshops.

BE-Connected

Are you looking for a place to hang out and meet a great group of people who will always welcome you and celebrate who you are? Come join us on Wednesday nights here: from 7-8 P. M. at BE-Connected, a community where EVERYONE is welcome and belongs. Please email communityrelations@bridgestobelonging.ca for the Zoom information.

The following is the Zoom information through May 18, 2022.

Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81897785039?pwd=bkpEZklwdHZZOVl5WHJVV1FobXpwUT09

Meeting ID: 818 9778 5039

Passcode: 012889

Future Planning

We invite you to join with other families and carers in Waterloo Region on May 12, 2022, from 6:30-8:30 P. M. to learn about the important considerations and legal aspects of Advanced Care Planning.

Dr. Sandy Shamon is a primary care physician, palliative care specialist, and sibling to her sister living with a disability. As a physician, Dr. Shamon will provide insights and perspectives through both a personal and professional lens related to the Health Care Consent, Advanced Care Planning considerations and Advance Directives, Goals of Care Discussions, Substitute Decision Makers.

David Amy is a Partner of Amy Appleby and Brennan Law Firm in Waterloo specializing in Wills, Estates, Trusts, and Henson Trust. David will provide legal expertise regarding, Capacity, Power of Attorney - Personal Care and Guardian and Trusteeship.

Paul Arsenault CFP®, PFP® will also be on hand to answer any financial questions that may be related to advanced care planning.

For more information contact: