Smoky River Family and Community Support Services – In Focus
Georgia Iliou
Director
Smoky River Family and Community Support Services (FCSS )……2016 in review? Who are we? Going into my sixth year as director, I am asked this question frequently in the region and beyond.
I always start with, well how much time to you have to spend as we have a lot to offer……..
Promotion and advocacy of what FCSS does will always be a yearly goal.
With the assistance of our local paper, on a weekly basis we shall continue to submit an article on the various programs and services we have to offer.
Family and Community Support Services is always looking for volunteers to assist in the various programs, please contact the office if you are interested.
A little bit of background….. Smoky River FCSS is a partnership between the provincial government and the five municipalities in the Smoky River region including the Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, Town of McLennan, Town of Falher, Village of Donnelly and the Village of Girouxville.
Our mandate is to develop locally driven preventative social initiatives to enhance the well-being of individuals, families and communities…….what this means is that FCSS is here for you!
Our vision is to build strong communities through positive, caring interaction and mutual respect…….what this means is that FCSS is here for you!
Highlights for 2016
. We said goodbye to Isabelle and Colby and we welcomed Diane and Crystal!
. Number of times our services were utilized grew from 9219 to 9230! Which is fabulous!
. Home Support Program is strong and continues to grow.
. Our Senior, Youth and Community Programs make up the majority of our programming in 2016.
. Our Facebook page grew from 406 to 450 and continues to grow!
. The Smoky River transportation program saw a growth in ridership in 2016 from 570 to 713. This program is not just for seniors! It’s for everyone!!!
. Ol Tyme Family Nite celebrated its nine year of programming and will be going into its tenth year as strong as ever.
. Second year of the Christmas Voucher program that was very well received and very much appreciated once again by those who applied as well as by the local businesses.
. Smoky River Interagency membership has grown with more outreach organizations offering programs in the Smoky River area.
. Roots of Empathy facilitated programs in three schools in the region including two classes at Routhier School and one class at Providence school. We also welcomed our newest Roots of Empathy Facilitator Marie-Anne Jones.
. 2016 brought more growth to our youth programs offered in the regional schools.
. Information and referrals continued to be prominent as well as supportive listening.
. Emergency Social Services is continuing to recruit volunteers for its reception centres.
Bottom line is that FCSS is here for you! We look forward to becoming a regular part of the your reading time of the Smoky River Express and to continue to have an opportunity to share with you, the assets of all of our communities and to explain who we are and what we do and to put our programs into focus for you!
If you would like a copy of our annual report and financial statements please feel free to contact the office and pick up a copy.
Summer Youth Programs: Information pamphlets are available at the office and registration packages will be available at the office and our municipal offices starting June 1.
Don’t delay, contact the office today and talk with Melanie or email her at sypsrfcss@outlook.com!
Check us out on Facebook.