logo
Inner-city youth centre to open 24 hours during summer

Inner-city youth centre to open 24 hours during summer

CTV News03-06-2025

An inner-city youth centre will expand its operations to be open at all hours of the day during the summer.
Rossbrook House announced it will be open 24 hours from June 27 until August 30.
Located at the corner of Ross Avenue and Sherbrook Street, the neighbourhood drop-in centre provides safety, acceptance, programs and daily meals for up to 80 participants a day, according to a media release.
The centre said it strives to 'always be a safe place for children and youth every day and 24 hours all summer long.'
Programming will include a playroom for ages six to 11, camp for youth aged 12 and older, crafts, games, trips to the beach, and outings to local parks and pools.
This will be the 49th year the centre has kept its doors open 24 hours throughout the summer months.
Over 1,000 kids and young adults, aged six to 24, come through the centre's doors annually, according to its website.
Rossbrook House has also called on the public to help ensure the longevity of its programs by making a financial donation. More information can be found on the centre's website.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Control zones set up in Fraser Valley, B.C., after Newcastle disease detected
Control zones set up in Fraser Valley, B.C., after Newcastle disease detected

CTV News

time21 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Control zones set up in Fraser Valley, B.C., after Newcastle disease detected

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is seen in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick CHILLIWACK — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has put up controls on the movements of birds around two commercial poultry farms experiencing the first outbreaks of virulent Newcastle disease in Canada in more than 50 years. The establishment of the primary control zones in the Fraser Valley means that birds, byproducts and items that have contacted the birds cannot be moved within or through the areas without permission. The agency says the virus affects both wild and domestic birds and can cause pink eye in humans, and birds at the infected farms must be culled. The agency says that before the disease was detected in B.C. this month, including at a commercial pigeon operation, the last infections in Canada were reported in 1973. The CFIA says the ailment is of great concern to the world's agricultural community since it's highly contagious and threatens poultry. It says Newcastle disease can decrease egg production in domestic birds and cause high numbers of sudden deaths in a flock, while wild birds can develop wing paralysis and be left unable to fly. It says the risk to humans is low if gloves are worn while handling infected birds, and that the disease was rarely found to kill wild birds before 1990. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.

Sudbury marks 41st Workers' Memorial Day
Sudbury marks 41st Workers' Memorial Day

CTV News

time23 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Sudbury marks 41st Workers' Memorial Day

On Friday in Sudbury, a ceremony was held to mark the 41st anniversary of Workers' Memorial Day at Unifor Local 598. On Friday in Sudbury, a ceremony was held to mark the 41st anniversary of Workers' Memorial Day at Unifor Local 598. The day recognizes the men who were killed at 10:12 a.m. on June 20, 1984, after a seismic event caused a collapse in what was formerly called the Falconbridge Mine. Three workers were killed instantly and one was missing. Rescue teams worked frantically to locate the fourth person, who succumbed to his injuries after a second event caused further delays. Workers' Memorial Day On Friday in Sudbury, a ceremony was held to mark the 41st anniversary of Workers' Memorial Day recognizes the men who were killed at 10:12 a.m. on June 20, 1984, after a seismic event caused a collapse in what was formerly called the Falconbridge Mine. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News) 'It is very important for the local and for the members (and) for the people that were there when a lot of their brothers or sisters were injured or killed on the job,' said Brian McDonald, recording secretary for the pensioners association at Unifor Local 598. 'I knew quite a few of them over the years. And … it's always close to the heart. It's very, very, very emotional for me.' NDP Nickel Belt MPP and NDP health critic France Gelinas was working at the hospital when the accident occurred. Many other sectors need change Gelinas said while there have been many improvements in health and safety since then, more needs to be done. 'We have done a lot in Sudbury to push health and safety forward, mainly in mining and a bit in forestry,' she said. Workers' Memorial Day On Friday in Sudbury, a ceremony was held to mark the 41st anniversary of Workers' Memorial Day recognizes the men who were killed at 10:12 a.m. on June 20, 1984, after a seismic event caused a collapse in what was formerly called the Falconbridge Mine. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News) 'But there are many other sectors where people work, where health and safety are not a priority. But those workers do get hurt, those workers do get injured and some of them even die.' Gelinas said transportation is an area where too many serious accidents are occurring. 'If you look at the number of new drivers that are involved in accidents -- I would say it's not an accident,' she said. 'It's because the health and safety standards that the government should be putting in place are not in place, are lacking. Some of them have even been taken away. And you see there, you see the consequences of that with multiple accidents on all of the roads in the north, not only in the winter but in the summer.' Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre said the day is one of remembrance, while also pushing for change. 'As a community, we are a leader in health and safety, because unfortunately, the people that we have lost, we learn with every experience,' Lefebvre said. 'Certainly, we've got to strive to get better, be better together. And that's why we're here today.' The ceremony was marked by a bagpipe procession, speeches and the laying of flowers at the cenotaph. Related: Memorial day in Sudbury honours workers who were killed on the job Sombre ceremony marks 40th Workers' Memorial Day in Sudbury

Northern Ontario wildfire evacuees get used to life – and the food
Northern Ontario wildfire evacuees get used to life – and the food

Globe and Mail

time35 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Northern Ontario wildfire evacuees get used to life – and the food

