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Tre NEW. BOARD OF
directors elected by the
Ksan House Society’ Nov.
26 is coming in on a wave
of optimism.

In the past few months the:

society’s funding agencies. have
come through with new capital
and operating money, the society
held a successful fund-raising
effort, and now the board is
teady to start working on written
policy and long-term planning
for the society.

Victims of sexual assault,
women and children who are
beaten or otherwise abused by
their husbands, and people with
menta) illnesses attempting to
live independent lives in Terrace
all receive support and services
from programs run by Ksan. The
society is the primary contract
agency for delivery of three
unique programs: the Sexual
Assault Centre and crisis line,
the Terrace Transition House
and Osbomme Home. Operating
costs for the Sexual Assault
Centre are supplied by the Attor-
ney General, the Transition
House is funded by the Ministry
of Social Services and Housing,
and Osborne is funded by the
mental. health branch of the
Ministry of Health.

Terri Ryan, board chairperson
for the society, said last week an
appeal in September to local
businesses and individuals
through hand-delivered letters
resulted in $2,400 in donations.
The money, she said, is being

used for long-overdue repairs to .

the Transition House and QOs-
borne. In addition, the Canada
Employment Centre recently
confirmed it will provide three

workers under a Section 25 grant
to do the labour on the build-
ings.

Ryan adds that the mental
health branch for the first time
will be including capital costs as
part of its core funding for Os-
borne. The society is also nego-
tiating for a fixed operating cost
contract for Osborne to replace
the current arrangement. Os-
borne now receives funding
based on the "bed-days", an
amount calculated from the
number of clients staying there
and the number of days they
Stay.

Osborne Home is an aging
house on the south side of Ter-
race where short-term care and
counselling is offered for men-
tally ill people who live in the
community.

The Transition House, a shelter
for women abused by their
spouses, hosts more children
then wohecii uve: ins course ofa
year. Ryan said beginning in
January the Ministry of Social
Services and Housing will pro-
vide core funding for a full-time
child care worker who will func-
tion as a special support worker
for traumatised children slaying
with their mothers at the Transi-
tion House. The ministry will

also begin funding the adminis-
trator as a separate: position,

Ryan said, meaning that the -

administrator will be allowed to
work at strictly administrative
tasks rather than having to pro-
vide client services at the same

time.

"There have been substantial
increases to capital and adminis-
trative budgets," said Ryan,

But the greatest need, and the
smallest budget, applies to the
Sexual Assault Centre. The
centre is a regional service, and
its staff determined a long time
ago that the only way to serve
the pressing need in areas out-

‘side Terrace would be to train

volunteers within the commun-
ities. There is still little travel
money, little funding to bring in
experts for training volunteers,
and little time for the staff mem-
bers to travel or do training.

"One of our board members is
a volunteer programmer, and
we’re going to draw from that
expertise,” Ryan said. "The need
is great, but we have to be cost
efficient." She cited a recent
instance in which volunteers
from a nearby rural community
came to Terrace and took a week
of in-house training and experi-
ence at the Transition House as
-a possible model for future train-
ing programs. It solved the-prob-
lems of staff travel and time
Shortage by bringing the volun-
teers into Terrace and training
them with staff members while
they were performing their reg-
ular duties,

It’s been a demanding period
for the board. The members had
to perform some of the functions
of executive director after Carol
Sabo left the post in September,
and the. pursuit of program fund-
ing has, as always, been a full-
time task.

Those demands abated some-

what with the entry of a new
executive director Dec. 2. Joyce
Evans comes to Ksan after hav-
ing established the Crown Coun-
sel Victim/Witness Assistance
Program at the Terrace provin-
cial court house, a program
designed to complement the
police-community based victim
assistance program run by Karen
Walker out of the RCMP detach-
ment. Evans oversaw the launch
of the program, bringing with
her a background of related
work and experience. She will
be directing the operation of the
three programs employing 20
permanent workers and numer-
ous auxiliary staff.

"My areca is community and
human development," Evans
sdyv3, Her function will be
oversecing the delivery of
Ksan’s services under the diree-
tion of the board. Ryan notes
that the society’s operating and
capital funding are undergoing
what she describes as "substan-
tial increases". Evans adds,
"This is not small time. It’s a
big responsibility, and we have

_to be accountable."

Terrace Review — Wednesday, December 18, 1991 9

Ryan, Evans: An exciting time to be here.

F |

The Ksan board is scheduled to
meet next Jan. 7 for a strategy
session. Ryan says the past year
has been taken up with a con-
centration on financing the
society’s programs, but the
coming year will have its focus
in policy development. The
annual general meeting attracted

-an exceptionally large number of

both society employees and
interested members of the pub-
lic. Board clections produced
what Ryan calls a good mixture
of new and experienced people.
"It’s an exciting time to be
here," she said.

Shelley Taylor, a central figure
on the Ksan board for many
years, has stepped down, but
Ryan says she will remain on
the sidelines in an advisory
capacity for the board.

Ryan says in summary the
board will be working on creat-
ing well-written policy for the
organization, making an effort to
Support the society’s staff, and
continuing to improve the work-
ing environment in the pro-
grams, objectives that they
believe will ullimately result in
ever-improving service to the
society’s clients.

Also elected to the society’s
board at the annual general
meeting were treasurer Jane
Rage, secretary Dee Jenion, vice
chair Corri Layne Ashton and
directors Bonnie Casault, Karen
Hatz], Evelyn Evans, Sheron
Onstein and Jane Hillert.

The Board of Directors,

management and staff of the

KSAN HOUSE SOCIETY

would like to publicly thank the
individuals, agencies and businesses
that responded so generously to our

first-ever fund-raising drive.
Thanks to:

Angela Young

Terrace Volunteer Bureau
Crampton, Brown and Arndt

Demers and Brodie, CGA

Gemma Bed & Bath Boutique

Farwest Bus Lines
Skeena Driving School

J&N Electronics (Radio Shack)
C. Stewart Enterprises (A&W)

Terrace Kinette Club

$150
$150
$300
$100
$100
$100

$20

$50
$100
$500

Telephone Employees Community Fund $180

Dr. LT. Almas

Terrace and District Credit Union
: and Aco Financial
providing the envelopes and stamps and the

picnic bench.

$50
$500

Services, for

KSAN HOUSE SOCIETY

BOX 587,
TERRACE, B.C.
V8G 4BS