GUELPH POLITICAST #429 – The Secrets of Stonehenge... The Guelph One (feat. Kristen Kerr)

A couple of weeks ago at city council, a group of leaders representing four frontline agencies appeared to support the idea of a tiny home project in Guelph. The head of the Guelph Community Health Centre appeared on this podcast a few months ago, and so did the head of the Canadian Mental Health Association, plus the CEO of Guelph General Hospital was our special Christmas guest this past December. So if you've been counting, that leaves one more...

The Stonehenge Therapeutic Community has been doing the work for over 50 years when it comes to helping people in Guelph battling addictions and mental health issues. It started as a small, farm-based residential treatment program for men and women in 1971 and has expanded over the decades to include all types of services like compassionate care, peer support, safer supply, and yes, housing. 

Stonehenge’s latest achievement is helping to launch the supportive housing project on Shelldale Crescent, the Kindle Communities, a massive community effort that was more than two years in the making. Unfortunately, that's not the end of the story, but this is an issue that can’t be solved by any one agency, or any one group of agencies, so the work is ongoing as the staff of Stonehenge look for new opportunities to help the growing need. 

Kristen Kerr, who is the executive director of the Stonehenge Therapeutic Community, will give us some insight into that work. We’re going to talk about the origins of Stonehenge, and how it got the same name as that famous landmark in the English countryside. We will also talk about the current pressure on frontline agencies, how Stonehenge is responding to the growing trend of compassion fatigue, and where Stonehenge might take harm reduction next now that the Kindle Community is almost complete. 

So let's uncover the secrets of Stonehenge - the Guelph version - on this week’s Guelph Politicast!

You can learn more about Stonehenge at their website. Drug Poisoning Awareness Day will take place on August 22 in Mount Forest and August 29 here in Guelph, and you have until tomorrow, August 1, to order a “Remembering Lives Lost” t-shirt, which you can do through the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy website.

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