Making Grey Bruce Home will soon have a home of their own at 228 8th Street East, and you are invited to an Open House on Saturday, April 14. The ribbon-cutting is at 11 but the event will run from 10:30 until 1 – and there will be cake!

The 14-month pilot project, Making Grey Bruce Home, will provide settlement services for vulnerable newcomers, and will help to develop a data base and toolkit for rural communities to use in supporting newcomers to our Grey and Bruce communities. It is being hosted by United Way Bruce Grey in partnership with the Grey Bruce Welcoming Communities Committee.

The Co-ordinator May Ip, and Newcomer Advocate Mokless Hassan will have offices in the storefront and the community space will have drop-in hours from 10 until 6 on Wednesdays, beginning in May. The space will also be used for workshops and mentorship training, and to offer programs with community partners to provide opportunity for cultural exchange and social integration.

Local artist Jennifer Hicks, herself a newcomer to Owen Sound, is delighted to be mounting an exhibit called "News" at the community space. The multi-media collages are built on newspapers in various languages, and feature symbols, flags,... and babies. "Just as each one of us changes and adapts to new information and learning as we grow, these artworks will be added to and altered as newcomers, and others, offer their stories and feedback."

source: May Ip and Jennifer Hicks