H.O.M.E.S....H.O.M.E.S. Annual Report 2016/2017 September 26, 2017 H.O.M.E. Society Healthy Opportunities for Meaningful Experience Society 31581 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC,

H.O.M.E.S. Annual Report

2016/2017 September 26, 2017

H.O.M.E. Society

Healthy Opportunities for Meaningful Experience Society

31581 South Fraser Way,

Abbotsford, BC, V2T 1T8

Telephone 604-852-7888 Fax: 604-852-7801

www.homesociety.com

H.O.M.E.S. Annual Report 2016/2017

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Table of Contents

Society Board of Directors ………………..…………………………………….......................... 2

President’s Report….……………………………….……………….…………………………... 3

Cam’s E.D. Report …………………………………………………………………..………………….. 4

Dave’s E.D. Report …………………….………………………………………………………………… 8

Supported Family Care/Home Share Report………………………………………..… ……….. 12

Quality Improvement and Training Report…………………………..……… …………………. 15

Attachment – HOMES current phone list

Appendix – Audited Financial Report


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2016/2017 Board of Directors

Allan Skuce President

Bob Carpenter Co-Vice President

Patty Bojczuk Co-Vice President

Ed Baartman Secretary/Treasurer

Directors:

Josh Van Vugt Director

Phil Spour Director

Jeannie Martin Director

Clive Martin Director

Sharlene Hawksby Director

Finance Committee:

Ed Baartman Chairman

Allan Skuce President

Robert Carpenter Director

Co-Executive Directors

Cam Doré, MSW

Dave Lappin


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President’s Report Allan Skuce

Can you believe we are almost winding down to the end of another year? Time has flown

and we are well into another year where we have built upon existing relationships and

made new ones. As always we’ve remained true to our mission, under the outstanding

leadership and direction of our Co-Executive Directors, Cam Dore and Dave Lappin. Staff

are dedicated to promoting and maintaining a Culture of Gentleness so crucial for

building relationships and connecting with individuals we serve.

The Home-share division at H.O.M.E.S. has welcomed 7 new families that we have the

privilege of supporting and building friendships with.

H.O.M.E.S. is in the process of planning the next 5 years – Strategic Planning – and to

the end has met with the various interested parties, from individuals and employees to

Family Care providers and Community Partners – all of whom have helped us to “dream

big”. Final meeting will take place in October with the Board of Directors and we will

finalise our plans.

H.O.M.E.S. hosted their first ever Family and Community Day at Matsqui Village Park in

Abbotsford. The day was well attended and folks enjoyed everything from a Bouncy Castle

and Dunk Tank to popcorn and cotton candy. There was an Elvis show followed by a BBQ

which was the highlight. H.O.M.E.S. is working very hard to find a summer camp closer

to Abbotsford/Mission area so it is more convenient for folks to attend.

I wish to thank all of the staff at H.O.M.E.S for your cooperation, commitment and

mentorship. From the administrative staff to the accounting department, the lawn crew,

receptionists, cleaning staff; to all of the dedicated staff providing direct services to the

individuals served by the agency. Thank you everyone for your hard work!!!

The Board of Directors will continue to offer support and direction to our Executive

Directors. Together, we commit to protecting the assets of the organization and

minimizing any risk; while meeting our obligations in a prudent fashion. This annual

report reveals the extent of our cooperative efforts.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve on the Board of Directors for the H.O.M.E. Society

and I look forward to what the coming year will bring.

Respectfully,

Allan Skuce


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Co-Executive Director’s Report Cam Doré

The HOME Society was formed in 1994 and I was fortunate to be the first president. As

the first homes were developed and ready for occupancy, I assumed the role as the first

Executive Director of the HOME Society. The Healthy Opportunities for Meaningful

Experience Society has given many of us some of the best years in our working lives, and

in the lives of those we support. Prior to 1995 I had been managing a typical Community

Living agency in Burnaby.