Claudia Linklater sits at the stovetop range in the kitchenette of her west Toronto hotel room, opening and pouring cans of tomato soup into a big stockpot full of rice and ground beef soup. 'It has to be Campbell's,' she says about the specific brand of soup that her fellow community members prefer. The mother and grandmother from Sandy Lake First Nation is one of about 2,000 wildfire evacuees forced out of the fly-in community over 1,000 kilometres away in the remote dense boreal forest of Northern Ontario. About 400 evacuees from Sandy Lake have been displaced in a cluster of four Mississauga hotels since June 7. And approximately 800 evacuees from nearby Deer Lake First Nation are in a different cluster of hotels in the GTA. Ms. Linklater's room is one of the few equipped with a kitchenette. She's taking advantage by preparing home cooked meals palatable to the homesick tastebuds of the remote north. Two large plastic bins full of prepared bannock dough – one plain and one raisin – made by another Sandy Laker get delivered to Ms. Linklater's room for frying. The bannock and soup is a taste of home, a welcome distraction from the uncertainty of when Ms. Linklater and thousands of others can return. The mother of four will continue to prepare homemade meals for her fellow evacuees using donations to get the groceries needed, inspired by her late grandmother who used to cook for others. 'She would try to feed as many people with what she had,' Ms. Linklater said. Deer Lake First Nation was fully evacuated about a week before Sandy Lake, by the same fire that threatened Deer Lake's airport, the wind spreading it at rapid speeds toward Sandy Lake about 70 kilometres away. The fire, measuring 183,000 hectares, is still considered out of control by the fire officials. It's destroyed traditional hunting camps and electric infrastructure but has spared major damage to the communities or homes. In a makeshift 'band office' on the second floor of another hotel, Deer Lake First Nation Chief Leonard Mamakeesic sits at a large table with his band councillors for their regular evacuation update call with joint emergency management partners of about 80 people. According to the Joint Emergency Management Steering Committee evacuation standards manual obtained by The Globe, 'when a First Nation community notifies the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) of their emergency situation and requests an evacuation due to an emergency, the PEOC in partnership with the requesting community, involved tribal council, other Indigenous partners, provincial ministries, and federal departments will coordinate the preparation for and conduct of a safe evacuation.' On this particular morning, however, the call is cut short before an update could be provided when those on the other end learn that MPP Sol Mamakwa and Ontario legislature speaker Donna Skelly are present, as invited guests of Deer Lake. Moments prior, The Globe and Mail was also asked to leave the virtual meeting after being invited by Mr. Mamakeesic. Ms. Skelly said in an interview she was disappointed about the dropped call and would be speaking with the ministers of emergency preparedness and response and natural resources. 'I think they have a right to hear the latest on the fire in their community, and whether or not there's a plan moving forward to get them back home, or whether they still have to wait to get the fire under control.' The Conservative MPP, who removed Mr. Mamakwa from the legislature earlier this month for unparliamentary language, said her visit with the Deer Lake leadership and evacuees is part of her efforts to connect with the north. '[Sol and I] have, I think, a common goal to do as much as we can for people, not just in Toronto. That's my problem with politics in Ontario, it's so Toronto focused,' she told The Globe. Ms. Skelly said she was glad to see the evacuees settling in but empathized with the challenges of being so far from home. 'Keeping people together is important, but also how anxious it must be and how much you would want to go back. I'd be bored to tears,' Ms. Skelly said. Sitting outside the hotel on a bench with other Deer Lake evacuees on a humid day, Gordy Meekis finishes his cigarette. 'I miss my boat,' he said. 'I'd rather be in the bush than out here.' Life in the hotels isn't a vacation for the evacuees. Many are put to work for their communities and with provincial officials who oversee logistics and planning. Safety and social issues are a priority for leaders like Mr. Mamakeesic and farther distances from home in large urban cities such as the GTA, where many have never been, add to vulnerabilities. The communities implement their own measures such as nightly curfews and prohibiting alcohol and drugs in hotel rooms, with some success. Emergency operations companies are often contracted by Indigenous Services Canada to act as host sites for evacuees, providing 24-hour wraparound services. Paul Syrette, the director of operations for ISN Maskwa, an Indigenous emergency operations, said it's a responsibility they take seriously. 'If there's anything that is the biggest and most important piece of taking care of the folks when they arrive at the host locations, is health,' Mr. Syrette said. Opinion: As northern Canada burns, southern Canada makes climate change worse In some cases the evacuation has been a blessing in disguise. One evacuee from Deer Lake with an already diagnosed brain aneurysm was able to get immediate medical treatment that likely saved his life, Mr. Mamakeesic said. That's a luxury not afforded back home where access to a hospital and doctor can take several hours, sometimes days, and where the only way out is by plane. 'If he was in Deer Lake, I don't think he would've survived,' Mr. Mamakeesic told Mr. Mamakwa and Ms. Skelly in their meeting. Vice-principal of the Sandy Lake elementary school Glenn Soriano and 15 other Filipino educators working in Sandy Lake were among the first to be evacuated. Many of them already had homes in the GTA where they could return. The group cooked and delivered traditional Filipino dishes and 'rez' favourite Kraft Dinner with hot dogs to their fellow community members. 'This is one way of showing our appreciation to how they treat us over there. We are treated as the same as the community members,' Mr. Soriano said about his experience living and working in Sandy Lake for the past five years.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store