There are changes coming for the Mental Health Drop-in Centre. Come July 1, the Saskatchewan Abilities Council will now be operating the centre.
Aleks Hoeber with the Saskatchewan Abilities Council says the real impact will be an increased ability to share resources. They currently split costs on some programs – for example, a yoga instructor is a shared cost between the two organizations – but by bringing the Drop-in Centre into the Abilities Council there will be more opportunity to share resources between the two.
“We will be looking for more of those opportunities, where we can pool our financial resources together so that we can overall enhance the services and become more efficient.”
This has been in the works for a year and a half, and Hoeber says that the impetus to come together was a realization that the people both organizations support had many similar needs.
The primary change will be behind the scenes, as the Abilities Council will take over the majority of the administration of the program, which will allow the staff of the Drop-in Centre to focus directly on the people in the centre. Jeannette Bouvier, Executive Director of the Mental Health Drop-in Centre says that with three staff, it was difficult to be able to handle the administration, and by removing that burden they can focus their energies on programming and clients.
Transportation has been a big issue for the centre, Bouvier says, one of her hopes for the merger is to be able to access the vehicles used by the Abilities Council. She believes that they will be able to better get clients to events, programming and services, as it is the goal to get clients out in the community and able to enjoy what the city has on offer.
“Whatever is going on in the city, I want to tap into it, and get my folks to it.”
For people who use the Mental Health Drop-in Centre, many important details will remain the same. The location will remain in the SIGN building on North Street, and Hoeber says they have no intention of changing that, though the Abilities Council facilities will be on offer for large events that might expand beyond the capacity of current facilities.
One of the goals both women have is expanding to have the centre open five days a week, up from the current four. Bouvier says that running five days a week would improve the programming on offer, and hopefully bring out people who might otherwise be unable to take advantage of the centre.
“For anyone with a mental illness, they really struggle to get out of those four walls. Once you get outside of doors, you can breathe again.”
