Bridges to Belonging
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.
BEing Together Again Picnic took place on Wednesday, July 13th/2022 at Victoria Park
For more information, please email communityrelations@bridgestobelonging.ca
If you want to join our team and support an organization that has supported us in many ways over the years, please do so here: https://bit.ly/AutismSpeaksBtoBe
If you need help with registering, please email communityrelations@bridgestobelonging.ca
LINKS Summer 2022
Monday, July 11 and Tuesday, July 12 from 11:00am -3:00pm bring a loved one as your "Planning Partner" and discover your unique strengths, connect them with your interests, the people you know, and community resources to create the BELONGING you deserve. Register here by Tuesday, July 5.
Location: Women's Crisis Centre 700 Heritage Dr. Kitchener, ON N2A 3N8
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.