HOMES, and the challenges of supporting 16 individuals seen as the most challenging in

terms of Community Living options, provided all of us in those early days with unique

opportunities to setup a system of support for the men and women leaving Woodlands

and support for each other and finally the community.

In those early days 3 concepts emerged and merged to give me direction. Gentle Teaching,

the All Star Company and Servant Leadership.

I will explain a bit more. In Gentle Teaching we were mentored by our friend and mentor

Dr. John McGee. Gentle Teaching gave us hope that we could succeed despite the many

early challenges. I began developing the gentleteaching.com web site and stayed in close

contact with John over many years, often exchanging emails several times a day. John

was very proud of the HOME Society, as we were one of the few agencies that he mentored

http://gentleteaching.com/


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that embraced Gentle Teaching from its start, and we created videos and gave him great

support in his work of reaching as many as possible across the world. The goal of Gentle

Teaching was companionship. He taught us to refocus so that we did not see ourselves as

staff supporting clients but as care givers and families supporting companions. We shared

the gifts of those we supported with the community.

We were introduced to the All Star Company by Jack Pierpoint and the late Marsha

Forest. In this book, the All Star Company, the author Nick Marsh suggests a completely

different approach to managing a company or agency. His model is based on a circus. No

clowning around intended. In a circus the administration is in the back ground and the

stars are the performers. In our case we wanted the men and women we supported and

their companions our care givers to be the stars. A circus needs to be flexible and fast

moving. They need to respond quickly to illness, weather, and a wide variety of unforeseen

circumstances. In the early days we needed to do the same and it is no different today. We

still need to reconfigure to support each other and to adapt quickly to changing

circumstances. Finally as in a circus we need to train people in many roles and we needed

to make switches so our best performers were in the most challenging situations knowing

that management was there in the back ground.

Let's talk a bit about Servant Leadership. Servant Leadership is a way of managing an

agency that is complementary to Gentle Teaching and the All Star Company. We have

probably seen enough British dramas to know what a servant typically does. The typical

Servant stands in the back ground or side by side with the master and makes sure that the

master has all they need to succeed. They are on time for appointments; they are

prepared; they have the right clothes; the transportation is ready; and all the details are

taken care of so that the master can succeed.

Servant Leadership is similar. The leader strives to make sure that those around him have

all the resources needed to succeed; the training, a good and safe home, support and

knowledge that we are confident and trust their judgement. Servant leaders typically are

associated with Listening, Empathy, Healing, Awareness, Persuasion, Conceptualization,

Foresight, Stewardship, and Commitment to the Growth of the people and Building

Community.

In my youth I grew up in a family with numerous uncles who were carpenters on both

sides of the family. I considered becoming an architect but moved down a Social Work

path instead. The HOME Society gave me the opportunity to do both Social Service and

Building using the skills of our good friends, Josh, Randy and now Tommy. Early on in


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my career I learned that housing, folks who cared for you, and a meaningful day were key

ingredients for all of us. I have enjoyed the many, many building projects over the last 2

decades. We are one of the few agencies that owns and has leasers to pay the mortgage

in our own office building.

The key for all of us in this

career are the men and

women we support. Our

companions. They are the

heart of the organization

the folks who give our lives

and our work meaning. We

have many long term

relationships, folks like

Kathy and Sheila who were

the first persons to enter

HOMES. Folks like Chad B,

Heather and Chad T have

taught us a great deal about the legal and mental health system, or folks like Tasha who

taught me about Rap music. Along the way were fortunate to make a video about 10 young

people we supported and their stories. The Stars of this video, Heather, Shannon, Chad

B, Chad T. Brian, Milan, Natasha, Moshe, Willie and Ish - have spread the word about the

HOME Society and Gentle Teaching across the globe. A new generation is now doing the

same as seen in Chrisanna's recent presentation at GTI 2017.

