ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Robert Rideout wants to improve his math skills, and Thursday he and other clients of The Gathering Place got some good news about how to go about it.
He was among the group of residents who applauded Premier Andrew Furey and Education Minister Tom Osborne during the announcement of a $195,000 foundational Adult Literacy Pilot Program for guests of The Gathering Place.
It’s being delivered in partnership with the Murphy Centre, a longtime provider of educational upgrading programs.
“Good idea,” said Rideout, who is a big fan of non-profit The Gathering Place, which offers a safe place to go and a range of services to clients in need, including medical and dental care, a hot shower, meals and social activities such as bingo.
The funding will pay for the hiring of two support workers to determine the learning needs of the clients and design an appropriate program, as well as an additional resource person to help with personal, social, mental-health and other considerations, Furey and Osborne said.
Each participant will receive individualized help to improve literacy, numeracy, and technology and time-management skills, depending on what they need or want to improve — everything from reading a bus schedule to accessing university courses.
Rideout told The Telegram that while he left school after Grade 7, he can read and write fine, but was never good at math, and he hopes to fix that.
He’s an ardent supporter of The Gathering Place's services, which he said changed his life completely.
“When I first came here, I was down in the dumps, depressed, suicidal. … I’m not the same man now,” said Rideout, who was among those who snapped photos of Furey and Osborne — a few even wanted to get in the shot with the two politicians.
Theresa Fisher doesn’t have a specific goal in mind, but is just glad to hear about the pilot program.
“It’s about time,” she said. “I’d like to do some upgrading, get more education.”
Furey said he was happy to make the announcement.
“This is the type of program that can directly transform the lives of residents. Improving adult literacy helps people become healthier and more productive and leads to a stronger and better province for all,” he said.
The Gathering Place has been offering literacy help informally for years.
With the credentials of the Murphy Centre, it formalizes the service.
“It is indeed a joyous day, an exciting, exciting day,” Gathering Place executive director Joanne Thompson told the media gathered in the facility’s spacious social room.
“Guests will be empowered to take ownership of their learning and provided opportunities to advance towards their learning goals,” said Murphy Centre director Tim Turner.
Thompson said the new program will allow the clients’ outcomes to be measured, and she expects it will help improve and influence other critical aspects of their lives, as other services have.
Osborne said — on Furey’s direction to see what could be done to improve adult literacy — he contacted Thompson and Turner, who were both thrilled.
A joint proposal quickly ensued.
“There was a line in that proposal that really struck me. … ‘Every individual and citizen of our province deserves the respect and dignity to experience the empowering effect of learning,’” Osborne said.
Although various non-profits and volunteer organizations have offered literacy help over the decades in one way or another, what makes this one different is that it brings the service of an organization officially recognized for providing educational services directly to a place where people who need the help can best access it.
“When you put the service here people will come,” Thompson said.
“The Murphy Centre is very good at what they do. The Gathering Place is very good at what they do. We’re bringing adult literacy into a community organization where you have people who otherwise ordinarily wouldn’t have that opportunity, and if this works, absolutely we are going to look at other community organizations in other areas of the province,” Osborne said.
Asked why it has taken until 2020 to come up with the concept, Furey said the pilot program is built on what has been achieved.
“I never think it’s novel when we give people the opportunity to reach their full potential,” he said. “We can always look in the rearview mirror or we can look forward to the opportunities that we can create. For the people that are using this institution, and that’s what I am focused on, of course you can always reflect, but moving forward, I think this unlocks people’s true potential and that’s what I am interested in.”
