The Whatever It Takes Fund (WIT) was launched in 2013 by Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation in support of the work spearheaded by the local hospital's Social Work team. This year, the Foundation aims to raise a minimum of $20,000 to help vulnerable patients transition from hospital to home.
Recipient patients are mostly Langley residents: homeless, seniors, new Canadians and people subsisting on a low income, who lack the family or social networks to rely on to cope after a health crisis. The funds help to pay for travel assistance, meal service/preparation, grocery shopping, and home cleaning support.
This has been one of the Foundation's longest running programs, "Although, as the need continues to grow year after year, the funding has not kept up with that growth," says Heather Scott, Executive Director of Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation. "Food prices alone have grown 20 per cent since 2020."
While WIT is Langley focused, "We know that poverty migration is a reality. With the winter months coming, imagine individuals trying to get back to optimal health but having to choose between food and necessities - it's heartbreaking. We had one patient who had been admitted to hospital for malnutrition because he was saving money to purchase dentures," explains Scott. Items of particular need during the colder period include non-perishable food items, shoes, rain gear, sweaters, sweatshirts, socks, toques, gloves, blankets, and even car seats.
The Langley community is not immune to the rising cost of living.
Provincially and nationally, poverty has been on a consistent incline. "That combined with lack of affordable housing as well as food insecurity, has created a situation that demands urgent solutions for those most at risk," emphasizes Scott. In Langley, Aspire is one such example of a solution. Purpose-built for seniors 55 and older, 30 per cent of the 148-unit complex is priced at below market rent. At last month's Fraser Valley Commercial Building Awards, Aspire won the Judges' Choice Award and the Award of Excellence in Affordable Housing.
To help the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation do Whatever it Takes, visit LMHFoundation.com/urgent-needs/whatever-it-takes-fund where you can donate easily and securely online.
