A Message from Options Community Services CHAIR Tim Beachy EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Christine Mohr
Accomplishments - We are very proud to say that Bill Reid Place, an expansion of the old 10 bed shelter to 16 beds of shelter
This has been an exciting year for Options Community Services. It continues to be a pleasure to Chair the Board of Directors and work with Christine Mohr and the Executive Team which supports the work of Directors.
and 12 transitional units is now complete. The old 6 bed mental health assisted living house is under reconstruction and will house 48 individuals. A new 6 bed resource has been developed for young people ages 19-25 with mental health challenges. We were successful with our bid to BC Housing to become owner/operators of Ted Kuhn Towers, providing 425 units of social housing in Surrey. Combined with other existing housing and mental health services at OCS and working closely with other community partners, we are better able to provide much needed housing and support to our growing community. Our plans to build a service hub on King George Boulevard and 81st Avenue are shaping up. There is much excitement about the development of a one-stop, integrated youth centre as well as other services out of this location. Community partners, neighbours and other supporters are excited about this opportunity for our community. Leadership Changes - This year we had two senior staff retire: Connie Hong, Senior Manager of Immigrant Services (IS) and Ruth Beardsley, Senior Manager of Early Years Services (EY) – both are sorely missed. We have the great fortune of hiring Khim Tan to IS and Darby Wilkinson to EY. As well, we are very pleased that several internal staff have moved to take on management positions as others have retired or otherwise left OCS. I am inspired by the work done by our staff, volunteers and Board. In particular, I am appreciative of the day-to-day efforts of our staff who rise to whatever the occasion calls for. They are AMAZING! In the year going forward, we will continue to build on the many significant developments of the current year including ongoing strengthening of existing partnerships and the building of new ones on behalf of our community. Thank you to our staff, volunteers, Board, community partners, donors and other supporters for your ongoing commitment to our community and the work accomplished through our collective efforts.
OCS has extended services in social housing, homelessness and transitional housing; mental health services; youth and children services. Extension of facilities includes completion of the shelter in Cloverdale, purchase of Ted Kuhn Towers and commitment to a new service centre in the Newton area. Organizationally, OCS has committed itself to a fundraising and capital campaign strategy, renewal of its constitution and by-laws and extensive governance and policy re-formulation. Surrey and the Fraser Valley continue to grow at record rates and OCS is committed to meet the emerging needs in this fast-changing environment. OCS is in a healthy financial position and can now look forward to investing more assertively in development of priority service areas. We will continue to use all of the resources available through OCS and Habitat Housing Society to meet community needs with a focus on community engagement, collaboration and partnerships. We are very proud of all of our staff; appreciating the skills, experience, energy and wisdom they bring to the job every single day. We are also very appreciative of the service and development partnerships that are in place and currently building: without these partners we would be just another social service agency. OCS serves over 100,000 people annually. We have hundreds of active donors. We are engaged with scores of community-based action groups. We partner with practically every provincial social service ministry and several federal ministries and are fully engaged with the City of Surrey, school districts and Health Authorities, as well as with numerous private sector partners. I also want to thank the Society Directors for their commitment, hard work and visionary approach to our work. The Board brings a wealth of long term experience as well as energizing new ideas. It is an awesome experience to play a part in the work of Options Community Services.
Board of Directors
Executive Chair - Tim Beachy Vice Chair - Ken Holmberg Treasurer - Kevin Kilgour Secretary - Rosy Manhas
Directors Craig East Harry Gray Doug Neale Louella Mathias Kamaljit Lehal
Michael Kendler Hema Shrestha Margaret Perry Angela Rai John Gibeau
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