It was a big day for the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health and the local workforce Friday.
Bay of Quinte riding MPP Todd Smith announced two grants for the Enrichment Centre in Belleville.
One grant was for over $546,000 and will help the centre provide job skills training along with counselling to prepare
people dealing with anxiety or depression for jobs.
The money is expected to help over 200 graduates of ten four-week-long courses become employed.
The other grant was for over $155,000 over two years which will allow the centre to provide counselling to people in their
workplaces to keep them on the job.
That grant came from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Smith said employers in the Quinte region are having trouble finding employees, adding that over 3,000 jobs in the area are currently
unfilled so the grants will go a long way to help them and those receiving help from the Enrichment Centre.
Executive Director of the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health Sandie Sidsworth said the money will be well used saying the demand
for the services the centre offers has never been higher.
Over 170 people are currently on a waiting list for counselling from the centre, a situation also faced by Addictions and Mental Health-Prince Edward.
Sidsworth said the steep increase in the numbers of people suffering from stress-related problems was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Executive Director of the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health. (Photo: Quinte News)
