Your GSS Best for 2023

With 2024 here in a few weeks it’s a perfect time to pause and look back on 2023 at GSS. To help us do that, program/service leaders were asked to pick the ‘one best thing’ for their area in 2023. Here are those best things….

Administration: It was unanimous—Daniel, our new Grants and Fund Raising Officer

With Daniel here, GSS has been able to get grants and funding that we couldn’t get before, which opens up more opportunities for the Agency! (Daniel, being the gracious, generous person that he is, wants this broadened to acknowledge that the team and other staff across the agency were part of any successes.)

Balwin/MST: Communication and understanding

The one best thing that happened is how we have been able to communicate more effectively and understand each other. We are able to reach deeper levels of the troublesome issues that have been challenging for everybody.

CAT: Record group/event attendance and great community partners

CAT’s groups and events have had record high attendance this year and we are so happy about that! Also, some incredible community partners have emerged with the Food Bank (and Sue’s award!!!) and the Edmonton Public Library and our Community Kitchen . 

Cloverleaf: Funding for our own GSS Peer Support/Driver

This position has, hands down, been the best thing to happen this year in our program. Clients are getting to all of their appointments and can schedule recreational outings. Our Case Manager can book more appointments for the clients confident that they will get there – and our clients are happier as well.

Detox: Growing our staff and resource connections

Our growing Social Work, Recovery Coach, nursing and housekeeping teams mean we can provide a higher level of client care and staff experience, but the capstone is the new agreement with the Edmonton Medical Group that includes support from physicians, psychiatrists, pharmacy, and a broad Primary Care Network. Now, when the average detox client leaves the program, they’ll have a primary care provider for ongoing care.

George’s House: Ongoing caring and compassion

We’ve come together with a sense of family and community to provide care and compassion to clients. Through thank you cards, families acknowledge that what we do touches people’s hearts. Special events like a recent 30 year anniversary celebration for a patient and her significant other make this a fun environment that is also challenging, emotional, and sad – it makes you human.

Housing First: Client Growth among Change and Challenge

It’s been a year of big staff changes with me becoming a permanent new Manager last December, to Amanda being promoted to Team Lead soon after, to many new staff joining the team. During all that change, we were navigating the rental crisis. The team has worked relentlessly through it all. Ongoing improvement in client’s overall SPDAT scores at the 12-month mark, show that the team can conquer anything, and that our main focus is always the wellbeing of participants.

SCS: Jump in important numbers

Overall, SCS has stabilized, and some important numbers went up. We’ve been having a hard time finding medical staff but recently we got 40 medical resumes for one position. And client compliance in sharing Personal Health Numbers more than doubled from 38% to over 80%. Great work, team!

Unity Manor (formerly Westmount): We’re full and we have a new program name

Though open in January, facility issues meant we could only house  14 people until April. From then to November 28th, though, we brought in 40 participants for a full house!  And our team chose a program name that fits us and our service perfectly: Unity Manor.  After reading this definition we knew the name was right for us: “Unity means being or staying together. That means helping and supporting each other in any situation. Being together is the key to build a good and strong society and relationships. Unity is important at every step in our life”. 

What a great note to end the year on – unity! Thanks everyone for sharing your 2023 highlights and may 2024 be full of many ‘best things’ for all of us and our clients at the George Spady Society.