Oh, the changes she’s

seen since 1975!

From segregated schools

to inclusive education;

from institutions to

community living; from

sheltered workshops to

“real work for real pay”

– the gains have been

many, and she’s kept

C S C L , a n d t h e

Chilliwack community,

on the leading edge of

these important human

rights and social justice

issues. She leaves the

Society much better off

than when she arrived.

2015 not only marks

Executive Director,

Brenda Gillette’s 40th

year with CSCL, but

signifies the beginning of

the end of a remarkable

career.

Brenda has informed

CSCL’s Board that this

will be her final year, and

plans to retire in early

2016.

Tenure of this length,

with a single agency, is

unparalleled in the field of

Community Living,

both provincially and

nationally and Brenda has

earned many admirers in

our area of work.

A Legacy Of Excellence

Vedder Expansion CSCL’s RISE and Early

Risers services are

excited to share news

about their new service,

o f f i c i a l l y o p e n i n g

February 2, 2015 at

103 - 5658 Vedder

Road.

The blended service will

begin with 8 individuals

and 2 staff with the

capacity to serve 16

individuals.

The targeted location will

provide the potential for

e m p l o y m e n t , n e w

business relationships

and access to community

based resources.

Anjili, Brandon, Justin

and Kara from RISE,

together with Crystal,

Megan, Shayne and

Shannon from Early

Risers are anticipating

exploration of the

Vedder area.

Come and visit them

when they have their

Open House, the date

will be announced soon!

Chilliwack Society for Community Living

January 2015 Volume 7, Issue 1

Out & About! Community, Connection, Belonging

Did you know...

CSCL’s Out & About

newsletter will soon be available by email subscription. More details to come!

A new-look Out & About

newsletter will also be available later this year!

CSCL’s Child & Youth

Services are selling 50/50 tickets at the Chilliwack Chiefs Hockey Game on Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

CSCL’s managers will be

attending a workshop in February on Post-Traumatic Growth and then developing ways to embed this thinking into our workplace

www.facebook.com.cscl.org

CSCL History…

This fall the Society marked

15 years in the current

home office on Mary Street.

For many of us, this seems

almost unbelievable. When

CSCL purchased the

building it seemed like a

substantial risk and we

were concerned about

renting out the unused

portions. Today, we

struggle with being overfull

and wonder how to squeeze

in another office or two and

support ever-growing pro-

grams and the needs of the

individuals we serve.

Brenda and Bruce Hayens pose for a photo. Bruce’s

mother, Dorothy, has one of CSCL’s founding members

back in 1954

www.twitter.com/CSCLtweets

CSCL’s new Vedder location will open in

February 2015

Gean works at G.T.

Mechanical under the

direction of Paul who is

the Mechanic in charge.

During their shift, they

started talking about the

Montreal Canadiens

hockey team.

Gean mentioned he knows

the goalie Carey Price

and a defenseman named

Josh Georges.

As it turned out, Paul is

also a fan! Gean asked

Paul if he wanted to go to

a live Montreal game in

Vancouver, as they only

come once per season and

Gean would buy the

tickets.

Gean’s Public Trustee

has encouraged Gean to

go to a game if he could

f i n d s o m e o n e t o

accompany him.

Staff explained to Paul

that Gean’s offer was

legitimate and he should

take him up on it if he

wanted to.

The two men couldn’t

arrange to go but as a

result of that conversation,

both started to meet at

Paul’s with other friends

to watch the games on TV!

during the dinner rush to

help bus tables and

socialize with guests. The

restaurant received an

astounding amount of

positive feedback from

guests.

Swiss Chalet saw the

value of having Brandon

as an employee and

offered him a permanent

paid position.

Brandon now works every

Friday evening and loves

it!

Brandon recently shared

his dream to work at

Swiss Chalet with the

staff team at CSCL’s RISE

Supported Employment

services.

After meeting with the

general manager Bryan

B e l l , R I S E s t a f f

negotiated a 6-Week work

experience to help him

learn valuable work-

related skills.

