Above: Kunej and Dr. Gary Dix (right) hope the free clinic will continue to stay open for as along as there are people who need chiropractic care. Right: When not volunteering at the clinic, Dr. Gary Dix runs a chiropractic practice in Paris, Ont. He has been in practice since 1979. “We’re always looking for more heal-ing hands and those that want to help,” Kunej says, adding this would ensure the clinic could continue to stay open and help more people. Administrators at the Welcome In Resource Centre know exactly how the clinic has made a difference in the people who come through their doors. Many of them have little to no steady income and would not otherwise be able to afford chiropractic care outside of the centre. Last year alone, the Welcome In centre provided shelter to some 8,400 homeless people in Brantford, Brant County and in surrounding communi-ties. About 100 people a week come to the centre to take advantage of the re-sources and services offered there, ex-plains Rien VandenEnden, executive director at the Brantford Welcome In Resource Centre. VandenEnden hopes the clinic would 32 Canadian Chiropractor September 2016 continue to provide services to the Welcome In guests. He says he worries sometimes, especially when he sees the same two or three volunteer doctors coming in to work at the clinic, that it may be difficult to sustain its opera-tions. “If we can expand and get a few more people involved, it would cer-tainly be a wonderful expression of the chiropractic association toward the community.” For Dix, who has been volunteering at the Welcome In chiropractic clinic since it opened last year, it’s been a rewarding experience. “It’s good that we have skills that can help people, so even if they can’t afford it, we should be able to help them out,” Dix says. Recently, with shortage of available volunteers, Dix has had to come in twice a month to help out in the clinic, but he does not mind it at all. “Personally, I think it’s our responsi-bility,” he says. “We take the so-called ‘oath’ to help people, and it doesn’t always have to be, ‘If they can pay.’” In his 37 years in practice, Dix says this is the first time he’s volunteered his chiropractic expertise at a free clinic and he plans to continue to do so for as long as the clinic remains open. The Welcome In Centre free chiropractic clinic was also featured in our video series, Clinic Files. Watch it online at www.canadianchiropractor.ca. www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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