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TRANSCRIPT
Page 1
Ref lect ions Island Crisis Care Society Autumn Newsletter 2013
Did you know? P.1 People of ICCS p.2
Our purpose in life P.3 Thank you! P.4
this issue
Did You Know?
ICCS provided 3099 bed
nights in 2011/12. That
equals 9,297 meals that
year!
Thankful to Have a Home - Results Thank you to the following 7
Churches for your support!
Oceanside Church
St Andrew's Presbyterian
Hammond Bay Church
Alliance Church
Brechin United Church
St Paul's Anglican Church
Maranantha Church
Total Given: $3,258.10
Contact Us 3156 Barons Road,
Nanaimo, BC V9T 4B5
Executive Director
Violet Hayes
(250) 585-2577
Policy and
Publications
Manager
Richard Powell
(250) 753-5580
Administrative
Support
Manager
Michelle Authier
(250) 585-2577
Volunteers Opportunities at ICCS
Coldest Night of the Year
Walk with your team on 3,
5, and 10 K routes to raise
money for those who are
homeless.
Board Members
We are seeking people of
vision who share ICCS’s
Vision. Join our Board of
Directors and help govern
the society and provide
decisions and direction.
Life Skills & Social Contact
Provide life skills mentoring
and social contact for
women at Mary’s Place.
(Some restrictions apply)
This space: $125.00
Call now to make it
yours: 250.585.2577
THIS SPACE $250
YOU CAN SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!
Page 2
Bernice Penney
Support Worker
From April 2008 to November 2013
ICCS recently said goodbye to Ber-
nice after 5 years of dedicated work
at Samaritan House. Bernice worked
as a Teacher, Marketer, Legal Re-
searcher, and Community Service
Worker Before coming to work at
Samaritan House. She holds Bache-
lor of Arts and Bachelor Education
Degrees with Majors in History &
Religious Studies as well as courses
in Educational Psychology , Group
Processes, and Helping Relation-
ships. Bernice moved back to the
East Coast to be near family and
friends.
Richard: Do you have a mem-orable story or two from your time at Samaritan House?
Bernice: The most memorable
moment of many special mo-
ments at Samaritan House
was just recently when man-
agement allowed me to cook
a Newfoundland style fish n’
chips with gravy and dressing
as my going-away gift to the
residents. There was plenty of
food and the residents en-
joyed every morsel. It was my
last night of em-
ployment at the
shelter and there
was lots of laughter,
singing, and some
tears. Many of the
residents made me
good-bye cards put
together from a few
materials available
to them; some con-
s t r uct i on pap e r ,
beads , feather s ,
etc. One knitted me
slippers for my long drive across the
country.
When I read the words they had
written to me, I was overjoyed with
the love that they showed, and the
next day when I read the same
words to my sister in Newfoundland,
we both cried over the phone.
Those words meant more to me
than winning any award, any prize,
and any recognition. The words in-
side those hand-made cards made
me cry and I realized just how
blessed I was to love, and to be
loved. This is the greatest gift in life, it
i s n o t
about ego
o r a n y -
t h i n g o f
the sort. It
i s t r u l y
a b o u t
transcending the mental health and
addictions and discovering God’s
essence within our core. This is what
I am taking with me and I hope I
have left something of myself with
the women who crossed the door-
step of Samaritan House.
Richard: What did you like best about working at Sa-maritan House?
Bernice: It was very reward-
ing and I liked the variety of
tasks that keep a worker
busy. I have never been a
person who likes doing the
same thing, day in and day
out. In the 1994 American
c o m ed y -d ra m a F o r r e s t
Gump, Forrest, played by
Tom Hanks, states that life is
like a box of chocolates and
that's so true. There's always
something to do, some pro-
ject to work on, and so on.
When I first came to Samari-
tan House, I did not have my
heart set on working with
women who had mental
health and addictions issues,
but knew that I wanted to
do humanitarian work. After
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“The words inside those hand-made
cards made me cry and I realized just
how blessed I was to love, and to be
loved.”
The People of ICCS
Page 3
a few days, I started to enjoy work-
ing with such women and realized
the true essence of the human spirit
buried beneath the suffering that
accompanies such issues. I had
found a worthy cause to demon-
strate my gifts and talents.
Being from Newfoundland, I was
well trained in the art of hospitality
and strived to make Samaritan
House as much a home as possible
within the capacity of working for a
not-for-profit organization. I loved
cooking special dishes for the resi-
dents and they eagerly awaited me
cooking a very nutritious omelette
once a week, occa-
sional dessert crepes,
a n d h o m e - m a d e
bread. My heart felt so
good in doing so, and I
came realize that our
purpose in l i fe is to
serve others however
we can, and whenever
we can. Cooking was
just one way that al-
lowed me to show love to the wom-
en who stayed at Samaritan House.
I had great joy in the small things,
bringing their dinner plate right to
where they were sitting rather than
making them line up at the kitchen
door. While preparing meals, I sang
old Irish tunes that I recalled from
my years growing up in Newfound-
land and I know that the residents
felt comforted by this at times, and
then conversation might come up
around different cultures, and their
interconnectedness.
I have had great support from like-
minded co-workers and I deeply
appreciate how much I learned
from them. The management at
Samaritan House brought out the
best in each of us, recognizing
our skills and talents, working for
the good of all. They were fantas-
tic role models for me, showing
care and compassion in some of
my more difficult moments. For
example, management knew I
loved writing and allowed me to
write protocols for a smoother
operation of the Samaritan House
program, write newsletters for the
clients, and so on.
In 2010, the Executive and man-
agement supported my efforts to
establish an annual si-
lent auction fundraiser
called Sweets for the
Streets, and in this ca-
pacity I excelled with
my strong track record
in sales and marketing,
and public speaking
skills. My Newfie accent
sure helped in this re-
gard because I was
able to make my sales pitch while
they intently listened. My heart
was on fire for this type of work
and in 2012 with a great team
involved, the event was a hit!
Richard: What advice would you give a new employees just start-ing out?
Bernice: Starting out as a new
employee can be challenging as
there is so much to learn, and
every individual has their own
style of learning. Each new em-
ployee strives to find her own
niche in the workplace, trying to
fit in, trying to establish personal
and professional boundaries, try-
ing to understand mental health
“Workers made me aware
that they were available
and came through when I
asked.
All were friendly, soft spo-
ken & joyful.
All showed patience, un-
derstanding & ac-
ceptance.
I wasn’t criticized one
time. Never saw them treat
anyone better than any
other. Shared many com-
munity resources and
helped me see/discover
positive things about me
and my future. Good ad-
vice, feedback & sugges-
tions.
The facility &
workers are a
blessing.
I believe both
save lives...
The facility & workers
were/are a blessing. I be-
lieve both save lives &
make clients believe there
is hope. Words can’t ex-
press my gratitude. I will
be forever grateful & plan
to give back to this partic-
ular house & support it in
any way that I can. One
last thing- I made an
anonymous suggestion &
it was utilized right
away.” - Client at Samaritan House
“Our purpose
in life is to
serve others
however we
can, and
whenever we
can.”
Page 4
More Support for Samaritan House Pilot Project! and addictions, and knowing
one’s limitations as a support
worker.
Employees at Samaritan House
know that they could provide the
support that is within our capaci-
ty. We cannot be everything to
everyone, and it is best practice
to support rather than enable resi-
dents in getting back on their
feet. The best advice is to go with
t h e f l o w , b e p r e p a r e d f o r
change, and accept rather than
resist the change.
Richard: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Bernice: Vancouver Island will al-
ways be a part of me and I believe
I learned so very much. It is a very
spiritual place because of its beau-
ty and nature, and who knows
what might happen in a few years?
When I achieve the goals I wish to
achieve and experience the ad-
ventures that I wish to experience, I
might return. Until then, I will keep
everyone in my heart and will re-
member with much fondness the
people that I have met, especially
the residents and workers at Samar-
itan House. I will always be grateful
to ICCS for being great role models
and helping me to learn many vir-
tues so necessary in life to suc-
ceed.
Cover Photo by Mathias, Mainz, Germany.
Used under the creative commons license on
Flickr.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Mark Your Calendars The 2014 WALK is on February 22, 2014.
Registration opens Monday, Dec. 2, 2013.
me through his grace and your
compassion we can all receive
these gifts — we have been
through a great deal together and
my thanks to you all for patience,
love and understanding. It says in
Corinthians ‘Love is patient and
kind’ and you have exceeded in
providing that. You are all in my
prayers and my thanks.”
“For giving me hope when I
thought I had none. For showing
me direction when my compass
was broke. For being there con-
stantly through every temptation,
every heartbreak , every doubt. For
showing love throughout. Thank
you staff of Samaritan House.”
Violet Hayes, Executive Direc-
tors for ICCS receives a cheque
from Barb Peters, Director of
Mid Island Co-op. Our sincere
thank you to Mid Island Co-op
for their generous donation of
$7,500.00 to furnish Mary’s
Place!
We would like to extend a big
thank you to Mid Island Co-op
and United Way Central and
Northern Vancouver Island!
United Way Central and North-
ern Vancouver Island Executive
Director Signy Madden con-
gratulates ICCS Executive Di-
rector Violet Hayes on becom-
ing a United Way Community
Partners. ICCS was awarded
$7,000.00 from United Way to
provide outreach services
through the two year pilot
project at Samaritan House.
Client
Feedback
“This House and
the People at Safe
Harbour helped
me to find a reason to laugh and live
my life instead of ending it, which was
the reason I came. I appreciate all the
workers and all they do for anyone who
comes through the doors.”
“Thanks to the staff at Crescent House,
you were all very helpful and kind to
me.”
“To Patricia and the rest of the family
(staff). Well its finally here, the day I
leave the nest to the next phase of my
development. I can’t put into words
how grateful I am to you all. These past
9 months working together to improve
the quality of my life. God has shown