Wellington North officially opened a new Social Services Office in Mount Forest on Monday.
The new office is located at 311 Foster Street, and includes a Social Services Help Centre and dedicated staff from the Children’s Early Years Division, Housing Services, and Ontario Works. Wellington North Mayor Andy Lennox says getting a building like this for residents will make a huge difference.
"Anybody who needs to access these services can do so closer to home. It's really great for people that need those services to not have to go to Fergus or Guelph to access them. It just makes their lives simpler and easier, because people are navigating enough challenges," Lennox pointed out.
The new space features the Mount Forest Child Care and Learning Centre and the EarlyON Child and Family Centre, with 31 new childcare spaces created following a reconfiguration of the building. Lennox says that's a big deal considering how in-demand those spaces are everywhere.
"Especially under the program the provincial and the federal governments are working on. 31 spaces is 31 more than we had before, and there's a great need for even more yet. But we're delighted to have been able to reuse the space that was already in this building and accommodate 31 more children. It's fantastic," he said.
Lennox adds it was great to see many county staff and dignitaries at the grand opening, because the relationship between the county and lower tiers is essential to getting projects like the social services site completed. He says that also applies to the provincial government, who provided funding for the project.
"It's invaluable, I mean, we're all here to deliver services to our residents, and the more we can collaborate and make that happen, the better off residents will be. Municipalities are a branch of the province, really, and they need to come to the table to help us deliver the services that people need," added Lennox.
