NewmarketToday is marking this giving season by celebrating Newmarket's Community Angels, the people whose kindness, compassion and community spirit help make our town one of the best to live in the country.
Michael Braithwaite believes that homelessness doesn't need to be a fact of life in Newmarket, or anywhere else for that matter.
The Blue Door CEO and his staff have been working to end homelessness in whatever way they can, and it's that goal that keeps Braithwaite going.
"Homelessness is a very solvable issue. We know many of the solutions already: housing, supports and preventing homelessness from starting in the first place. It really is just about being strategic, getting the reasources, and working with the political powers that be who do see this as a pressing matter because people are dying on the streets," he said.
"We can do this, and in my lifetime, too."
Braithwaite has been a central figure in Newmarket's efforts to end homelessness for many years, ever since he moved to town in 2010 to work for 360 Kids. At Blue Door, he has overseen a wide variety of programs, from providing shelter space to supports for LGBTQ youth.
Although he is being recognized as one of NewmarketToday's Community Angels, Braithwaite is quick to point out he owes everything to the talented people at Blue Door and the other organizations he has worked with through the years.
"Everywhere I have been, there have been incredible people who are very talented, have solid values, and are looking to change the world. In this sector, they are not necessarily finacially driven, they want change to happen," he said.
"I have been so fortunate to work with them."
Braithwaite got his start working on the issue of homelessness after he was "voluntold" by his parents to work at the YMCA so he wouldn't be sitting around the house all summer. Some homeless men were staying at the YMCA facility at the time, and he began working with them.
The issue also hits close to home for Braithwaite because of his sister's life-long struggles with addiction and mental health, which have seen her in and out of homelessness since she was 16.
"She's 50 and hopefully fairly stable right now, but for me, it has become personal," he said.
The cause is, in fact, a family affair with his wife, Syvia Braithwaite, being the director of 24-hour services at Fred Victor's Women's Hostel in Toronto. Meanwhile, his brother, Jon Braithwaite, is CEO of The Hope Centre near Niagara.
"My oldest daughter works in employment and training programs at York Region, so it is very much in the family," he said.
Braithwaite said he has come to love Newmarket and York Region because of their supportive communities.
"Although there is a need for more services, the council, the mayor, and the media have always been there. I love how the community always rallies around us to make things happen. We have had incredible growth in our efforts to help and support people because of that."
