building homes lives ommunity 2016/17 annual report …...in 2016/17, local, provincial and federal...

In partnership with others, Cool Aid is working to end homelessness in Greater Victoria while improving client quality of life.

Victoria Cool Aid Society acknowledges the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, on whose traditional territories we build homes, lives, and community. HÍSW̱ḴE. 1

BUILDING HOMES, LIVES AND COMMUNITY 2016/17 Annual Report Card

April 2016 to March 2017

July 2017

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card TABLE OF CONTENTS

July 2017 page 2

Table of Contents Balanced

Scorecard Page

CEO’s Message 3

Strategy Map Strategy Map 5

Performance at a Glance Dashboard 6

Primary Objective 10

Objective — End homelessness in Greater Victoria by 2018 10

Theme 1 — Building Homes It all starts with housing Perspective 12

Objective — Connect clients with appropriate housing Client 12

Objective — Support tenants to maintain their housing Client 13

Objective — Increase and optimize Cool Aid’s housing stock Community & Capacity 15

Theme 2 — Building Lives Improve client quality of life Perspective 16

Objective — Help clients to sustain or improve their health Client 16

Objective — Assist clients to attain more financial stability Client 18

Objective — Recognize and value our staff Learning & Growth 20

Objective — Expand training and development Learning & Growth 21

Objective — Strengthen workplace health and safety Learning & Growth 22

Objective — Strengthen service integration and continuity Community & Capacity 23

Theme 3 — Building Community Nurture stakeholder relationships Perspective 24

Objective — Help clients to strengthen their engagement with community Client 24

Objective — Promote cultural competency and diversity Learning & Growth 26

Objective — Be a good neighbour Community & Capacity 28

Objective — Inspire community support Community & Capacity 29

Objective — Demonstrate good governance and accountability Community & Capacity 30

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card CEO’S MESSAGE

July 2017 page 3

CEO’s Message 2016/17 was a year filled with both hope and despair.

Despair because the opioid overdose crisis has claimed so many lives across the province and in the Capital Region, devastated hundreds of families, and pushed first responders, including frontline Cool Aid staff, to their limits. In 2016, BC recorded more than 900 overdose deaths, two-thirds of which were linked to fentanyl.

Tragically, things may well get worse before we turn the corner on this health crisis.

But there were also many reasons to have hope for the future. In 2016/17, local, provincial and federal governments committed significant funds to the housing sector, with both affordable and social housing shortfalls now being recognized as priorities.

With emergency shelters overflowing and lengthy waiting lists for supportive housing, the need for Cool Aid’s services has never been greater. In order to make positive changes in their lives, individuals facing challenges like poverty, mental illness, addiction, brain injury and stigma need the security and dignity of their own home as well as appropriate support to help them sustain it.

Below is a snapshot of what Cool Aid accomplished in 2016/17, with the help of our funders, partners and supporters:

• Opened Cottage Grove in Saanich to 45 seniors.

• Started planning for phase 2 of Mount Edwards Court, which will add another 40 apartments to the 38 already in use.

• Acquired the Tally Ho Hotel, a property with huge potential. As part of phase 1, 52 small apartments will be available to at-risk individuals in late 2017.

• Reached 70% of the target in our housing development plan to create 360 additional supportive housing apartments by 2018.

• Connected 106 shelter residents with market, social or supportive housing.

• Added on-demand access to treatment for opiate users in response to the opiate overdose crisis and continued to provide low-barrier primary health care.

• Helped more than 400 clients apply for income assistance benefits through REES Support Services.

In 2016/17 1,631 men and women

stayed at a Cool Aid

emergency shelter

16% of shelter

users were

seniors

“Building new housing for people who are homeless will save lives and save costs. It’s the right thing to do, from an economic, social and community perspective.”

Cool Aid Housing Development Plan

Housing Portfolio by 2019 734 apartments

Opened as at March 2017 457 at 13 sites

Apartments in development 168 at 3 sites

Apts needed to reach target 109

Details on page 15

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card CEO’S MESSAGE

July 2017 page 4

• Connected more than 300 clients to work through the Casual Labour Pool and provided employment supports, such as resume preparation and work-related clothes, to almost 500 individuals.

• Opened an overdose prevention unit at Rock Bay Landing that is saving lives and providing new opportunities to connect clients with services.

• Entered a new partnership with the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness to provide culturally appropriate housing and services to indigenous individuals who are homeless.

• Continued to work with business, government and social service partners at the Coalition to End Homelessness, the Downtown Service Providers, and many other organizations.

This report is organized around three strategic themes—Building Homes, Building Lives, Building Community—which flow directly from our primary objective (page 10):

Primary Objective

In partnership with others, Cool Aid will end homelessness in Greater Victoria by 2018 while improving client quality of life

In hindsight, ending homelessness by 2018 was overly ambitious—but we don’t regret having set an ambitious goal. It has helped keep us focused on a goal that, one day in the not too distant future, will be a reality.

Our commitment to long-term solutions has never been stronger.

Cool Aid continues to use the framework of the balanced scorecard for strategic planning and performance monitoring. Our strategy map appears on the following page. As in previous years, the report includes a dashboard that shows measure-based performance against targets (pages 6-9). The bulk of the report focuses on our progress toward desired outcomes.

If you have any suggestions or observations about the report, please do get in touch.

Together, we will end homelessness!

Kathy Stinson Chief Executive Officer 250.383.1977 [email protected]

Cool Aid in Brief

• 293 employees • 4 emergency and

transitional shelters • 457 apartments at 13

locations in Victoria, Saanich and Langford

• The largest provider of supportive housing in BC outside the Lower Mainland

• Health and dental care • Support services

Cool Aid Services Permanent housing Transitional housing Emergency shelter Primary health care Dental services Pharmacy Employment services Peer support Outreach Community centre

mailto:[email protected]

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card STRATEGY MAP

July 2017 page 5

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card PERFORMANCE AT A GLANCE

July 2017 page 6

Performance at a Glance For definitions, see page 9

Obj

ectiv

e ID

Mea

sure

ID

Freq

uenc

y Performance

2012

/13

2013

/14

2014

/15

2015

/16

2016

/17

Program Primary Objective

1 End homelessness in Greater Victoria by 2018 read 1 A Number of unique shelter clients decreases over time Shelters 2 A Average number of shelter stays per person decreases Shelters new 3 A Average length of shelter stay decreases Shelters new 4 Q Use of overflow mats decreases Shelters new

Client Perspective

1 Connect clients with appropriate housing read 1 A More shelter clients move into housing Shelters 2 Support tenants to maintain their housing read 1 A New tenants remain stably housed Housing new Shelters new 2014 2015 2016 2017 2 A Tenants report their support needs are met Cedar Grove Housing new - - - Desmond House - - FairWay Woods - - - Mike Gidora Place - - Olympic Vista - - - Pandora Apartments - - Queens Manor - - Swift House - - - 3 A Tenants feel “at home” where they live Cedar Grove Housing new - - - Desmond House - - FairWay Woods - - - Mike Gidora Place - - Olympic Vista - - - Pandora Apartments - - Queens Manor - - Swift House - - -

Performance Legend

On or above target Caution

Below target

Data not available or problematic

- Not applicable

Frequency Legend

A Annual BA Bi-annual Q Quarterly

Program Legend

Agency Cool Aid as a whole DCC Downtown

Community Centre LGC Learning & Growth

Committee REES REES Support

Services SIC Service Integration

Committee


July 2017 page 7

Obj

ectiv

e ID

Mea

sure

ID

Freq

uenc

y Performance

2012

/13

2013

/14

2014

/15

2015

/16

2016

/17

Program

3 Help clients to sustain or improve their health read 1 Q % of HIV+ clients with plasma viral load <200 copies/mL Health new 2 Q Number of hepatitis C patients starting active treatment Health new 3 Q More tenants have access to additional food where they live DCC new 4 Q Decreased wait time for dental hygiene appointments Health new 4 Assist clients to attain more financial stability read 1 Q Number of clients assisted in applying for benefits

for which they are eligible REES new

2 A Number of clients assisted with obtaining personal ID Shelters new 3 Q Number of unique clients receiving employment supports

and assistance to address barriers to employment REES new

4 Q Number of clients employed through the Casual Labour Pool REES new 5 Help clients to strengthen their engagement with community read 1 Q Number of clients participating in

social/recreational programs Drop-in participants

REES new DCC new Program

participants REES new

DCC new

Learning and Growth Perspective

1 Recognize and value our staff read 1 Q Progress on recognition initiatives Shelters new Housing new Health new REES new DCC new 2010 2012 2014 2016 3 BA Staff indicate they feel recognized and valued Agency Workgrp 2 Expand training and development read 2 Q Progress on creating a developmental framework for training oppor-

tunities, including provision for cross-program and cross-agency

LGC new 2010 2012 2014 2016 3 BA Increased staff satisfaction with training and development

opportunities Agency

Workgrp 3 Strengthen workplace health and safety read 1 Q Progress in enhancing the health and safety program Agency new 2010 2012 2014 2016 2 BA Increased satisfaction among staff with workplace health and safety Agency Workgrp 3 Q Increased completion of quarterly workplace safety inspections Agency new 4 Q Improved scores on quarterly workplace safety inspections Agency new 5 A Progress toward achieving the WorkSafe BC Certificate of

Agency new


July 2017 page 8

Obj

ectiv

e ID

Mea

sure

ID

Freq

uenc

y Performance

2012

/13

2013

/14

2014

/15

2015

/16

2016

/17

Program

4 Promote cultural competency and diversity read 1 Q Progress on cultural competency and diversity initiatives Shelters new Housing new Health new REES new DCC new Agency new 2 A Ratings on client satisfaction surveys Shelters new Housing new Health new REES new 2012 2014 2016 3 BA Ratings on staff satisfaction surveys Agency new Workgrp new

Community and Capacity Perspective

1 Increase and optimize Cool Aid’s housing stock read 2 A New apartments in development Agency 3 A New developments being pursued Agency 4 Q Average time to fill is reduced Housing new 5 Q Occupancy rates are on target Housing new

Shelters new

2 Strengthen service integration and continuity read 1 Q Progress on developing and implementing

a cross-program service planning framework SIC new

2 Q Progress on cross-program service integration initiatives Shelters new Housing new Health new REES new DCC new 3 Improve workforce planning and deployment

1 Q Progress of CSSEA Classifications Working Group Agency new 2 Q Progress in developing and implementing succession planning Agency new 4 Be a good neighbour read 1 A Positive ratings by neighbours surveyed Shelters - - 5 Inspire community support read 1 A Number of positive stories published is maintained Agency new 2 A Growth in number of unique donors Agency


July 2017 page 9

Obj

ectiv

e ID

Mea

sure

ID

Freq

uenc

y Performance

2012

/13

2013

/14

2014

/15

2015

/16

2016

/17

Program

6 Demonstrate good governance and accountability 2013 2014 2016 read 1 A Board performance meets or exceeds established benchmarks Agency new 2 A Client satisfaction with services received Shelters 2014 2015 2016 2017 Cedar Grove Housing new - - - Desmond House - - FairWay Woods - - - Mike Gidora Place - - Olympic Vista - - - Pandora Apartments - - Queens Manor - - Swift House - - - Health new - - 2012 2013 2016 2017 REES new 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017 3 BA Funder and partner satisfaction with overall performance Agency -

Financial Perspective

1 Acquire capital and operating funding for new housing campaign suspended

1 A Fundraising targets for individual, corporate and foundation contributions are met

Agency new 2 A Targets for government and partner funding are met Agency new - 3 A Operating costs are funded long-term Agency new - 2 Improve financial stability for support services 1 A Progress on development and implementation of

a sustainable funding plan for support services REES new

3 Increase fund development revenue 1 A Sustain or grow contributions from private sources Agency new

Definitions Unique shelter clients

The number of different clients who stayed at one or more Cool Aid emergency shelter programs in a given period. A unique client is counted only once regardless of the number of stays or the location of stays. Example: During the year, Alice had 3 stays at 2 different shelters while John had a single stay. Alice and John are two unique shelter clients with a total of 4 stays.

Unique donors The number of different donors who made one or more donations in a given period. A unique donor is counted only once regardless of the number of donations made. Example: George made 4 donations during the year while Mary made one. George and Mary are two unique donors with a total of 5 donations.

Shelter admission An overnight shelter visit as entered into HIFIS, consisting of one or more consecutive days. Mat admissions are generally limited to one day each, even if they are consecutive in time, which is why shelter stay (defined below) is a better indicator of actual stay patterns.

Shelter stay Admissions separated by less than 30 days are considered to be a single shelter stay.

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

July 2017 page 10

Primary Objective In partnership with others, Cool Aid will end homelessness in Greater Victoria by 2018 while improving client quality of life

Strategic Objective End homelessness in Greater Victoria by 2018

Desired Outcomes

• Fewer people are homeless • Individuals are homeless less often and for shorter periods • Shelters have more capacity to focus on providing support services

go to Dashboard

WHY WE FOCUS ON SHELTER USE Under the primary objective, we examine several indicators of shelter usage. Shelter users represent a significant proportion of the homeless population and Cool Aid is the largest provider of shelter services in Greater Victoria. For those two reasons, monitoring and understanding changes in Cool Aid’s shelter population can give us insight into whether we, as a community, are making progress in reducing homelessness in the region.

Desired Outcome

Fewer People are Homeless The number of people using Cool Aid’s three emergency shelters dipped by 3% in 2016/17—a small change but a change nonetheless in the right direction.

Desired Outcome

Fewer and Shorter Shelter Stays The total number of shelter stays decreased in 2016/17, paralleling the decrease in shelter users.

However, the average number of stays per person has remained virtually unchanged (1.4) throughout the last 5 years.

Average stay duration remained at 23 days, the same as in 2015/16.

201213 201314 201415 201516 201617

People Who Stayed in Emergency Shelters

1,560 1,703 1,536 1,678 1,631 Change

9% -10% 9% -3%

Includes individuals who stayed at Rock Bay Landing, Sandy Merriman House, and/or the seasonal shelter; excludes transitional shelter residents.

201213 201314 201415 201516 201617 Stays at Emergency Shelters

Total stays 2,154 2,342 2,143 2,340 2,214 Change

1% 9% -8% 9% -5%

Stays per person 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4

Change

no change Average stay duration

23 days 21

days 25 days 23

days 23 days

Change

-3% -6% 17% -8% -1% Definition of Shelter Stay

Shelter admissions separated by less than 30 days are considered to be part of a single stay.

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

July 2017 page 11

Desired Outcome

More Capacity for Support Services The mandate of emergency shelters is to provide two types of support—essential services and gateway services, described to the right.

The capacity to provide gateway services is severely constrained, however, when shelters routinely operate beyond capacity and when, every evening, limited resources must be devoted to managing temporary sleeping arrangements.

Operating Beyond Capacity In the last five years, occupancy at Rock Bay Landing (RBL)—the region’s largest shelter—has averaged 121% above capacity, reaching a high of 127% in 2015/16. This can only be achieved by laying out floor mats in the evenings. Typically, 20 overflow mats are in use every single night of the year at RBL.

Add to the mix the opioid overdose crisis and the capacity to provide the gateway services that can make a real difference to people’s lives shrinks even further.

In 2016/17, instead of connecting individuals to housing and support services, all too often shelter staff were called upon to literally save lives by administering naloxone and other emergency responses.

FYI Emergency Shelter Services

Essential Services

The provision of safe, accessible emergency shelter accommodation including meeting clients' nutrition and hygiene needs.

Gateway Services

Services that act as a bridge to more stable housing and support services. Gateway services include assessment, case planning, information and referrals that assist clients to access key support services in the community.

201213 201314 201415 201516 201617

Occupancy Rates are Much Too High at Rock Bay Landing

115% 116% 123% 127% 124%

RBL was designed for a daily capacity of 84 beds. The rates above represent bed and mat occupancy as a percent of bed capacity.

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card BUILDING HOMES

July 2017 page 12

Building Homes It all starts with housing

Strategic Objective Connect clients with appropriate housing

Desired Outcome • Clients are connected to available housing go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Clients Connected to Housing Every part of Cool Aid helps connect individuals with appropriate housing but it is our Shelter Program that plays the biggest role.

In 2016/17, shelter staff helped significantly fewer clients to find housing than in the previous year.

There are several factors contributing to the lower number of shelter clients connected with housing:

• Income assistance rates have remained static while market rents have soared.

• An extremely tight rental market, affordable or otherwise, a situation not expected to change until at least 2019.

Apartment viewings regularly see 30 to 40 people show up, and there are more “accommodation wanted” ads on Used Victoria and Craigslist than there are “rental available.”

• Fewer resources available within the Shelter Program to devote to housing searches with clients due to the number of overdose responses and other staffing challenges.

“Two of our Client Service Workers are now trained to deliver the Ready to Rent course, which is an excellent program for our clients as many landlords consider it to be an asset for them.”

Q1 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

from 2017 tenant survey Client Voices

“I can't say enough good things about the staff at Sandy Merriman House! I am here at Desmond House because of their support which is ongoing and I am grateful to each of them individually and collectively.”

Reaching Out to Tenant Guests—“Support workers routinely complete CASH referrals for friends of residents who are homeless and spending a lot of time in Cool Aid housing as a guest.”

“At Cedar Grove, staff helped a tenant’s guest connect to culturally appropriate services at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.”

Q1 & Q2 2016/17 Housing Program reports to the Board

201213 201314 201415 201516 201617 Shelter Clients Connected with Housing

166 171 131 171 106

Includes stays at transitional shelters; excludes stays in recovery/treatment programs.

Vacancy Rates for Market Housing in Greater Victoria Oct

2013 Oct 2014 Oct

2015 forecast 2016 forecast

2017 forecast 2018

2.8% 1.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.8% 1.0%

CMHC Housing Market Outlook


July 2017 page 13

Strategic Objective Support clients to maintain their housing

Desired Outcomes

• Tenants maintain their housing • Tenants are satisfied with their housing environment

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Clients Maintain Their Housing Cool Aid programs use a variety of methods to prepare clients for successful tenancy and to support them once they are in housing.

In both Shelter and Housing programs, clients’ success at maintaining their housing beyond six months remains well above target (75%).

Shelter Program—“Through our programs like Ready to Rent and the Market Rent Supplement Program, clients are learning how to be better tenants and are supported in their new homes via our Outreach client support worker program. We also have been able offer ongoing rent supplements and numerous one-time supplements to help clients maintain their housing.”

Housing Program—“Regular suite inspections have proved useful in proactively addressing potential hoarding or biohazard issues.”

Q1 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board Q3 2016/17 Housing Program report to the Board

Desired Outcome

Tenant Satisfaction In 2016/17, Cool Aid undertook a tenant survey at four buildings, with an overall response rate of 73%. Three of the buildings—Desmond House, Mike Gidora Place, Pandora Apartments—were last surveyed in 2014. Queens Manor tenants were last surveyed in 2016 when their ratings indicated fairly high levels of dissatisfaction as compared to the other sites surveyed. To determine whether implemented changes had made a difference, we decided to resurvey Queens Manor in 2017.

Tenant satisfaction with their home environment is an important aspect of maintaining housing stability. For this objective, we assess satisfaction through two measures:

(1) the level of satisfaction with tenant supports, and (2) the degree to which tenants feel at home in Cool Aid

housing.

201213 201314 201415 201516 201617

Housing Maintained Beyond 6 Months preliminary

Shelter Program Client follow-ups 162 166 122 164 66* Retention rate 89% 84% 89% 89% 86%

Housing Program New tenants 101 52 46 54 44* Retention rate 81% 87% 91% 87% 84% * Retention rates for 2016/17 are necessarily preliminary because they do

not yet include clients whose tenancies began during the second half of the year.

FYI Tenant Survey Cycle Tenants at each supportive

housing building are typically surveyed every three years. 2017 is the first year where we have comparable data from previous tenant surveys.


July 2017 page 14

Tenant Supports Compared to 2014, there was virtually no change in ratings from Mike Gidora Place tenants, where 4 out of 5 tenants (80%) gave a positive response to questions on tenant supports. Positive ratings by Desmond House and Pandora tenants dipped a few percentage points compared to 2014, with most of the change shifting to NEUTRAL rather than DISAGREE.

2017 VS. PREVIOUS TENANT SURVEYS Average Ratings for Tenant Supports (6 questions)

Desmond House Mike Gidora Place Pandora Apartments Queens Manor

The most dramatic change is evident at Queens Manor, where 57% of tenants gave a positive response in 2017 (up from 42% the previous year).

While the improvement in Queens Manor ratings is encouraging, we still have work to do. Average ratings for tenant support are still below target (75%) at both Queens Manor and Pandora Apartments.

Feeling at Home In 2017, at three of the four buildings surveyed, the vast majority of tenants (91-95%) gave a positive response (YES or SOMEWHAT) when asked if they feel at home where they live. At Queens Manor, 70% of tenants gave a positive response to this question.

The degree to which tenants feel at home changed little between surveys at Mike Gidora Place and Queens Manor. At Desmond House and Pandora Apartments, however, a smaller proportion of tenants answered YES to this question than in 2014, declining 11 and 10 percentage points respectively.

2017 VS. PREVIOUS TENANT SURVEYS Do you feel “at home” where you live?


The results of the 2017 tenant survey will be shared with tenants and with staff. Follow-up meetings will focus on ensuring we understand tenant concerns and working together to identify areas for improvement.


July 2017 page 15

Strategic Objective Increase and optimize Cool Aid’s housing stock

Desired Outcomes

• Cool Aid apartments become available to new residents more quickly • 360 additional homes for homeless or at-risk adults

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Cool Aid Apartments Available More Quickly Occupancy Rates

Occupancy rates among supportive and transitional housing sites exceeded target (95%) in 2016/17.

Average Turnover Time Notwithstanding concerted efforts to strengthen property management processes, the average time to turn over an apartment did not improve in 2016/17, instead increasing by four days.

It is worth noting that the number of apartments prepared for new tenants was 26% higher than in 2015/16; this was achieved with no increase in property maintenance resources.

Desired Outcome

360 Additional Homes

New Apartments Opened and under Development At the end of 2016/17—Year 4 of our five-year housing development plan—we were 70% of the way to meeting our goal of 360 more homes for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (see adjacent chart).

Capital Campaign The capital campaign we originally launched in 2013/14 is currently dormant, for the most part. The reason—government has come to the table with significantly more funding for housing than was previously available. The two primary sources of new funding are (1) the Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing and (2) the Regional Housing First Program.

We are currently focusing our capital fundraising efforts on targeted “asks” from individuals, corporations and foundations. As the fiscal year ended, we learned that one of these asks resulted in a gift of $450,000 from an anonymous donor to be applied to the Cedar Grove redevelopment.

New Development Being Pursued Cool Aid continues to actively seek suitable properties throughout the Capital Region. Partnerships with private landlords with excess capacity and motels for sale are among the options being explored. There will be a Phase 2 for the Tally Ho property; details are yet to be determined.

201415 201516 201617 Occupancy Rates at 9 supportive and transitional housing sites Supportive

housing 97% 97% 96%

Transitional housing (Rock Bay Landing)

98% 95% 97%

Average Turnover Time * at 8 supportive housing sites Turnover days 57 54 58 Apartments

turned over 54 53 67

* Turnover time refers to the number of days between the date when a tenant moves out to the date when a new tenant moves in.

Recently Opened and under Development

New Running % of Open Apts Total Target Date

Mount Edwards Court—Phase 1 38 38 11% 2016 Cottage Grove 45 83 23% 2017 Tally Ho Hotel—Phase 1 52 135 38% 2017 Mount Edwards Court—Phase 2 40 175 49% 2017 Cedar Grove redevelopment 61 236 66% 2019 Mount Edwards Court—Phase 3 15 251 70% tbd

New Apartments to date 251 Target 360 2019

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Annual Report Card BUILDING LIVES

July 2017 page 16

Building Lives Improve client quality of life

Strategic Objective Help clients to sustain or improve their health

Desired Outcomes

• Clients experience improved health outcomes • Clients have improved access to health care

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Improved Health Outcomes

Primary Health Care The Community Health Centre provides integrated primary health care to inner-city clients, a patient population characterized by poverty, food insecurity, housing instability and homelessness. Survey data indicate that approximately one in four patients is either homeless or unstably housed.

FYI Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS Expertise Cool Aid’s Community Health Centre is widely recognized for its expertise in hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, which includes screening,

treatment and prevention. In 2015/16, the Centre was approved as a clinical site for several hepatitis C and HIV-related studies.

HIV/AIDS The gold standard for measuring HIV care is the percentage of people living with HIV who have undetectable viral loads. The centre’s rate is consistently above target, a remarkable achievement given a patient population that can be challenging to treat.

Hepatitis C In 2015/16, the Community Health Centre was able to more than triple the number of clients starting treatment due to new treatment options becoming available. Consequently, an ambitious target of 150 treatment starts was set for 2016/17—overambitious as it turned out.

Two other factors contributed to the shortfall. First, 16 of the 92 treatment starts in 2016/17 were part of research studies, which involve significantly more time than routine treatment patients. Second, in the last quarter of the year, treatment starts slowed down pending changes in Pharmacare coverage for hepatitis C treatment; more treatment options are expected to become available.

201617 34,500+ 5,400+ 74,700+ medical

appointments dental

appointments prescriptions

filled

Every Step Counts (REES Support Services)—“The popular Every Step Counts program continues to be an important resource to assist clients to sustain or improve their health. Each week, 50 or more individuals attend weekly sessions that include physical activity, nutritious food and positive peer connections. In April, 35 ESC participants took part in the annual TC 10K running events, celebrating improved health and team spirit.”

Q1 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

201415 201516 201617 HIV+ patients with a plasma viral load <200 copies/mL 94% 92% 93%

FYI HIV/AIDS Outreach by the Community Health Centre The HIV/AIDS screening, support and treatment program at the

Centre has been able to expand its outreach to high-risk populations and augment its internal capacity to deliver care to patients living with HIV, thanks to funding for an additional FTE of nursing support.

201415 201516 201617 Hepatitis C patients who

started active treatment 29 106 92


July 2017 page 17

Food Literacy and Security For many of the people who use Cool Aid’s shelters, housing, health and support services, the cost of food is a daily worry. Nutritious snacks or meals are therefore a prominent feature of client events organized by all Cool Aid programs.

At the Downtown Community Centre (DCC), food literacy and food security permeate the programs offered. DCC staff also participate in several food-focused cross-agency initiatives.

Johnson Manor—“The Chill out on Thursdays provides opportunities to learn good nutritional practices and life skills around the preparation of meals and safe clean-up practices.”

Q2 2016/17 Housing Program report to the Board

Desired Outcome

Improved Access to Health Care

Dental Hygiene Services Wait time inched up in 2015/16, after the departure of the one-day-a-week hygienist, and continued to rise through much of 2016/17 because finding a suitable candidate to provide part-time dental hygiene services was much more difficult than anticipated.

Late in January 2017, an additional hygienist began providing services, thereby adding an extra day of hygiene to the current four-days-a-week schedule. We anticipate reductions in wait time for new patients in the coming quarters.

Opiate Substitution Therapy (OST) In response to the opioid crisis, the Community Health Centre opened its doors to anyone wanting rapid access to OST, a service not being offered anywhere else at the time.

Overdose Prevention On February 1, 2017, Rock Bay Landing opened an Overdose Prevention Unit to help address the high number of opiate overdoses. Well over 100 clients regularly access the harm reduction service.

Health Services Outreach Worker Thanks to a generous donor, this new position was piloted in 2016/17 to help clients with significant barriers to navigate the often daunting health care and social services systems. Supports include accompaniment to medical appointments and procedures, in-patient acute care visits, participation in discharge planning as well as assistance related to other broad determinants of health, like housing. We hope to attract sufficient funding to make this a permanent position.

Thanks to a partnership between the Downtown Community Centre and The Mustard Seed:

Every month 124 food hampers

are delivered to tenants with mental health or mobility challenges at eight Cool Aid apartment buildings.

201314 201415 201516 201617 Wait time for dental hygiene appointments for new patients

6 4 5 6-7 months months months months

FYI About This Measure It should be noted that the wait time monitored by

this measure is specific to new patients. Existing patients receive dental hygiene services in a timely manner (every six months; more often, if needed).

“Anyone who wants addiction treatment such as suboxone or methadone is able to see clinic staff and receive ongoing prescriptions and support for opiate addiction. …All nursing staff have done the training to provide assessment and support for opiate substitution therapy and all physicians can now prescribe suboxone and several others prescribe both methadone and suboxone.”


“In March we set up an inhalation tent in the courtyard after feedback from our clients that a safe space to smoke was needed. This has allowed us to engage with clients in a slightly different capacity. We have also been having more conversations with folks who drink and how they can employ harm reduction in their use.”


REES Support Services & Community Health Centre

288 individuals helped with their health management in 2016/17


July 2017 page 18

Strategic Objective Assist clients to attain more financial stability

Desired Outcomes

• Clients have improved financial literacy and resources • Clients have improved employability and employment opportunities

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Improved Financial Literacy and Resources

Income Assistance For many clients, applying for benefits is a daunting prospect. Cool Aid’s Community Health Centre, Housing Program, and Shelter Program all provide support in this area but it is REES Support Services that plays the biggest role.

In 2016/17, REES staff helped more than 400 individuals apply for Canada Pension Plan benefits, Persons with Disabilities benefits, basic income assistance, and other types of income assistance—12% more than the previous year and well above the target of 350.

Personal Identification Without personal ID, it is difficult, if not impossible, to look for work, apply for income assistance or other benefits, rent an apartment, open a bank account, or obtain a driver’s licence.

In 2016/17, 111 individuals were helped by Shelter staff to obtain some form of personal ID, most commonly birth certificates (79%). This is 19% fewer than the previous year and 89% of target. The primary reason for the decrease is that there are now several venues in Greater Victoria that assist clients to obtain personal ID.

FYI Downtown Community Centre (DCC)

The DCC is the only community centre within the Capital Regional District that provides programming free-of-charge, which removes the financial barrier to participating in life skills, health/wellness and recreational programs.

Next Steps Transitional Shelter—“There is a younger man staying here who was on basic income assistance. After talking with him during intake, it was assessed he would be eligible for Persons with Disabilities benefits. We were successful in getting that done. From being in the stable, safe environment at Next Steps, he has started to take some courses at UVic to achieve the upgrading he needs to broaden his chances in the workforce.”


FYI REES Support Services

Assisting clients to attain more financial stability is one of the largest areas of support work that REES staff undertakes. This includes helping individuals obtain work, apply for income assistance, navigate the myriad of governmental offices involved in the social service domain and client advocacy.

201415 201516 201617

REES—Helping clients apply for benefits

Clients assisted 333 364 406 Change 7% 9% 12%

201314 201415 201516 201617

Shelter clients assisted with obtaining personal identification

173 125 137 111


July 2017 page 19

Desired Outcome

Improved Employability and Opportunities

Downtown Community Centre—“This quarter, an additional 11 people were provided with Food Safe training and certification, thereby increasing their employability within the local food services industry.”


Housing Program—“The honorarium program continues to provide much needed extra income for some residents who are able to do the work.”


Employment Supports and Assistance Facilitating access to employment is a significant component of the support services provided by REES.

In 2016/17, close to 500 individuals received employment support, 10% fewer than the previous year but on target.

Casual Labour Pool Employment Also on target was the number of clients who found work through the Casual Labour Pool, 10% more than in 2015/16.

The Casual Labour Pool is an underutilized community resource, with the potential to provide more opportunities to both clients and employers. A new pilot project (see below) will explore how best to expand the reach of this valuable resource.

FYI Building Lives Through Work—A 2017/18 Initiative Thanks to support from the United Way, this

pilot project aims to increase and diversify job opportunities available to vulnerable people facing barriers to employment. In addition to building internal capacity for strategic job development activities, the project will

undertake directed marketing, engagement and networking with potential employers and implement promotional strategies to further attract local employers to use the Labour Pool’s services.

201415 201516 201617

Employment Support at REES Resume preparation, transportation assistance, work-related clothes, and connections with prospective employers are among the supports provided.

Clients supported 425 543 488

Change 7% 28% -10%

201415 201516 201617

Casual Labour Pool Employment at REES Individuals hired 298 275 303

Change -3% -8% 10%


July 2017 page 20

Strategic Objective Recognize and value our staff

Desired Outcome • Staff feel recognized and valued go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Recognizing and Valuing Staff

Staff Satisfaction Biannual Staff Survey—In our first survey (2010), staff gave questions on feeling recognized and valued some of the lowest ratings. Between 2010 and 2014, we made steady progress in this area, as reflected by 2012 and 2014 ratings (below). In our most recent survey, average ratings dropped back to 2010 levels or below.

◼ = target

Feeling Valued Great Place to Work Staff Survey % of staff giving a positive response*

Average Ratings (9 questions) Permanent Staff Workgroup—Unit or department Agency—Cool Aid as a whole

* Positive response: Answered “often true” or “almost always true.”

Post-Survey Follow-up: Residential Services

“The staff survey has presented both challenges and opportunities. Post-survey debriefing sessions with staff have highlighted areas for improvement and we have created a 120-day action plan in response to the feedback.”


On Feeling Valued from 2016 staff survey Staff Voices “I would like to see management spend more time at

each of their buildings, as well as taking the time to check in individually with each staff member on a regular basis. That would also boost morale and make staff feel more recognized and listened to.” — Shelters respondent

“More acknowledgment of the work we do—A simple

‘good job’ once in a while would go a long way.” — Shelters respondent

“I like that employees are encouraged to stay connected. There are orientations to all the programs. Breakfast with the CEO is a great idea because frontline workers can talk directly with the executive director.” — Casual respondent

“The pay is quite low considering the things we need to

deal with physically and emotionally. When you deal with four overdoses in one shift, it is immensely wearing.” — Casual respondent

FYI Great Place to Work Survey

Cool Aid has participated in this national survey every two years since 2010. Employee ratings of 56 survey questions are one way in which we monitor staff satisfaction. Several of our performance measures are also based on these ratings.

DEFINITION—A great workplace is one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with.

201617

293

incredible Cool Aid

employees

Building Homes, Lives and Community


July 2017 page 21

Strategic Objective Expand training and development

Desired Outcome • More training and development opportunities go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Training & Development Opportunities

Staff Satisfaction Biannual Staff Survey—Despite more resources devoted to training and more internal job opportunities, on average, permanent staff downgraded their ratings for these questions in 2016 to levels approaching those seen in 2010.

On Training & Promotion from 2016 staff survey Staff Voices “Give equal opportunity for training, events, activities

for night staff; they’re always held during the day when night staff are trying to sleep.” — Housing respondent

“Keep working on finding ways to streamline or reduce

the large number of hours required to complete our hiring, orientation and discipline processes. “We have made great progress with our performance competencies, which is very encouraging as a model of review and reform.” — Management Team respondent

“We are given a lot of professional and personal development opportunities including trainings, workshops, and seminars.” — Shelters respondent

“There's lots of training opportunities. This has increased

drastically since I started. Also I appreciate the changes that have been made the past year or so, and look forward to what we will do in the future.” — Housing respondent

Developmental Framework for Training Opportunities The framework introduced in June 2016 is Cool Aid’s newly developed competency model, which will inform training-related decision-making. When we first began to work on this initiative, it quickly became apparent that training opportunities could not be properly assessed without reference to, and alignment with, specific, position-related competencies. The resulting framework is much more comprehensive and looks at training through the lens of competencies.

The competency model is undergoing a pilot that started in September 2016. The main focus of the pilot is to use the new competencies as the foundation for a new review and development process for both union and exempt employees. This new process is intended to improve the existing performance review process and to ensure feedback and recognition are provided to employees in a format that enhances coaching and professional development.

At the end of the pilot period, the competencies and review process will be assessed and amended as required, to ensure they are fully meeting our needs.

◼ = target

Training & Promotion Great Place to Work Staff Survey % of staff giving a positive response*




July 2017 page 22

Strategic Objective Strengthen workplace health and safety

Desired Outcome • All staff participate in a culture of occupational health and safety go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

A Culture of Occupational Health & Safety

Staff Satisfaction Biannual Staff Survey—After remaining stable for two survey cycles (2012 and 2014), average ratings for Healthy Workplace questions declined to 2010 levels.

Despite Cool Aid’s strong focus on occupational health and safety over the last two years, the opioid overdose crisis during 2016/17 has created a plethora of new and difficult challenges.

On Healthy Workplace from 2016 staff survey Staff Voices “Better emotional support … We deal with highly

charged emotional situations (violence, overdoses, death of clients) daily, and this takes its emotional toll.” — Shelters respondent

“My coworkers really care about each other's well-being.

If an incident happens, I feel comfortable and safe debriefing with my coworkers.” — Housing respondent

“More staff, more follow-up after critical incidents, more support from management for frontline workers. Safe injection site!!!” — Casual respondent

“My coworkers are the ones who actually offer support

during a crisis. The problem is that my coworkers and Team Leaders are also facing burnout and exhaustion; there should be a place for us to turn in moments of crisis.” — Casual respondent

Post-Survey Follow-up: Rock Bay Landing “Our staff have saved lives. … It has been hard on every one of the direct service staff. Even if they have not yet been the first responder in an overdose situation, they come to work prepared to be. They know that the potential is there, more so now than ever before in our experience.

“During this quarter, it became apparent that an increase in supports for our staff was necessary and this past month we began piloting a dedicated counselling service. But the most anticipated support is our new overdose prevention unit that began in February.

“We hope that these two major additions to the site will contribute to staff feeling safer in the workplace. We continue to encourage people to share their feedback and ideas on how to strengthen the workplace.” — Q3 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

◼ = target

Healthy Workplace Great Place to Work Staff Survey % of staff giving a positive response*




July 2017 page 23

Strategic Objective Strengthen service integration and continuity

Desired Outcome • Cool Aid programs are more integrated go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

More Integrated Cool Aid Programs

Cross-Program Service Planning The cross-program Service Planning Committee continues to meet monthly to develop and monitor service plans for clients who could benefit from seamless access to multiple services at Cool Aid.

Other Service Integration Initiatives Partnership with the

Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness

“This project is a … pilot program rooted in cultural strategies and approaches that re-imagines practices in order to better respond to the needs of 20 high-risk, aboriginal, homeless individuals who have not been well served within our community’s existing housing system.” — 2016/17 Annual Report

Supporting Former Shelter Clients

“The Housing Program has shared that the intervention of shelter client support workers (CSWs) has, in some cases, helped tenants retain their housing. The CSWs remain a part of that individual’s team and work with the housing support workers on meeting the person’s needs.” — Q3 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Food Recovery Project

March 16, 2017—Over 140 people attended the media launch of the Food Share Network’s Food Recovery Project, a regional initiative 22 months in the making. Cool Aid’s Downtown Community Centre coordinator has been involved in the Network since its inception. Edible produce from 11 Thrifty Foods stores is taken to an Esquimalt warehouse, sorted and made available to Food Share Network members for food programs throughout the region and augments food hampers distributed monthly by The Mustard Seed. — Q4 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

REES in partnership with Umbrella Society:

Community Volunteer Training Program

Fall 2016—For the program’s 10th offering, 38 individuals from 24 non-profit agencies enrolled to learn how to support vulnerable populations facing multiple challenges related to mental illness, addictions, poverty and social isolation. “This initiative facilitates improved service integration within the community as frontline volunteers connect firsthand with other agency volunteers and presenting health and social service professionals through weekly interactive presentations and learning exercises.” — Q3 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Outreach by the Community Health Centre

“The Centre provides health services outreach to Rock Bay Landing, Sandy Merriman House, Queens Manor and Mount Edwards including nursing, physician and counselling services. It also supports a number of external agencies including AIDS Vancouver Island, PEERS, Native Friendship Centre, Anawim House and Island Health services like 713 Outreach and the ACT teams.” — Q2 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Dental Clinic Referrals

“The dental clinic works closely with other Cool Aid programs and has made referrals to the medical clinic, REES Support Services, Housing and Shelters. We also refer patients to other community supports such as Together Against Poverty and community food banks.” — Q4 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Lunch with the CEO, Dec. 2016 Staff Voices

“The Service Planning Committee is great. It’s wonderful working together to help clients.”

Victoria Cool Aid Society 2016/17 Balanced Scorecard Report BUILDING COMMUNITY

July 2017 page 24

Building Community Nurture stakeholder relationships

Strategic Objective Help clients to strengthen their engagement with community

Desired Outcome • Clients take advantage of opportunities to engage in community go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Engaging with Community

Social/Recreational Opportunities Social isolation is a reality for many people who are homeless or recovering from homelessness. That is why REES Support Services, the Downtown Community Centre, and other Cool Aid programs offer opportunities to engage in social or recreational activities, in a safe and welcoming environment.

REES Support Services Drop-Ins—The decline in 2015/16 drop-in participants is attributable to REES’s move in May 2015 from Douglas Street to Swift Street. After almost two years in the new location, however, drop-in numbers have not returned to their former levels: use of computers, phones, washrooms and Resource Centre activities in general have all decreased due to the location being less centrally and conveniently located and less visible to passing foot traffic.

Registered Programs—On the other hand, the new location has not had as much of an impact on participation in registered programs.

Downtown Community Centre (DCC) Drop-Ins—Instead of the targeted 3% increase, 2016/17 drop-in participants decreased by 6% over 2015/16. This is entirely due to the decline in Computer Room usage (down 11%), an activity that accounts for roughly 90% of drop-in activities at the DCC. The proliferation of affordable cell phones, with increased capabilities (essentially "pocket computers"), may be impacting the use of the DCC's desktop computers.

Registered Programs—Participation in registered programs increased by 8% over the previous year, primarily as a result of the food hamper program, which increased by 43%.

Seniors Recreation Social and recreational activities at Cool Aid’s three senior housing buildings, facilitated by a dedicated recreation worker, continue to be popular among residents, with participation increasing by 9% over 2015/16.

FYI Peer Support Peer support is an important feature of REES

Support Services and of health care at the Community Health Centre, especially for those living with chronic conditions like hepatitis C.

201415 201516 201617

Participation in Social & Recreational Activities Program participants and drop-in visits (not unique individuals)

REES

Resource Centre drop-ins 17,179 11,079 8,822 Registered programs 522 631 572

DCC

Drop-in programs 6,743 6,513 6,133 Registered programs 658 1,380 1,493

Hous

ing Seniors recreation

(Fairway Woods, Olympic Vista, and Hillside Terrace)

- 2,482 2,707

FYI Downtown Community Centre All programs are group programs that help

strengthen engagement, reduce social isolation and provide opportunities to network with peers and other community members over shared interests.


July 2017 page 25

Raising the Bar on Client Engagement For several years, Client Voice—a Board-management initiative—was the main mechanism for engaging clients in setting Cool Aid’s strategic direction, taking the form of program-based consultations and annual dinner events. Feedback from these sessions indicated that clients wanted to be more involved, more often. In 2016/17, Cool Aid received one-year funding for a new position—Client Engagement Facilitator—that we hope to make permanent.

The Client Engagement Facilitator has started meeting with clients, staff and management across program areas, not only to promote client engagement but also to develop new and consistent approaches to service delivery and client engagement. It is too soon to predict the long-term outcome of this initiative, which will be shaped by clients, but it could take the form of a client advisory committee.

Program-Based Initiatives Below are some examples of how different Cool Aid programs create opportunities for clients to engage with community. Music Bringing People Together

“Ptarmigan Music & Theatre Society began running weekly music jam sessions for clients at both Mount Edwards and Rock Bay Landing as part of their Strengths Within program, which aims to promote socialization and interaction with others …” — Q1 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Peer Support at REES Support Services

“Peer support initiatives continue to help clients strengthen their engagement with community. Weekly peer support meetings, co-facilitated by a REES staff member, volunteer and a peer client provide an opportunity for participants to connect with their peers in a positive, forward-focused way. “Many of the participants are experiencing positive transitions in their lives (e.g., newly housed) and the support of caring peers helps them navigate these transitions. One-to-one peer support continues to be offered as well.” — Q1 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Yates St. Community Garden Project

& Downtown Community Centre (DCC)

“The project got underway: raised boxes were built and delivered by Camosun College trades students, dirt was delivered, and initial planting was underway. DCC clients were part of the process to help plant garlic and kale. “As they became more familiar with the site and other community gardeners, this became an opportunity for them to volunteer at the site independently of DCC staff—simply helping out with other community members.” — Q3 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Peer Support at Rock Bay Landing (RBL)

