It was another busy year of relationship building at Central Station.
At its annual meeting Nov. 18, the Winkler community centre shared a bit about the impact its programing is having.
“Over the course of the past year, Central Station has been doing, I believe and we believe, some of the most important work in our history,” shared board president Phillip Vallelly. “I believe we’ve made real progress in terms of the people’s lives we’ve impacted.”
Some of the organization’s stats paint the picture: over 60,200 client interactions, 28 new affordable housing units added to their property management profile, 9,170 kilometres driven in its transportation program, and 177 volunteers giving back 9,256 hours.
“At the core of everything we do are three simple words: belonging, safety, and relationships,” Vallelly said.
“The concept of belonging is about creating accessible spaces where people feel welcomed, valued and connected,” he explained. “Safety is providing comprehensive support that meets immediate needs while building long-term stability in the lives of people.
“And, finally, relationships—fostering trust-based connections between individuals, families and service providers,” Vallelly said, explaining their role is to serve as a hub for multiple social service providers in the community—the food cupboard, mental health supports, affordable housing, addictions programming, and many others. “Organizations that I’m going to say do a lot of the heavy lifting, though we also do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of how we direct people and support people to find the right provider.”
The social challenges of larger urban centres also exist right here in Winkler, Vallelly stressed.
“I think it’d be fair to say housing vacancy rates remain at historically low levels, and homelessness is rising in Winkler, in other rural communities,” he said. “Mental health services are fragmented and complex to access … food insecurities continues to strain families and community resources.
“None of these things are changing, none of these things are actually going away, and it is increasing by the day.”
It makes a place like Central Station so important, especially when it comes to looking beyond statistics and to the real human beings these challenges impact.
“The numbers are alarming, but they don’t capture the human cost,” Vallelly said. “These are humans … these are people that need to be supported.
“Because of the work of our team and the commitment of our partners, families experience care that is connected, dignified, and easy to access, which is something that we want to maintain.”
Executive director Anita Wiebe shared a few of the highlights from the past year, including the launch of their new community mobilization program to help at-risk families, a new eviction prevention program, and, just this past week, the addition of a full-time mental health counsellor to the team.
The centre’s staff and volunteers remain at the heart of everything they do at Central Station, Wiebe stressed.
“Our kitchen volunteers have baked thousands of muffins, and our advocates during the 230 advocacy office visits have probably filled up more government forms than any human should ever have to.
“We know how incredibly blessed we are to have the volunteer team that we do,” Wiebe said. “We’re so grateful for the passion and commitment they show in every interaction, and we couldn’t do the work that we do without them.”
On the financial side of things, the agency saw revenue of $1.07 million and expenses of about $1.1 million for a deficit of $60,000. Part of that shortfall represents the ongoing depreciation of various assets, so the organization is still in good shape, especially considering it is entering into the final year of bank payments connected to its building, which will mean an additional $55,000 annually that can go back into programming moving forward.
As they continue to grow, Central Station is looking for more stable forms of funding to support their work. To that end, they’ve set out to secure more monthly donors.
“We’ve set a goal that we’d like to engage 25 new $25 per month donors, 20 new $50 per month donors, and 20 people who are willing to partner at $100 per month,” Wiebe said. “Monthly giving allows us to budget differently knowing what we have coming in consistently.
“For those that like to break down the numbers, if we look at a million dollar budget stretched across 54,000 interactions [in the fiscal year], the cost per interaction comes up to about $18.50,” she shared. “So when we look at these meaningful moments, every $20 that is received becomes a real conversation, a safety plan, a ride, a food hamper, or a warm coat.
“While larger financial gifts are always a welcome thing, we don’t want to lose sight of the fact of what the gift of $20 can do.”