Over this journey I have been blessed with a warm caring and supportive board of

directors, a great team of leaders both in the office and in the field and many, many caring


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Supported Living homes and families dedicated caregivers in group homes who don't

hesitate to be in the back ground while someone like Fraser lives out his Rock Star

moment, as happened at the recent GTI 2017 conference. I believe the HOME Society is

in good hands, with a caring board, good leadership, warm care givers and a great group

of self-advocates ready share their skills and abilities. I will miss you all and look forward

to our paths crossing in the future.

Respectfully submitted,

Cam Doré


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Co-Executive Director’s Report Dave Lappin

So, here we are; winding down towards the end of another incredible year. Our mission;

the solid footing upon which the loving care and support of those we serve rests. A deep

desire and commitment to contribute to our community and maintain relationships; both

old and new culminated in our winning 2016 non-profit of the year!

We were also the recipients of the 2017 Family Support Institute “Celebration of Families

Outstanding Organization” award.

We are a family and like any other have experienced highs and lows this past year. We

have motivated, celebrated, encouraged, laughed and cried. We have said goodbye to dear

friends and welcomed new ones.

The Family Care Team remains outstanding in their efforts to build loving relationships

with both Caregivers and the folks we serve. With Diane at the helm and Kate and Gabby’s

dedication and incredibly hard work; we continue to grow; welcoming 7 new individuals

to our home shares. Thus, opening the door to 7 new families we now have the privilege

of getting to know and building friendships with. Congratulations! –on a job well done

managing the demands of the work while nurturing close warm relationships with the

people we serve….well done!!!

Shelley continues to do an amazing

job as Human Resources and Quality

Improvement Manager. She truly

does a remarkable job of managing a

wide range of HR matters and as with

the rest of our Administrative Team,

does an incredible job of connecting

with the folks we serve and of

promoting the culture of Gentleness

at the core of everything we hope to

achieve.


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This year saw the departure of our Accounting Clerk Jennifer Hart. Jennifer has been with

HOMES for 6 years and built strong relationships with many of our folks. She is well

loved and her radiant personality will be missed by all. We welcomed our new Accounting

Clerk Trudy R. in July. Welcome to the family Trudy!

Thank you to all of the staff; from the caregivers and program

coordinators to the office staff and the lawn crew. Your teamwork,

reliability and efforts to connect with the folks we serve – is very

much appreciated.


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Another notable moment will be the retirement of Cam Dore.

Cam has been with HOMES since day one and it was his

vision that formed the core of all that we do.

His uncanny ability to connect with folks and to make you feel like you were the most important person will be missed. Cam has lovingly come to be referred to as “Dad” by many of the folks we serve. Thank you Cam!!! for your remarkable gift, your leadership and love.

I will provide a brief overview of some recent highlights of the year, having covered much

of the year in previous reports.

We won Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit of the Year for 2016.

Karen Bojczuk and I were asked to provide some GT Training to our colleagues in Chilliwack in early February. We presented the 6 hour Introduction to GT.

We had some leadership changes with the retirement of some staff and transition of others. The changes have been beneficial to our folks and things are going well under new leadership and a fresh focus.

We had a 3 day GT Conference in Vancouver September 19 to 21st. It was well

attended and included a variety of presentations such as Nurturing a Culture of

Gentleness, Supporting Individuals with Addictions and Inclusive Employment.

Cam Dore and I attended the Inclusion BC Conference in Vancouver in June

Since our last AGM, Shelley Rath and I attended the CSSEA AGM in October 2016

Shelley Rath, Karen Bojczuk and I attended a GT Conference in Regina in April of

this year.

We have had some changes in the residential homes due to retirements and

transitioning staff. All of the Program Coordinator 1 positions in our licensed

homes have transitioned from a five day week position to a two day week position.


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I attended the EDNet Meeting in February of this year.

Anura Withanage I attended the BC CEO Network Meetings in February. Some of

the highlights were working with CLBC, Housing Opportunities and Gaps…..

