The Lloydminster Interval Home has completed conceptual designs on a proposed 41-bed shelter, says CEO Angela Rooks-Trotzuk as the organization looks forward to the new year.
It’s just one of the goodies they celebrate along with recent donations from Cenovus Energy, even as they face the challenge of funding for the current 33 beds of which 20 are funded and the organization is constantly in fundraising mode for the remainder.
The shelter provides spaces for women and children fleeing domestic violence and this year housed some 400 women and children and 15 families in secondary housing.
Rooks-Trotzuk says with conceptual designs done, they can move on to the next phase of getting architectural work done.
“Project Hope is our new emergency residential and second stage facility and administrative facility. So our residential services will now be co-located within one facility with our admin piece as well. So essentially it’s our new shelter build.”
Fundraising efforts for the build will begin once grant funds have been obtained to do the architectural designs, explains Rooks-Trotzuk.
The Interval Home also manages the Lloydminster Community Youth Centre which offers programming and meals to youth on afternoons from Wednesday to Saturday. Rooks-Trotzuk says they have had some 6000 youth visits at the centre over the year. They have also added a mental health navigator program for youth to provide one-on-one support to link them to community services.
Returning to the funding crunch for the 13 unfunded beds, Rooks-Trotzuk says they have not had a funding increase for operations since 2008, and wages have not been adjusted since 2015.
“So that’s some time that we haven’t seen any increases. I would say our biggest challenge is those unfunded beds and it’s no longer a sustainable way to do operations,” says Rooks-Trotzuk noting that they are exploring new ways to do fundraising.
On the recruitment front, the shelter is also on the hunt for talent that’s skilled in human services in dealing with people in vulnerable situations, but it’s also willing to train someone with the right personality and fit, says Rooks-Trotzuk. Also, for volunteers, the non-profit is not seeing the return of volunteers post-Covid and Rooks-Trotzuk says that volunteerism has changed across the country. She notes the latest research suggests that people want to volunteer virtually which does not help when a non-profit needs boots on the ground.
The Interval Home completed its strategic planning this year and revised its mission, vision, and values. Those guiding principles will work as the beacon going forward into 2024-25.