“The creation of the Overdose Prevention Unit (OPU) at RBL was a client-informed process, with people accessing harm reduction services consulted during planning and sitting on the hiring committees for harm reduction staff. “Service users were recruited to act as peer support volunteers to assist in the running of the OPU, ensure it is a welcoming and accessible space to individuals using substances, and assist in responding to overdoses. … Clients received training in overdose response and safe working procedures.” — Q4 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Community Kitchen Program (CKP)

at Downtown Community Centre (DCC)

“For a small honorarium/gift card, we had former CKP participants create healthy, high-volume meals to share with anyone coming into the Centre. “The visibility of a peer behind the kitchen counter cooking for everyone reaffirms our commitment that the environment within the Centre is one whereby everyone can have a positive impact and contribute to building community. It is an ‘asset-based’ demonstration of our belief that, with supports, folks can make a difference, even if it is one soup-bowl or casserole at a time.” — Q3 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Journaling at REES Support Services

“As a result of participant feedback, a peer-led journaling group kicked off this quarter. We have seen participation increase each week and are pleased to hear early feedback that this group is providing people with a positive opportunity to meet others, express their creativity, and aid their own personal recovery in a supportive environment.” — Q4 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board


“The barbeques are a big event for us.”

“Donna and her team do a great job making the Downtown Community Centre a welcoming place to come.”


July 2017 page 26

Strategic Objective Promote cultural competency and diversity

Desired Outcome

• Staff and clients with different backgrounds are welcomed and respected

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Welcoming and Respecting Differences

Client Satisfaction Program-based client surveys include questions about feeling welcomed, feeling respected, and feeling safe. However, these questions are general, not specific to culture and diversity. How to assess whether clients with different backgrounds feel welcomed and respected is a challenge we continue to work on.

For example, in our 2017 tenant survey, we introduced two questions on discrimination that yielded results relevant to this measure. In three of the four buildings surveyed, a significant majority of tenants (74-100%) indicated that they NEVER felt discriminated against. At Queens Manor, 61% of tenants answered NEVER.


“My experience at Desmond and Sandy Merriman House has been that discrimination is a non-issue with staff. It always feels inclusive to the point of our differences are simply differences between individuals in terms of interests and temperaments. My only experience of anything pertaining to these issues was a slur on the part of a resident referring to another resident. I said something.”

Staff Satisfaction Biannual Staff Survey—In 2016, Culture & Diversity remained the highest rated of our seven survey themes. Though there was a decline in average ratings compared to 2014, Workgroup ratings were on target while Agency ratings were slightly under target.

2017 TENANT SURVEY In your building or when using Cool Aid services, do you ever feel discriminated against because of your gender, skin colour, cultural heritage, religion or other reasons?

DH=Desmond House MG=Mike Gidora Place

PA=Pandora Apartments QM=Queens Manor

◼ = target

Culture & Diversity Great Place to Work Staff Survey % of staff giving a positive response*




July 2017 page 27

On Culture & Diversity from 2016 staff survey Staff Voices “I think for the most part Cool Aid is very inclusive to all

communities.” — Housing respondent

“This type of work attracts a certain type of person that

I feel very comfortable working with. We are getting a lot of enthusiastic younger workers well educated with great ideas that fit in well. We also have had and still have colleagues who are transitioning that have felt welcome to work here.” — Shelters respondent

“We have a wonderfully diverse group of people that work here who do not discriminate on each other. It feels great.” — Shelters respondent

“Inclusive workplace, great team atmosphere.” —

Shelters respondent

“More in-depth training on cultural sensitivity to

indigenous issues is needed.” — Housing respondent

Cultural Competency & Diversity Initiatives Gender Identity & Awareness

“Two of our Rock Bay Landing Team Leaders developed and facilitated two full-day training sessions on gender identity and awareness to new staff.” — Q2 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Gender Identity in Shelter Interviews

“Our interviews now include an upfront portion explaining our openness to self-identification of gender and we ask interviewees for their preferred designation. Hiring for our Sandy Merriman shelter has moved from biological identification of gender to self-identification.” — Q2 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Art as Ceremony at Downtown Community Centre

“Starting May 18, 2017, the DCC will host Art as Ceremony, a 10-week program for indigenous artists. This program is being facilitated by Lindsay Delaronde, Artist-in-Residence for the City of Victoria.” — Management Team Committee minutes, April 2017

Cultural Diversity at Community Health Centre

“The clinic is the medical home for clients with a number of ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations as well as clients from across the gender spectrum. Clinic staff also provide health services offsite at the Native Friendship Centre, Pacheedat Reserve as well as other indigenous communities. Health services are also provided to sex trade workers at brothels, PEERS and other sites.” — Q4 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

Partnering with ACEH

“We have been working together with the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness on a joint project that will enhance our cultural competency offering a new program to a cohort of indigenous people for whom the current range of supportive housing just doesn’t meet their needs. We will be working to meld cultural and spiritual programming within our downtown buildings and hiring our first indigenous client support staff.” — Q3 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

First Nations Learning Day

Staff from across Cool Aid participated in this opportunity to enhance their understanding of First Nations culture. Below is one perspective from Health & Support Services. “A number of REES, DCC and clinic staff had the privilege of attending the First Nations Learning Day hosted at the University of Victoria’s First Peoples House. It was an inspiring and meaningful day in which staff had the opportunity to connect with one another in a very meaningful, authentic and caring way. Staff had the opportunity to listen and learn from First Nations elders who shared the gift of their stories and experiences and to explore how to better integrate these learnings and experiences into our work at Cool Aid.” — Q1 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

National Aboriginal Awareness Month

“During National Aboriginal Awareness Month in June, the Community Kitchen Program focused on indigenous food staples.” — Q1 2016/17 Health & Support Services report to the Board

No’ilung / Welcome

To the right is an example of the welcoming plaques commissioned for all Cool Aid buildings and programs. The plaques incorporate the image of our drum, which was created by Doug Horne.


July 2017 page 28

Strategic Objective Be a good neighbour

Desired Outcome

• Neighbours are generally satisfied with Cool Aid’s presence in their community

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Neighbour Satisfaction with Cool Aid’s Presence Looking Back

Below are examples of some of the ways in which we tried to be good neighbours during 2016/17, with the focus on Residential Services. Housing Program

Queens Manor—“Residents continue to diligently clean up debris around the building, extending their efforts across the street to include Jordan’s Furniture property.” — Q1 2016/17 Housing Program report to the Board

Downtown Housing—“Our downtown buildings continue to be well-monitored by residents and staff. They have been involved in reporting crime and helping witness/ handle disturbances. Honorarium workers keep the outsides of our buildings neat and tidy.” — Q2 2016/17 Housing Program report to the Board

Pandora Block—“The seasonal shelter was operating this quarter. We are happy to report that there have not been any noise complaints from our tenants this year. We have a number of tenants who notify staff or call police when they see any disturbances or illegal activities on the block. Our honorarium cleaners continue to clean the sidewalk in front of the building. We continue to check in with the folks at the climbing gym, WIN store, and the backpackers inn, in efforts to know and support our neighbours.” — Q4 2016/17 Housing Program report to the Board

Shelter Program

Mount Edwards—“Nine residents have completed their Clean & Safe training on the safe disposal of drug paraphernalia and other hazardous refuse. They are now engaged in patrolling the neighbourhood to help keep it clean and act as ambassadors in an attempt to challenge neighbourhood perceptions of homelessness.” — Q1 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Rock Bay Landing Good Neighbour Committee—In committee meetings over the summer, “some of the action items included raising the height of a courtyard wall to prevent possible client access to our neighbours’ roofs and completing some work on the irrigation system for the community green space across Ellice St.” — Q2 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Rock Bay Landing—“The new Overdose Prevention Unit created an opportunity to expand the Clean & Safe team, purchase an additional street cleaning cart, and conduct more patrols in the surrounding neighbourhood for garbage, including sharps, occurring on sidewalks, parking lots, and city boulevards.” — Q4 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Next Steps—“At least once during the Team Leader’s shift, he walks around the neighbourhood and checks in with neighbours to see if there are any issues with our residents and, in general, just do a check-in. The feedback from doing this has been positive.” — Q4 2016/17 Shelter Program report to the Board

Thinking Ahead In reviewing our good neighbour practices in 2016/17, two issues became clear. First, while being a good neighbour has long been one of our strategic objectives and is a core value for Cool Aid, we have not always been as consistent in the day-to-day practice of being a good neighbour as we could be. Second, growth makes consistency more challenging to achieve. With the opening of several new housing sites, we recognized the need for a clear organizational policy, for the benefit of staff, clients and neighbours, on what we see as our role and responsibilities in the communities in which we provide services.