We have begun working our Strategic Plan for the next 5 years having had meetings

with all of the interested parties being, employees, person’s served and the contract

providers.

HOMES continues to partner with Value Village with Clothing Bins. We continue to seek new partners to place bins that generate funds for our activities and services.

Our first of two community movie days was on June 14th at Silver City. Never a disappointment, our folks enjoyed this well attended event.

We had a family/community day celebration on August 23rd at Matsqui Village Park. It was a hit with our folks and they and their families enjoyed everything from the cotton candy and dunk tank to the delicious BBQ followed by an incredible Elvis show.


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Sadly we lost 4 of our family, Joe Rikley, Eddie Bryant, Darren Wvong, and Michael Wry. Our hearts go out to their families and the caregivers who loved them so dearly.

Many thank s to our Board members for your continued dedication, leadership and support.

Respectfully Submitted,


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Dave Lappin

Director of Family Care/Home Share Diane Henry

With 2017 coming to a close I would like to thank all the Home Share providers for all their hard work and support they give to the folks we support.

I want to take the opportunity to thank Gabby & Kate for their unflagging dedication and

support for our daily activities that shows on a daily basis. Thank you ladies!

Home Share continues to grow. We now support 72 folks and a couple more on the horizon. I would like to welcome all the new folks we support and all the new Home Share Providers.

Thank you to everyone who came to our First Annual Family/Community Fun Day, it was a great success and can’t wait to do it again next year.


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We are continuing to find solutions for persons we serve that suffer with addictions. There is nothing in our Community that can support our population.

We have a small Regional group that meets every couple of months to keep us all updated with changes in our own region.

I want to thank Cam and Dave for their great leadership and support over all these years. It will be sad to see Cam retire in October and we wish him all the best in his new chapter.

Diane Henry, Home Share/Family Care Director


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Human Resources/Quality Improvement Report Shelley Rath

What an amazing year H.O.M.E.S has had! We have welcomed many new faces to our

ever expanding caregiver pool. One of the many benefits of having a dual seniority list is

that many caregivers can and do choose to work in both service areas; Home Share and

the Residential. This keeps them from having to work for another employer and it keeps

our turnover rate amongst the lowest in this sector.

We have also expanded our training for caregivers to include annual medication and

incident report training. We have been contracting with Liz Kellough Consulting Services

to provide us with some much needed improvements with our Sharevision site. Liz has

created this training based on our CARF requirements and gathered input from a variety

of leaders/caregivers. So far, it has been working very well.

We have had a fairly quiet year so far when it comes to injuries and WorkSafe Claims. We

have had zero injuries reported 6 out of eight months and we are hoping that this will

decrease our rates for 2018. There could be many reasons for this decrease. It could be

that people are now settling into new homes and building some wonderful relationships

which helps replace their fear with a feeling of safety. We truly have amazing caregivers

who contribute to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for all.

This year marks the end of our current Strategic Plan and the formation of our “New”

Strategic Plan. Starting in May 2017, we have gathered together groups of all of our

Stakeholders; Persons Served, Employees, Contractors, Family and Friends, Community

Partners and the Board and Leadership groups. From these meetings, we will discover

what the “common” themes were from all of the groups and compile those along with

additional hopes and dreams for The H.O.M.E Society over the next five years. This will

become our new Strategic Plan. Avril Orloff, Graphic Artist, will once again create a new

PATH highlighting the plan which we will proudly display in our training room for all to

admire.

It is with sadness that this will be the last AGM that Cam attends as our beloved Co-

Executive Director. What an amazing mentor he has been not only for me in particular,

but for so many others. Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for the opportunities he

has given me, not only as an employee but on a personal level as well. We will all miss

him.

Respectfully submitted Shelley Rath HR Manager

Documents

H.O.M.E.S....H.O.M.E.S. Annual Report 2016/2017 September 26, 2017 H.O.M.E. Society Healthy Opportunities for Meaningful Experience Society 31581 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC,