Campaign Description: Community First Aid Training for People in Need of Housing

Every day, people in Kingston who are living without stable housing face health emergencies that can turn deadly in moments. Opioid toxicity, chronic health conditions, severe weather exposure, and injuries are constant risks. Yet the people most likely to witness an emergency - friends, peers, and community members - often feel unprepared and afraid. Many panic and leave the scene, and too many emergencies escalate simply because no one nearby has the skills or confidence to intervene.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

At OLS, we hear the same message again and again from the people we support: “I want to help but I don’t know what to do.”Basic first aid and CPR skills can change that. These skills save lives, reduce preventable tragedies, and empower people to protect one another while easing the burden on overwhelmed emergency services.

A Lifesaving Opportunity — And a Pathway to Stability

Our Community First Aid Training Campaign, delivered in partnership with Push for Life, removes the barriers that prevent people in need of housing from accessing critical training. Many standard first aid programs require fees, technology access, identification, or the ability to commit to long days of training - requirements that unintentionally exclude people already navigating survival.

This campaign ensures everyone has the chance to learn lifesaving skills, through two accessible training streams:

• Standard First Aid & CPR C A recognized certification required for many jobs. Includes online learning plus one day of in-person training. Ideal for participants with tech access and an interest in improving employment prospects.

• Emergency First Aid & CPR A fully in-person option covering essential lifesaving content. Designed for individuals with limited access to technology or who benefit from shorter training sessions.

Both courses teach CPR, AED use, choking response, bleeding control, burns, fractures, and how to recognize cardiac and respiratory emergencies.

Our Goal: Train 100 People — 10% of Kingston’s Homeless Community

Over the next year, we aim to train 100 people, approximately 10% of Kingston’s homeless population. By equipping community members with these skills, we can:

• Save lives through early recognition and timely action

• Reduce preventable deaths and life-altering medical crises

• Ease pressure on 911, paramedics, hospitals, and the coroner’s office

• Increase safety and confidence across encampments and shelters

• Support employment goals for participants who complete Standard certification

• Strengthen collaboration among frontline service organizations

Training That Meets People Where They Are

Accessibility is the core of this campaign. Training will be delivered:

• In existing Push for Life classes for those who can self-schedule

• In partnership with local service providers, who will host sessions onsite

• In small groups (max 10) to build confidence and comfort

• In flexible community spaces, including outdoors, to reduce barriers

• Gradually over months to ensure consistent participation, recruitment, and support

Why Your Support Matters

OLS is committed to delivering this program because the need is urgent and ongoing. Donor support will allow us to:

• Train more participants

• Provide first aid kits and possibly AEDs for community use

• Sustain training opportunities year after year

• Strengthen a community-wide safety network that saves lives

Your donation directly funds hands-on, practical, lifesaving education for people who are all too often overlooked, but who are also some of the most likely to step up when someone is in danger.

Expected outcomes include safer encampments and shelter spaces, fewer preventable tragedies, reduced strain on emergency services, and meaningful new opportunities for participants.

Help Us Build a Safer, Stronger, More Compassionate Community

When someone collapses from an overdose, struggles to breathe, or suffers a severe injury, the first seconds matter. With your support, we can ensure that the person standing closest, the peer, the friend, the neighbour, has the skills, confidence, and calm to act.

Together, we can save lives. We can strengthen community resilience. We can empower individuals facing housing insecurity to protect one another and imagine new possibilities for their own futures.

Thank you for helping us make Kingston safer for everyone.