Mimmo says, “We’re always busy. I like keeping busy.” His colleague Dean reports, “My family is very proud that I work here.” Tony, yet another member of the Community Living Hamilton team, reports, “I love working here. There’s people to talk to.”
Mimmo, Dean and Tony are three of the more than 330 staff of Community Living Hamilton, an organization that works with people with intellectual disabilities to help them contribute to their community, and to help the community appreciate their contributions. United Way plays a big role in the success of that mission by providing vital financial support – the kind of reliable, annual support that makes for a secure organization and a stable, reliable and productive environment for Tony, Dean, Mimmo and more than 1,400 other clients who use the organization’s services and support.
Dean knows that community contributions, like the funds that come from United Way, are vital to his experience at Community Living Hamilton. “It’s an important job for me,” he says. Because he can’t read or write, his employment prospects are limited. United Way support for Community Living Hamilton creates opportunities for Dean. “I really appreciate this job. I really enjoy this job,” he says.
The work, the place and the people mean so much to Tony that he’s happy to admit, “If the doors were closed here, I’d be lost without my job. It’s like a home to me. Other places don’t have all of this. It’s like home.”