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Mainstream’s Summer Drama Program

Mainstream’s Summer Drama Program was a huge success!

There were 20 participants with a developmental disability from across the Niagara Region that came to Brock University from July 25th to the 29th to introduce themselves to the world of theatre. Meaghan Shepard and Courtney Beamish facilitated the week; both are Brock University Dramatic Arts graduates. Meaghan has been working with Mainstream since March 2009 on the Graffiti: What a Waste production, a puppet show that tours elementary schools in the Niagara Region.

During the week, the Drama Program participants took part in various workshops, including voice, mime, movement, acting, physical comedy, and sound. Local theatre practitioners, including Jason Cadieux, Monica Dufault, and Caitlin Popek, led the workshops. On the final day, the performers took everything that they learned throughout the week and presented two 15-minute plays in front of a full audience. All the participants were so excited to get this opportunity to perform every day. A mother wrote, “My son popped up like toast every morning looking forward to the program, he was hardly able to contain himself. I was impressed with the variety of guest speakers and the opportunities for development given to the participants.”

Also, working in the Drama department was quite special. One father wrote, “We know that, for my daughter, being on the Brock University campus allowed her to feel part of that community for the week as well, this was very exciting for her. As always, Mainstream strives to produce excellent and innovative programming offering much more than the status quo.” Many of the participants are now interested in furthering their education or dramatic skills due to this program. Mainstream would like to thank Brock University and the Dramatic Arts department for allowing them the opportunity to offer this one-of-a-kind program.

Swing Into Action!

Join us for a day of fantastic golf at Grand Niagara, on Monday June 20, 2011. For details, follow the links below.

Brochure
Sponsor Sheet



SNAP: Mainstream's 25th Celebration and Reunion

Mainstream celebrated their 25th Anniversary at Club Roma on September 24th, and the event was a large success. This event was generously reported on at Snap St. Catharines.

You can view the article by following this link.



Graffiti: What a Waste

Mainstream’s Graffiti production is a 20-minute life size character production that has been created in partnership with Carousel Players Theatre Company to meet the needs of young learners in Grades 1-5. The production takes place in a school setting and delivers a strong anti-graffiti message.

The performing artists and backstage crew consists of adults who have a developmental disability. Mainstream’s production will help to open new doors for opportunities, integration and normalization for the people we serve. Mainstream’s “Graffiti…What a Waste” production will be accepting bookings for the show to travel to individual schools beginning January 18, 2011 and will tour until April 2011. All performances will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoons. We also offer lesson plans that are in accordance with the Ontario curriculum for teachers who would like to discuss the performance or graffiti related issues in their classroom. We are accepting donations to sustain the program and its valuable message (recommended $125).

See a video montage for this initiative by clicking here.

Conference helps families with developmentally disabled adults create their future

Mainstream is helping young adults with developmental disabilities transition from school to build independence and relationships in their communities. Read More...




Mainstream's 5th annual Golf Classic

Sally, Ken, Flo and Dennis happy to see the sun!
Mainstream’s 5th Annual Golf Classic held on Friday July 23, 2010 was once again a tremendous success! A heartfelt thank you goes out to the golfers, sponsors, committee members, volunteers and Team Mainstream who helped us to raise $12,924.26 for Mainstream’s Resource Centre Day Program. Congratulations to Terry Labelle, one of the golfers who won the 50/50 draw taking home $1,047.00. Thanks also to Tim Denis from CKTB radio for his great job as Master of Ceremonies. Thank you to everyone for all of your help!




Opening of 160 Ontario St.

On June 7th Canada Mortgage and Housing and Niagara Regional Housing hosted the official opening of 160 Ontario St. On hand to celebrate the event were many community partners and supporters including Rick Dykstra, Conservative MP for St. Catharines, Mr. Jim Bradley MPP for St. Catharines and Minister of Housing, and Peter Partington, Chair of Niagara Regional Council.
Mainstream and Gateway Residential and Community Support Services Gateway partnered to construct the nine one bedroom apartments, five of which are for individuals with a dual diagnosis and supported by Mainstream and four for people with mental health issues supported by Gateway.
All of the residents have adjusted nicely and are enjoying living in their new apartments. Residents have reported that they like the location and are enjoying all of the new opportunities afforded to them.

Big Bike for Heart and Stroke

On Wednesday, May 26th Team Mainstream raised $2975.00 at the Big Bike for Heart and Stroke. We had enough Mainstream employees, program participants and volunteers to fill one and a half bikes, once again showing our commitment to helping other agencies in the community.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored riders, came out to participate or cheer us on, we couldn’t have done it without you!





4th Annual Building Blocks of Independence Conference

Posted by Breanne Griffin

Building Blocks of Independence 2010 Committee
Options Niagara’s 4th annual Building Blocks of Independence Conference was a success. Over 50 people using services participated in the day-long conference that promotes community connections and building independence. The day opened with a keynote address from Yvonne Spicer. She spoke about what independence means in her life and how she has involved herself in her community by working, volunteering, organizing a sports team, and participating in community events. Yvonne is involved with Community Living North Halton and is an active member of several committees working to make change happen for everyone with a disability.

