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WEEKEND, June 1-3, 2012 News worth sharing.
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Bethesda to close June 30 Centre for teen moms. ‘Very difficult decision’ was a ‘financial reality,’ agency leader says angela mullins
angela.mullins@metronews.ca
The Salvation Army made the writing on the wall official Thursday: Its Bethesda Centre for teen moms will close on June 30. Lt.-Col. Lee Graves, divisional commander of the agency’s Ontario Great Lakes Division, said case managers will develop “exit strategies” for each of the girls living at the facility. He didn’t elaborate, but said the army will “ensure a smooth transition for the women and children in our care.” “The well-being of our residents and clients is always our first concern,” Graves said, calling Bethesda a “very proud part of our heritage.” Officials announced plans to close the centre in February, citing budget shortfalls, then said it would stay open for at least three years if $1.5 million could be raised by May 31.
The official fundraising tally came in at $372,473 — $14,000 of which Graves said came directly from a committee steered by current and former residents. People who donated directly through the Salvation Army will have the option of receiving a refund or seeing the money spent on other programs the agency operates in London. Asked about officials’ refusal to budge on the May 31 deadline despite pledged donations, such as one from pop star Justin Bieber, Graves said the centre can’t operate on promises. “The deficit grows every day. It costs us 20,000 additional dollars per month as we remain open,” he said. “We can’t live by verbal, social-media kind of language out there that suggests maybe … a gift will be coming. Why can’t those partners contact us directly and have a conversation with us?” In the past five years, $1.52 million has been pulled from “other Salvation Army resources” to keep Bethesda open, he said. It’s the agency’s only local program running a deficit. No plans have been made for the centre’s future use, he said.
Save Bethesda
Keeping calm and carrying on As Salvation Army leaders talked with the media on Thursday, the Save Bethesda fundraising committee was walking a protest line outside the agency’s Centre of Hope on Wellington Street. Committee members were outside the group’s downtown headquarters earlier in the day, and are vowing to continue their fight. “May 31 is their (fundraising) deadline, not ours,” said Marsha Parker, 35, of London. Ex-Bethesda resident Elaine Moore, 35, of Dublin, Ont., said a protest is planned next week at the Salvation Army’s Toronto offices. She and others denied the agency’s claims that help in the fundraising effort was offered, saying all they received were “form letters” when contacting officials. Angela Mullins/Metro
Lt.-Col. Lee Graves of the Salvation Army, flanked by members of the agency’s London Citizens Advisory Board, announces Thursday that the Bethesda Centre for teen moms will close on June 30. The announcement was made during a media conference at the Centre of Hope on Wellington Street. Angela Mullins/Metro