Social justice in Golden is about to get a boost thanks to the new advocate position, and Breanna Nielsen, who is stepping into the new role to help people in the community access and utilize programs that will help them toward more comfortable lives.
The social justice advocate position opened up a few months ago, and Nielsen was brought on board to help shape what exactly the job would entail.
“It’s a new program, so I’ve been working away trying to get everything ready to go,” Nielsen said. “It’s a new service to Golden, there isn’t anything that technically exists in the community like this, so that’s the purpose of it. We’re trying to fill a need, a gap, that other services aren’t able to provide.”
Nielsen is available to start taking appointments on July 6. People will be able to meet with her to discuss their situations, and she will help them access the government services they require, based on their needs. Some of this will include assisting people with navigating computers and accessing Internet to reach the resources they need.
“Not everybody is familiar with using a computer, or they don’t have access to e-mail. That is definitely a way that we can help, is getting people access to it,” Nielsen said, adding that Internet access in rural areas can be limited, so it is an essential need in the community. “For some people it’s a challenge to actually get to access those services.”
Previously, the position was named the “poverty reduction coordinator,” but it has since been changed to reflect a broader scope of how Nielsen will be able to assist the community.
To get into the community and get to know more people, she will be attending the hamper days at the food bank on Mondays and Wednesdays during July and August, and will be available at the Golden Women’s Resource Centre two Fridays per month in July and August as well.
Nielsen has been a resident of Golden for the past three years, and has a background in mental health and social work positions. Coupled with her educational background in psychology and counselling, she is ready to begin assisting people in this new role.
“The nice thing about this position or program specifically, is we want it to be tailored to the person and their needs. Basically the person comes in, they explain their story, and we try to work with their story kind of thing. In some ways matching the service to the person rather than the person coming to the service and just hoping that it fits,” Nielsen explained. “This would be the type of place where a person would come in and say ‘hey, I’ve got this issue, are there service in town I can access or programs by the government that would relate to my situation that I could access?’ and then if they need help accessing that, we would get further into the process with them.”
Nielsen will be available at the Golden Community Social Services Cooperative, and will be taking appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Go to www.goldencommunitycoop.com/advocate for more information or call 250-439-9325 to book an appointment.