Brandon worked Friday

evenings from 6-8 pm

Social Capital at Work

A Self Advocacy Story

Bridge Work

Stuart enjoyed this so

much and expressed many

times how happy and

excited he was to be doing

work experience there.

On his final day his boss,

Tracy, gave him a card

with payment for his last

shift… and encouraged him

to please apply next year!

Stuart was so proud!!!

Stuart West started

CSCL’s BRIDGE service in

November, and expressed

a deep desire to work at a

Christmas Tree Farm...and

ONLY a Christmas Tree

Farm.

A BRIDGE employee knew

someone in that line of

work and connected

Stuart with the owners at

Pine Meadows.

Page 2

“Bridge is a

specialized

Supported

Employment

Service, that

works with youth

in transition aged

18-24, and their

families.”

“Gean is

supported by

CSCL’s RISE

Supported

Employment

service.”

Self Advocacy On The Net

Check out this Website:

www.employmentforall.ca

A one-stop website/tutorial on

best practices for supported

employment in Canada.

CSCL congratulates Swiss Chalet as a Champion

Employer in the Chilliwack Community

Stuart and Tracy Loewen of Pine Meadows Tree Farms

* Over the past year the

Leadership Team has

been evaluating feedback

from Staff Training

Days with a view to

providing something new

for staff. After lots of

discussion and brain-

storming, the team is

excited to announce that

in 2015 CSCL will be

holding its first Staff

C o n f e r e n c e . T h e

event will be held on

November 2 and 3,

2015 at the Best

Western in Chilliwack.

Dr. Al Condeluci will be

the keynote speaker so

watch for further details

in upcoming newsletters.

* Congratulations to

Nicola Bell, Wanda

Dartnell, Cindy Graff

and Jake Kouwenhoven

for successfully being

awarded the most recent

Senior Support Worker

positions.

* CSCL’s Wellness

Committee has partnered

with the Canada Cancer

Society to further promote

wellness in the workplace.

The first challenge was

“Healthy Eating”. Coming

up next is the “Physical

Challenge”.

* CSCL’s Wellness

Committee also organized

a group of CSCLers to

p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e

Resolution Run at Mill

Lake in Abbotsford on

New Year’s Day

reasonable cost and the

highest quality.

The Board will be

reviewing and updating the

Society’s Constitution &

By-Laws over upcoming

months to ensure that any

recommended changes are

ready for presentation at

CSCL’s Board held its

final meeting for 2014

with full attendance.

Al N iemann was

recognized with a plaque

and some memorable

words for his commitment

to seeing the organization

through many building

renovations over the past

18 months.

He willingly gave up

considerable hours of his

time to ensure that all the

work was completed at a

the Annual General

Meeting (AGM).

CSCL’s 61st AGM will be

held on the evening of

Tuesday, May 19. More

details to come.

The Board will also be

starting to look at a

recruitment process for a

new Executive Director

later in 2015.

Staff News

Board Update

What’s Happening! (Jan-Mar)

Feb 2 - Board Meeting

Feb 21 - Strategic Planning

Weekend

Mar 2 - Board Meeting

Mar 10 - Employee

Recognition

Breakfast & Service

Awards

Page 3

“Staff are the

cornerstone of our

organization.”

- Brenda Gillette

(CSCL Executive

Director)

“The Board of

Directors are

elected by the

general

membership at

CSCL’s Annual

General Meeting.”

Accessibility @ Work!

Issue: Access to affordable, accessible & safe housing

Solution: CSCL has been providing housing for people for years. Recently, some

significant challenges have come to light as people are looking for alternatives

to fully staffed homes. CSCL has been working with a family to help secure a

permanent home for two people whom have been living together since early

childhood. The home had to be a place where the two could live permanently,

be safe and affordable and meet their needs. This vision required a creative

plan! In the end CSCL purchased half of a duplex, in a well-established neigh-

borhood and did extensive renovations to meet all their accessibility needs. The

new roommates have happily moved into their home in September of last year.

