Meeting the needs of Halton
The Oakville Distress Centre has been serving the community for over thirty years. It was established in 1974 as the result of a Needs Assessment Study which indicated the necessity for a service to provide immediate, confidential, emotional support by telephone for those in distress or crisis.
At first, the centre was open only on Friday and Saturday evenings, as the demand for the service grew, we extended our hours. Currently, we operate seven days a week.
We are a United Way Member Agency and we are funded by The United Ways of Oakville and Milton, Service Clubs, and Churches and by private donations.
Our Role, Our People
We believe we also fill a critical role in our area, by referring people with obvious need to professional help or to other agencies. Our computer database is comprised of hundreds of support services in Halton, Peel, and the GTA. However, the majority of our callers need only an empathetic ear, emotional support and some assistance to begin to solve their own problems.
The fact that we are immediately available, completely confidential, and anonymous, encourages troubled people who may fear face-to-face encounters, to use our service. We are a unique service in that we use trained volunteers in front-line work with people in crisis.
At present, the centre has two staff persons - the Executive Director and the Office and Volunteer Coordinator. Policies are set by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community representatives.
