Stepping up to return the favour

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I should be writing this from my new office. Instead, I’m set up at a table in the corner of the living room with my cat curled up beside me.

Our move-in date to the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence (SKCE) got delayed a bit.

Since 2022, the staff and volunteers at CASASC have been planning and preparing for the relocation to the SKCE. We were supposed to move in the first week of September, but it got delayed with a few days’ notice. Our sights were set on the beginning of October.

A few days to go, we were told it would be delayed a bit longer.

I’m not complaining about the cat part. Actually, I’m not complaining about any of it — and neither are my co-workers.

We know that sometimes on life’s journeys there are roadblocks and things to overcome; and sometimes those roadblocks feel like huge things. Every journey, whether a healing journey or a work journey has them, but you can’t get discouraged and you have to focus on the end goal.

Which for us in this instance, means providing a safe place for our clients to heal. Moving into SKCE will mean we are able to help our clients even better. The fact that we will be sharing a building with other agencies and groups means CASASC will be able to help those and their families affected by sexual abuse and violence more quickly and easily. Clients will no longer have to navigate the city while on their healing journey. It can all be done under one roof, often within the same day.

It has been kind of amazing to see the staff pivot from one minute to the other while the build and move came together, especially in the last week. I left work on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning, everything regarding the move process had changed, but we came together, shuffled boxes, computers, and furniture, and within a day, we were back on track.
Everyone stepped up and helped out.

It wasn’t just the agency’s staff that came together either. Local groups stepped up, like the Outreach Centre, offering spaces for the counselors to use at the Dragonfly’s Centre Healing Centre. Our clients are our main priority, so being able to assist them has been a huge help and a huge stress relief.

Thank you so much, Red Deer, for returning the favour and helping us out when we needed you!

 

Christi Albers-Manicke