Yvonne Spicer, Keynote Address
Presenters from twelve community services facilitated sessions about health issues, safety, rights, employment, emergency services and more. This year’s conference saw more involvement by people using Mainstream’s services, both past and present. A committee made up of people involved with Options Niagara met regularly in the preceding months to assist in planning the day. Mainstream’s Rights Council gave an informative presentation on Rights, Respect and Responsiblity. A panel of people who are living on their own talked about their challenges and triumphs on the road to independence. The day ended on a high note with people participating in tai chi, drama, card making and Latin dance workshops.

Mainstream’s Graffiti Removal Program

Posted by Kris Akilie

Mainstream’s Graffiti Removal program will commence on April 1, 2010. The 2010 team will consist of 18 members and 2 job readiness coaches who will be removing graffiti five days a week off Canada Post and Cogeco street furnishings as well as St.Catharines City Parks playground equipment. Congratulations to last year’’s team who cleaned 1136 sites and 29 City parks.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

This year marks the 3rd year for Mainstream’s Graffiti Team. We have successfully increased the number of sites cleaned in our previous two years and want to up-the-bar- yet again! Our team needs YOUR HELP! We need you to call the graffiti hotline at 905-688-5601 x 3115 or email graffiti@st.catharines.ca to report graffiti on Canada Post and Cogeco cable boxes in your community. For more information click here.

Thank you to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for their support!

Graffiti...What a Waste tours Niagara

Posted by Kris Akilie

Mainstream's Graffiti...What a Waste production has completed its fall/winter tour performing to 30 schools in the Niagara Region. The educational and entertaining drama for young learners in grades 1-5 took a pproactive approach promoting positive personal growth in an effort to eradicate graffiti in our communities.

Mainstream's Graffiti Production and Removal Programs will enhance the community by creating a healthier and more vibrant place for its members. Both programs have created opportunities for people with a disability to assist them in reaching their full potential through community integration.

Congratulations to the cast and crew for their passion and commitment for the production over the past year! Thank you to the Niagara Community Foundation and the Ontario Truillium Foundation for supporting Mainstream's graffiti production! This grant has allowed us the opportunity to raise awareness and promote community integration for the people we support as well as keeping our city beautiful. The skills the participants acquire while participating in this initiative will help prepare them for future employment or volunteer positions within our community. Click here for the website links. Thank you to DSBN and NCDSB for booking the production to perform in their schools.

GREAT NEWS!!!

Posted by Kris Akilie

Mainstream's Graffiti...What a Waste production has been selected by the In The Soil: Niagara Art Festival committee to perform at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in the old Courthouse on April 17 & 18 at 2:00pm. Tickets are $ are will be available at the door. For additional information about the Niagara Art Festival please click here.



Accreditation Update

Posted by Kevin Berswick

Mainstream is excited to announce that, on December 17, 2009, we received confirmation that we have been accredited by FOCUS Accreditation Services. Accreditation was a goal identified in Mainstream’s 2006 Strategic Plan and the process began in earnest in March of 2008. After twenty months of hard work. FOCUS Accreditation validators arrived at Mainstream in late November to conduct their on-site validation. They met with people using services, family members, community partners, board members and employees. They toured the Resource Centre, went on community visits with Options Niagara and Supportive Independent Living, spent several hours in one of our 24-hour support homes and reviewed many of our policies and procedures. After evaluating all of their findings, FOCUS awarded Mainstream with a 3 year accreditation status.

On February 25, 2010, an Accreditation Celebration was held at Mainstream attended by over forty of our employees and the Board of Directors. Brian Davies, the Board Chair of FOCUS Accreditation was on hand to present Alan Cimprich, Board President and Kevin Berswick, Mainstream’s Executive Director with our accreditation certificate.

Pursuing accreditation has been a very positive process and one that we are extremely proud to have completed so successfully. It challenged our entire agency to reflect on how we provide services and further develop and improve organizational systems to ensure that the services we offer continue to be of the highest quality.

Mainstream's Snow Removal Program

Posted by Kris Akilie

In partnership with the City of St.Catharines Transit Commission Mainstream has launched its snow removal program for the 2009-2010 winter season. The program will provide employment opportunities for five individuals while removing snow from 70 bus stops located throughout the City of St.Catharines.



Thanksgiving Dinner/Dance

Posted by Administrator

The Thanksgiving dinner/dance was a great success at the Resource Centre as there were 80 participants that attended the event. The participants had a fantastic traditional meal of Turkey, stuffing, veggies and mashed potatoes. The dinner was provided thanks to the hard work of Claire Cunningham and all the staff that pitched in to help with the cooking, serving and clean up afterwards of the dinner. Dan Kozar and Dave Horton once again did a great job of providing the live entertainment in our country and western theme dance that rocked on until 9 pm in the evening. There was also a photo area in the back room in which participants could have there photos taken in full western theme costume.