CSCL is excited to

a n n o u n c e a n e w

partnership with DD

Developments and the

Fairhaven & Fairview

Apartments.

The agreement in place is

that CSCL has the

exclusive rights to 6

apartments to provide

safe, secure and affordable

housing to individuals

receiving support by

CSCL.

Another “staff-only” apart-

ment will also be secured

and act as a base of

operations for the service.

The new service provides

assistance to people with a

developmental disability

who require regular access

to support services in

order to live independently

in their own apartment.

Individuals rent their own

apartments within a larger

apartment complex that

also provides a common

use area for group life-skill

bui ld ing and socia l

activities.

Support workers are based

within the same complex

and p r ov i d e d a i l y

assistance for people to

l ive on their own

successfully.

and fully furnished.

Staff were hired and

trained to provide a 24/7

service, and in just one

month McNaught opened

its doors and became

home to one young lady.

This super cute one

bedroom duplex has given

this individual a place to

call home in a community

close to her family.

Bu i l d i ng commun i t y

residential resources for

people can sometimes be a

long process; this,

however, was not the case

for CSCL’s most recent

location, McNaught, as

time was of the essence.

From the purchase date in

September this outdated

duplex was renovated with

a new kitchen, flooring,

paint, removal of a wall

Many hands had to come

together to make this a

success and it truly has

been.

Many thanks to all

involved!

Supported Living Services

McNaught in a Minute

ShareVision 4.0

Training for administrators

begins in January and a

pilot service/program will

be selected soon after.

Data transfer will be

ongoing and most CSCL

employees will have an

initial introduction to the

database before the

beginning of summer.

CSCL’s ShareVision

committee will also play a

large role in ensuring a

successful and seamless

roll-out.

CSCL will be upgrading its

internal database this year

by acquiring the latest

version of ShareVision -

Version 4.

The new software will

introduce new features

that will allow the Society

to maintain its high

standard of evidencing the

great work it does on a

daily basis.

“ShareVision helps

create online

workspaces where

people can track

services, programs,

and outcomes,

resulting in

continuous

improvement and

service excellence.”

Page 4

“SLS Goals: To

support individuals

and their families by

developing and

strengthening their

independent living

skills and to promote

the development of

social circles and

social opportunities.”

“McNaught is

CSCL’s most recent

residential

resource.”

The apartment buildings are only 4 years old and

have all new modern amenities.

Some of the individuals at

CSCL’s REV Community

Inclusion service had an

amazing experience!

The group traveled into

Vancouver to Rogers

Arena to watch the

Canucks…live…during a

real practice!

Mark, Terry, Calvin and

Brian had front row seats

to watch the Canucks in

action!

They had an extra long

day leaving Chilliwack

and heading into the big

city.

They parked right in front

of the main doors and the

guys got the royal

treatment.

They were greeted in the

main lobby and were in

awe w i t h a l l t he

m e m o r a b i l i a a n d

excitement.

Mark looked around and

stated he “felt like he was

in Heaven”.

They were escorted to

front row seats and sat in

amazement as the

Canucks skated by.

Several of the Canucks

smiled and everyone had a

great time!

Gerald Oesch is a hero!

That’s how his building

manager sees him. If Gerald

had not alerted her to smoke

he saw in the common

laundry room things might

have turned out terribly.

Instead, minimal damage

was done but, more

importantly, no one was

hurt.

A message in the lobby read:

Go Canucks Go!

Everyday Heroes

WOW! This is also known as

inclusive employment.

Matthew Benjamin, who

was hired at RONA with

the support of CSCL’s

Supported Employment

Services, nominated his

employer Kris

“It’s a great place to

work!” stated Matthew

proudly.

CLBC recently contacted

Kris to say that he had

won the award and invited

him to an awards

celebration on February

19. Family and friends of

Kris and Matthew will

also be invited.

Every year, Community

Living BC’s WOW!

Recognition Awards

celebrate a different way

of making people feel

included.

This year, they are

celebrating employers who

believe in and support

employment for adults

w i t h de ve l opmenta l

disabilities.

