CEO Season’s Greetings

it’s been an intense year…

and we’re all ready to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends in the holiday season. Once again, we are ending the year with big changes but also with some big gifts to our agency. One big gift is the George Spady Society being invited to set up and manage the new Westmount Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) site opening soon. Usually, a team works hard to prepare complex, demanding proposals and we compete with other agencies for the service opportunity. Being asked by Homeward Trust to establish this program acknowledges our strong track record of successful programming in the Edmonton community.

Another big gift is having funding approved for a different, larger facility for our Medical Detox, SCS and POD programs. Again, that funding award speaks to the high-quality work being done in MDU, POD and SCS and across our programs. Finding and adapting a new site is a big project with the plan being to find a new site quickly with any renovations following within 6 months to a year.

All these good tidings come with some loss. After hearing the good news about the Westmount and downtown sites, we sadly learned that funding for the Scattered Site PSH program will end in March. That innovative program has been remarkable. Starting literally as the pandemic was declared, the SSPSH team steadily built up a strong client base and program services. The team will focus on helping participants with transitions through this change while our HR team works to integrate SSPSH staff into other GSS programs and opportunities where possible.

Another big gift that we all received – and earned – was our 4-year accreditation being renewed with exemplary standing in June. That high accreditation level is difficult to achieve, especially by a small organization with multiple programs and service types. Program quality, ongoing quality improvements, and commitment to safety were big factors in receiving this designation. But at the heart of the achievement is our staff knowledge, skills, and service commitment. The award verifies to the community and to funders like the government that we can be relied on to provide high quality, client-centered care.

As we move into the holiday season, take some time to celebrate this challenging but rich year. Congratulate yourself and your team members on the important role each person plays in our agency. Know that the work you’ve done over the past year has made life better for so many of the most vulnerable in our community. Thank you and the best to you and your family during this holiday season.