Celebrating our staff

Proof that financial assistance can make a real difference for a young person 

Brett Gardiner’s story speaks to the positive impact that financial support can make to a young person whose life got off to a rocky start. Brett is now 30, with a good job at ArcelorMittal Dofasco as an Industrial Mechanic. He and his fiancée have bought a house, and are planning their wedding.

But just six years ago, Brett’s future looked anything but rosy. Like many young people in foster care, Brett had found the transition to adulthood challenging, and was struggling to find purpose in his life and to make ends meet. He wanted to go to Mohawk College to further his education, but did not have the financial resources necessary to do so. As a former crown ward with our agency, he reached out to see if we could help him, and we did.

Brett is very grateful for this assistance, and happy to share his story, hoping it will encourage other young people in his situation to pursue their dreams. And we are so happy that we were able to help Brett at a time in his life when he wanted to make positive change.

You can help someone like Brett to make positive change by sponsoring a bursary. Email Lisa Hostein to find out more.

Highlighting our Domestic Violence Team, in conjunction with International Women's Day

March 8 is International Women's Day, marked around the world as a time to celebrate the achievements of women and to advocate for gender equity.

Domestic violence is a major barrier to gender equity, and is one of the most pervasive, traumatic, life-threatening, and harmful family problems in society today. The domestic violence team at CCAS was created over a decade ago to work with families experiencing domestic violence. The underlying philosophy of this team is that in order to keep children safe, we need to keep their mothers safe. 

Members of the domestic violence team have specialized knowledge about domestic violence and how to work effectively with families experiencing it. They also know the available resources in the community and can connect their clients to them. The domestic violence team is part of several community capacity building partnerships which support families impacted by domestic violence. The team also works with the Domestic Violence Unit of the Hamilton Police Service, along with local women’s shelters.

Quick CCAS of Hamilton news