Dean, Tony & Mimmo’s Story
Working at Community Living Hamilton
< 1 MIN READ

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.”

LAST UPDATED

Similar Stories

“I started my relationship with the agency four years ago. I was attending a program to learn about computers and someone suggested I could have lunch at the senior’s centre in the same building as the school. I was served delicious lunches and was able to participate in activities. The centre gives seniors a sense of independence and a chance to have a social life. They make them feel important.
As a newcomer, Sebastian found himself struggling in school and trying to learn English. Now, five years later, he is volunteering at the United Way-supported agency and serving as a leader to newcomers arriving today. His family emigrated from there home country when Sebastian was seven. “It was because of the state my country was in. It wasn’t the greatest in terms of safety. We were shot at one day when going to my grandma’s house, and I think that’s what led my parents to finally make the decision to immigrate.”
Share
Tweet
Post
Email