Area residents who find themselves in financial distress have a new agency to turn too with the opening of the Community Compassion Centre located inside the Community Pentecostal Church on St. Joseph Blvd..

The Centre can dispense 3-4 days worth of emergency food supplies for those who find themselves in a crisis situation and they can only get food once per month.

Avalon resident and cancer survivor Gina Meritkas has produced a calendar with the help of her artist/mother Katerina Mertikas. Proceeds from the sale of the calendar will be used to help fund clinical trials of experimental cancer treatments. STAFF PHOTO

Compassion Centre director Marlene Tosh says the intent of the facility is to make access to emergency supplies easier for residents living in the west end of Orléans.

The Centre will work in concert with the Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard on Jasmine Crescent and the Orléans- Cumberland Community Resource Centre food bank on Centrum Blvd.

The Centre will be fully dependent on cash and food donations from the general public as well as fresh produce and dairy items from the Ottawa Food Bank. Since opening on Sept. 14, the food bank has already served the needs of 29 families.

"This is such an exciting day to see the launch of the Centre. A few months ago it was the space was an open coat rack area. There was brick all over the walls and an old chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Thanks to our team of volunteers it's been transformed into a warm and inviting place for our neighbours to gather, to socialize and to make new friends while getting some food to help feed their families,” Tosh said at the grand opening on Oct. 25.

Only residents living in the K1C area are eligible to use the Compassion Centre food bank. The space was donated by the Com-munity Pentecostal Church in the spirit of their mission statement which includes the words to "love your community”.

"The Community Compassion Centre food bank is totally staffed by volunteers and we all recognize how important it is to support our neighbours in meeting their nutritional needs as well as building relationships of trust and understanding so we can make a difference in their lives and the K1C community,” said Tosh.

Ottawa Food Bank CEO Michael Maidment was on hand at the grand opening to reinforce the need for a food banks in a community that is one of the wealthiest in the National Capital in terms of its average household income.

"We know that 39,500 people turn to a food bank every month yet over 50,000 people face food insecurity so we know we have to invest in facilities like this that improve the accessibility for those in need to who have a hard time going father afield for their food needs,” said Maidment.

Orléans Ward councillor and KIC resident Matt Luloff reinforced the need to ensure that no one in the community gets left behind.

"Living in a beautiful and prosperous community like Orléans comes with a responsibility that we don't leave people behind who may require a bit of hand,” said Luloff. "What this Centre provides is dignity and after food, dignity is something we all require as human beings to be able to pick ourselves up and live our lives.”

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)