Today@Dal

From Tuesday's Chronicle Herald:

A new clinic staffed by Dalhousie University social work students aims to pull all those services together. It will accept anyone as a client and will never close a file, says co-ordinator Sarah Oulton.

“I think it’s nice that we don’t have a mandate because we can really work with people around anything … if someone needs support around housing or income assistance, or they’re having issues with their landlord,” she said.

“Or maybe they just want someone to follow up with them after they have an appointment or maybe they want someone to go with them to an appointment.”

The clinic opened in June and is operating three days a week out of a cheerful blue and green room at St. Paul’s Anglican Church Parish House on Argyle Street.

The co-ordinators and undergraduate workers, who are supervised, also take calls and go out to meet clients. They have about 10 files open so far, said Oulton.

“We’ve seen a lot of issues around housing,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of people that are really in need of (mental health) counselling services.”

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