Pelham now the centre of support for those living with cancer in Niagara
BY JOHN CHICK Special to the VOICE
It’s incredible what a community can do when it comes together.
That’s a conclusion easy to reach after visiting Wellspring Niagara’s brand new facility across from the community centre in Fonthill. While some construction work on the 11,000 sq. ft. building continues outside — and, to a lesser degree, inside — more than 200 volunteers and five staff members have been serving Niagara residents battling cancer since the facility opened its doors on January 7. A true grand opening is planned for September.
“That’s why I call it the house that Niagara built,” Wellspring Executive Director Ann Mantini-Celima told the Voice on a tour of the facility last week.
To understand Wellspring Niagara’s mission, it’s important to clear up some misconceptions about it. The support service for those fighting cancer doesn’t receive a penny of government funding, and is solely reliant on the generosity of the region it serves. And to walk through the immaculate $5 million building, signs of that generosity are everywhere.
Countless donors —corporate, charitable and private —raised money or provided infrastructure for the facility. Pelham’s recently named Citizen of the Year, Frank Adamson, is closing in on his goal of raising $250,000 for Wellspring. Inside, Niagara-on-the-Lake company Reclaimed From Roots donated a large maple table now used for cancer support meetings. Outside, Willowbrook Nurseries is providing $20,000 worth of landscaping, coming this spring. BMO is sponsoring a new outdoor patio, and Merritt Construction is building a gazebo.
And that’s just a slice of the communal effort needed to make the all-too-familiar fight against cancer more comfortable for those in that life-altering battle.
“I think one of the biggest hurdles was getting people to understand what we do,” Mantini-Celima said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions out there that we’re a hospice. We welcome people to come here and visit us. Then it could be so much easier for them to recommend us to someone they love.”
The idea of Wellspring is that at one of the worst times of a person’s life — a cancer diagnosis for either themselves or a family member — that there is somewhere to go to and find a community, and free advice and activity in the face of an insidious disease.
“There’s power in numbers,” Mantini-Celima said.
It’s not a hospice, and there is no on-site cancer treatment facility. Some might say that it’s just as important as that, though, because it gives cancer patients and caregivers a place where they can find support through the numerous services provided. From peer counseling to yoga, Qi Gong and Reiki, to physical and spiritual exercises and play therapy for children either with cancer or those whose parents are suffering from the disease, no stone is left unturned in providing support.
“Sometimes it’s the caregiver that comes because the patient is not ready,” Mantini-Celima said. “But the caregiver needs support. They can come here and talk freely, openly and confidentially”.
Members even have access to a money matters expert through Wellspring Toronto, a financial specialist that advises cancer patients through a battle that often takes them off work for an extended period.
Most importantly, it’s all free for those living with cancer, either as a patient or a caregiver.
For Mantini-Celima, the new home of Wellspring is a culmination of sorts of a personal journey. Many years ago, her brother Aldo was diagnosed with cancer on the same day that his son was born. That emotional roller coaster led him to seek out a community support system, yet there really wasn’t one.
“He looked for avenues of support in Niagara but there was nothing here,” she said. Mantini-Celima, who lived in Toronto at the time, decided to visit Wellspring there as a loved one involved in the fight. She was blown away by the positivity of the place.
“I remember walking through the doors and just being welcomed,” she said.
After her brother became familiar with it, he made it his goal to bring the idea to Niagara.
“He was just so impressed, and he said, ‘Maybe this is why I got cancer.’”
Sadly, Aldo’s illness progressed quickly, and he died in 1999.
“Before he passed away he made me promise I’d continue to do this,” Mantini-Celima said. “I thought it would take five years to start this, and within less than two years we opened our doors.”
Those doors were opened at Wellspring Niagara’s first home on Schmon Parkway in Thorold. As membership grew, however, Wellspring quickly outgrew the 2,000 sq. ft. facility.
That’s why when the Town of Pelham offered the land across from the new community centre, it was a no-brainer for Wellspring to move to Fonthill.
“It’s right in middle of Niagara,” Mantini-Celima said. “We had to be accessible, we couldn’t afford to build satellite centres. And the idea was received positively, which gave us the confidence to go out and raise $5 million.”
Ground was broken on the facility in 2017, and the grand opening is scheduled for this September, when the outdoor landscaping should be complete.
Last year, approximately 860 people used Wellspring’s services, and Mantini-Celima estimates that membership grows by 10 to 20 percent a year. Engagement is high as well. Those 860 people counted for 7,000 program attendances last year.
That’s a remarkable number considering that Wellspring only employees five staff members, with the rest serving as volunteers.
Mel Groom is one of those volunteers, and as President of the Fonthill Rotary Club, community service is nothing new to her.
“It was a natural fit,” she said of joining the team at Wellspring. “I’m really proud the Town gave the land to build this.”
Central to Wellspring’s vision is a non-institutional feel. People dealing with cancer don’t want to feel like they are back in a clinical environment. And while the fact the building is brand new helps, in many ways it feels like walking into a spa. A comfortable great room with a fireplace opens up to a beautiful chef’s kitchen, where members can get — and eat — nutritional meal ideas through Wellspring’s “Nourish” program.
Across the hall, another room hosts music therapy and quilting seminars. A fully-equipped gymnasium next door is one of only two places in all of Niagara that provides oncology physical rehab. While a doctor’s referral is needed for that program, it’s growing so fast that Mantini-Celima says there’s now a waiting list.
At the other end of the building — called the “quiet wing,” as it’s away from the yoga studio and the more social setting — a sunny library features comfortable sofas. Reiki therapy is provided down the hall from that, something staff say that those in active cancer treatment find very comfortable.
“People don’t want to go back to the hospital to get support,” Mantini-Celima said. “When you come here, you feel comfortable. They form friendships and connections. We wanted to create a home-like setting.”
The original idea for Wellspring came from Anne Armstrong Gibson, a Toronto lawyer, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in her 40s. Her main goal was to remove the sense of isolation that so many people fighting cancer — and their loved ones — face. While she passed away in 1995, she wanted to build a model that could be shared, rather than a bureaucratic system. Today, the Niagara branch is one of eight Wellsprings across Canada.
“The medical system doesn’t have the time to do the care that’s done here,” Groom said.
“It’s not a depressing place at all,” Mantini-Celima added. “It’s uplifting. People can be themselves when they come here.”
Wellspring’s door is always open — seven days a week — for those whose lives have been rocked by a cancer diagnosis.
“It takes a lot of courage for someone new to walk through that door,” Groom said.
Just as importantly, volunteers are always needed, and visitors are welcome to come and see Wellspring in action. To learn how to apply for volunteer positions or for more information on the programs offered to those living with cancer, visit www.wellspring.ca/niagara
