The Pioneer Spirit of the Rotary Club of Toronto: Its Significance

The pioneer spirit lives on in The Rotary Club of Toronto, serving on the often uncharted frontiers of service to older, marginalized men in the downtown core. The Rotary Club of Toronto has enjoyed a long and happy relationship with The Good Neighbours’ Club, providing vehicles for its use.

Recently, The Rotary Club of Toronto’s Centennial Award has provided for the building of the Rotary Health and Wellness Centre. This new facility features a conference room for group work and classes, a counseling office, a medical office, a dental office, and a quiet room for sleeping.

The Good Neighbours’ Club serves nearly four hundred men a day, and many of them are in need of the kinds of front-line social and medical services that will be offered in the Rotary Health and Wellness Centre. Social workers, community workers, psychiatric counselors, nurses, dental hygienists, podiatrists and housing workers now have clean, private space in which to serve men who too often believe that the world had forgotten all about them. The Rotary Club of Toronto hasn’t, and The Good Neighbours’ Club is proud to have Rotary as a longstanding partner in its work.

 

What if on your next appointment to your doctor, the receptionist said to you, “Please have a seat with everyone in the waiting area. The doctor will be out to examine you in a moment.”

That’s been the situation until recently at The Good Neighbours’ Club, as street nurses, dental hygienists, addictions counselors, housing workers, social workers, and community workers struggled to work with homeless and marginalized men in hallways, foyers, and other open spaces.

No one can quite say just how many men in need of help simply declined to visit with these professionals, for fear of embarrassment or ridicule from their peers. “These men may not have much, but they do have their pride,” says Dr. Bruno Scorsone, Executive Director of The Good Neighbours’ Club. “Many of them would be reluctant to sacrifice their privacy, even for treatment they need.”

The Rotary Club of Toronto’s Centennial Project grant has provided new facilities that offer older men dignity and respect. There is a respite room, for those who had no place to sleep the night before. There are two medical offices, one outfitted like a general practitioner’s office and one that can double as a dental office. There is a counseling room, where social workers and

other professionals can work one-one-one with our members to provide ongoing case management. There is the Board Room, where group activities can take place, from planning meetings, music classes and group therapy.

Interviewed recently, long-time Club member Ray Burgess commented, “Without the nurse at The Good Neighbours’ Club, where would I go?” Community Worker Solmaz Khoujini commented that “Nurses are very valuable here. I am glad they come every week because alot of the guys don’t have or don’t like to go to see doctors. We are thankful that now our nurses have proper private facilities from which to work.”

The facilities feature running water, electrical, internet, telephone connections and will soon feature portable sterilizers for medical and dental equipment. Discussions on service development continue with longstanding partners Street Health, Community Outreach Programs in Addiction, Central Neighbourhood House, and Woodgreen Community Services as well as new partners such as the Christian Resource Centre and Inner City Health.

Our vision is for The Good Neighbours’ Club to become a key centre for providing various services to their underserved demographic, older marginalized men. This growing population has distinct needs for health and social services and are better served among their peers than in other situations. The Good Neighbours’ Club has been providing basic services such as meals and emergency clothing since 1933, but has recently expanded its offerings under Dr. Scorsone’s leadership.

The Good Neighbours’ Club is a registered charity and is becoming known as a leading agency in research and service coordination in the downtown core of Toronto. With help from The Rotary Club of Toronto, The Good Neighbours’ Club will even more effectively live up to its new motto: “Respect your elders.”