We’ve taken a significant step in this direction with the development of an internal “white paper” on Being a Good Neighbour, which will become a focal point for a larger discussion that will include representatives from the neighbourhoods in which we operate.


July 2017 page 29

Strategic Objective Inspire community support

Desired Outcome • Growing public support for Cool Aid go to

Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Public Support for Cool Aid For a mission-based organization like Cool Aid, building and maintaining good relationships with donors and other stakeholders is critical to fulfilling our mandate. We monitor the state of these relationships using a variety of metrics, two of which are shown below.

Media Coverage of Positive Stories During 2016/17, overdoses/safe consumption services, tent city and housing availability were prominent topics in the media that Cool Aid monitors.

Among the stories that featured Cool Aid, Mount Edwards Court garnered the most press coverage—both positive and negative—as it did in 2015/16.

Among positive stories, it was the tale of five beards that generated the widest news coverage. The “Beard On–Beard Off” fundraising initiative generated $6,435 in donations, which were directed to REES Support Services. (The Beard Off vote won the day.)

The second positive story that ignited significant media interest was the Pets In Need (Carl Young) Endowment, one of the initiatives made possible by our largest bequest ever, which included Carl Young’s home and life insurance.

$50,000 of the bequest was used to establish the endowment fund at the Victoria Foundation as well as a Cool Aid operating fund for pets in need, a cause close to Carl Young’s heart. The bulk of his estate and life insurance gifts will be used to develop 12 additional, pet-friendly apartments for people who are currently homeless.

Donor Support In 2016/17, to broaden and deepen Cool Aid’s base of support, we increased the quantity and quality of our communications with supporters, including a new, regular update from the CEO. The effects are already evident, with a 9% increase in donors over 2015/16.

We are also implementing steps to build a major gift program and have developed an updated case for support for the organization.

201415 201516 201617 Positive Stories in the Media

38 80 76

Dog lover’s gift a helping hand for homeless people and their pets

Times Colonist headline, Dec. 17, 2016

201314 201415 201516 201617 Number of Donors 667 794 639 695 % change 19% -20% 9%

Donations include contributions to the Help End Homelessness capital campaign and contributions for operations by individuals, corporations and foundations. Donors are unique individuals, corporations or foundations, regardless of the number of donations.


July 2017 page 30

Strategic Objective Demonstrate good governance and accountability

Desired Outcomes

• Stakeholder satisfaction with Cool Aid’s overall performance • The Board assesses its performance and meets or exceeds

established benchmarks

go to Dashboard

Desired Outcome

Stakeholder Satisfaction The survey results presented in previous pages focused on specific areas of interest, such as tenant supports and feeling at home. Most of our surveys also include a question about Cool Aid’s overall performance, which is the focus of these final two pages of the report.

Tenant Satisfaction—Supportive Housing Tenant ratings for overall satisfaction were similar to those in the previous survey at three of the four buildings surveyed. At Queens Manor, positive ratings decreased by 7 percentage points in 2017 but that is not the whole story. The proportion of tenants who were NEUTRAL increased significantly, from 13% to 41%, while the proportion who said they were DISSATISFIED shrank, from 39% to 18%.

2017 VS. PREVIOUS TENANT SURVEYS —Supportive Housing

Overall, how satisfied are you with the services provided by Cool Aid Housing?


Tenant Satisfaction—Assisted Living It is not clear why overall satisfaction decreased in 2016 at Hillside Terrace compared to the previous year. Only 2 of the 15 other survey questions showed decreases and these were fairly modest (5 to 6 percentage points). In fact, satisfaction levels for most questions increased (significantly for 3 questions) or remained at previous levels.

It should be noted that the 2016 response rate was significantly lower than that for the 2015 survey—51% vs. 96% respectively—which may be contributing to the puzzling results.

Note: While we monitor tenant satisfaction at Hillside Terrace, it is not a formal performance measure on our dashboard. Tenant supports are provided by Cool Aid and another agency while the tenant survey is administered by Island Health.

2016 VS. PREVIOUS TENANT SURVEYS —Assisted Living

Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of care that I receive


July 2017 page 31

Client Satisfaction—Shelter Program Only a small number of surveys were completed by shelter clients in 2016/17, too few to allow for meaningful analysis.

Community Health Centre For several years, patient satisfaction (consistently high) was monitored as part of a five-year study Equity-Oriented Primary Health Care Interventions for Marginalized Populations (EQUIP). That study is now complete.

In 2017/18, the Community Health Centre will be creating a new research position. Among the responsibilities will be the development of a new survey instrument to measure patient satisfaction.

Client Satisfaction—REES Support Services A survey of participants in the Every Step Counts program is planned for 2017/18.

Funder and Partner Satisfaction

Our next survey of funders and partners is scheduled for November 2017.

Desired Outcome

Board Meets or Exceeds Benchmarks Cool Aid’s board of directors ranks in the top 10% of non-profit boards. Its total average score has consistently been in the range that Board Checkup describes as “Very likely to be a highly effective board. Only minor ‘tune ups’ needed to maintain high performance” (scores between 222 and 272).

201314 201415 201516 201617 Shelter Client Satisfaction Survey

% of clients who Agree or Strongly Agree

Overall, I am satisfied with this shelter. Rock Bay Landing 92% 89%

Sandy Merriman 95% 87% 100% Next Steps 100% 100% 100%

Insufficient number of surveys received.

from 2016/17 shelter client satisfaction survey Client Voices

“The staff were very helpful and easy to confide in, which gave me the tools needed to pursue my action plan and change direction in my life, which was very valuable.” — Next Steps client


“The nurses and doctors and all support staff are very compassionate. I receive excellent care.”

2012 2013 2016 2017

REES Participant Satisfaction Surveys

% of clients who answered Good or Very Good

This program is meeting my expectations. Casual Labour Pool 93% 81% 95% *

Every Step Counts 100% 94% 91% pending Outreach Program 100% 100% 91% *

* Surveys not currently planned.

from 2016 REES participant satisfaction survey Client Voices

“Always have helpful listing ears.” “Love the atmosphere—caring, loving,

supportive.” “Compassionate and attentive people

dedicated to helping others.”

“Research has shown that boards of directors of non-profit organizations that take time to regularly assess their performance are more effective than those that don’t.” — www.boardcheckup.com

Board Performance Self- Total Average Score Assessment Questionnaire 2013 2014 2016

Board Checkup Survey 246.81 249.01 239.37

Maximum possible score: 272

building homes lives ommunity 2016/17 annual report …...in 2016/17, local, provincial and federal...

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