“WOW! means

Widening Our World

and are the

Province’s official

Recognition Awards.”

Page 5

“Be sure to high-five our heroes

- Gerald and Tracey! ...A huge

thanks to our Everyday

Heroes!”

“REV provides small

group and individual-

ized activities in the

areas of life skills

enhancement,

community access,

volunteering,

recreation and leisure

for adults of all ages

in the community.”

Mark and Brian watch the Canucks practice at

Rogers Arena

Measuring Up! - Outcomes @ CSCL

Outcome: CSCL will be in compliance with

CARF Standards regarding Emergency Drills to

be completed on a monthly, quarterly and

annual basis.

Result: CSCL completed 93% of the required

drills last year - a result of conducting over

1000 simulated drills.

“Your Voice!”

9535 Mary Street

Chilliwack, BC V2P 4G9

Phone: 604-792-7726 Fax: 604-792-7962

Chilliwack Society for

Community Living

Wanda’s nominators

wrote this about her:

“I am nominating Wanda

for her phenomenal work

e t h i c , i n c r e d i b l e

resource fu lness and

positive attitude. Wanda

does this work because

she believes in it.

It is inherently who she is

and she would never

expect or want special

recognition, which is

exactly why I want her to

win the STAR Award. She

is a STAR, in every way,

Congratulations to Wanda

D a r t n e l l o f I L P -

McNaught who received

the last STAR Award for

2014.

Wanda was presented her

STAR Certificate, a

Letter of Recognition

and a $100 cheque.

Other nominees included

Julie-Anne Gaines, Jodie

Dessau, Donna-Lee

Rasmussen, Janice

B o y l a n , J e n n i f e r

Coleman, Carrie Gibb

and Cheryl Granade.

STAR Award

????

WWW .CSCL .ORG

Did you know past editions of Out & About can now be accessed and downloaded through CSCL’s

website? Go see it by logging on to www.cscl.org and clicking the What’s New/Newsletter link.

Do you have something to say? Let’s hear from you!

Please contact Jeff Gilbank at jeff.gilbank@cscl.org for your comments, editorials, and/or

newsletter ideas or send through the mail to the address on the left - Attn: “Out & About”.

A special thank you to Julie Unger, Wanda Dartnell, Elan Nootebos, Michelle Atkin, Shelby

Hagel, Kelli Paddon, Brenda Gillette, and Nancy Gauvin for their contributions to this issue.

Look for the next edition of Out & About to be available April 2015.

Mission Statement

CSCL in partnership with community provides quality,

individualized supports to enhance the lives of adults

with developmental disabilities, children and youth with special needs

and their families.

Vision Statement

Our vision is for a community that welcomes

and includes everyone. Through organizational

leadership and innovation we will be a centre of

excellence that promotes belonging, connection and

community

CSCL Goes Green!

Chadsey, Jasper

and HomeShare

took home the first

place prizes in

2014.

Who will win

the Big Green

Challenges this

year? The wait

won’t be long. The

next one begins

this Spring!

www.facebook.com.cscl.org

EXCEL Award Congratulations to Rene

Atkinson of CSCL’s Adult

Residential Services who

received the latest CSCL

EXCEL Award f o r

excellence in a managerial

role.

Rene’s nominators wrote

this about her:

“Rene is being nominated

because she has a huge

dedication to her team.

Her leadership skills and her

ability to push her staff

team to be excellent is

noticed every day.

She always looks to see

and I want her to hear and

know she is an exceptional

and tremendously valued

member of the CSCL team!

where we as a TEAM can

grow, learn, and strengthen.

Rene has taught us how to

operate as a "Team" and to

have each others backs.

I have never worked for

anyone before that not only

has your best interest at

heart but also can push us to

be better.

As a manager, there is a

huge number of us that feels

that you cant get any better.

I believe that Rene deserves

this EXCEL Award hands

down.”

Wanda (left) was presented her STAR Award by CSCL

Executive Director, Brenda Gillette

Rene (left) receives her award from CSCL Director of Adult Residential Services,

Christine Beka