Wawa & Area. Annual Report 2014/2015. Support is provided to Victims of: Assault Domestic Violence. Accidents

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1 12 1 Mission Statement By offering coordinated services & volunteer support, WAVS assists and empowers victims* of crime & tragedy & survivors of sexual assault and abuse- resulting in stronger and safer communities. *WAVS clients are 16 years and older & live within a 1/2 hour radius from Wawa. Support is provided to Victims of: Board of Directors Jody Tait Board Chair Colleen Glanville Treasurer Irene Grusys Secretary Carole Robert Renée Mellish Aldona Mitrikas Jennifer Pine Amanda Huff OPP Advisor Wawa & Area Assault Domestic Violence A Sincere Thank You Missing Persons Sexual Assault Fire To Our Partners! Superior East Ontario Provincial Police Lady Dunn Health Centre Accidents Wawa Volunteer Fire Department Suicide Drowning Disaster Other Personal Crisis Wawa & Area Victim Services is a nonprofit registered charitable organization funded by the Government of Ontario. Annual Report 2014/2015

2 2 11 Message from the Chairperson Year one as Wawa and Area Victim Services Board Chair Check! What a year it has been! Throughout the past year Wawa and Area Victim Services has continued to prove its value and importance in our community. Shining through challenges and acting as an ambassador to the Victim Services Program provincially. Wawa and Area Victim Services faced the new Provincial VCAO Program Standards head on and with an open mind. Making the transition, albeit challenging, a very rewarding task. The hard work of our dedicated staff deserves a standing ovation. Abundant time put into the organization, ensuring that volunteers are coordinated, community partners are informed, policies are being met, and the daily function runs seamlessly is truly admired and appreciated. Not only by the Board but also the community as a whole. Our staff do an incredible job of recognizing the hard work of our volunteers. This is evident in the level of community representation that we experience at our appreciation events. Our role as a Board of Directors has been challenged over the past year as well. New members, new standards, policy and by-law review, sub-committee upon sub-committee; all met with enthusiasm and unparalleled expertise at the table. I am humbled to sit at this table with such a dedicated group of professionals. Thank-You to each member of the Board of Directors; we are small in numbers but what we lack in size we more than make up for in knowledge and teamwork driven results. While the organization has definitely blown through the program standards starting gate, the finish line is still to come! VCAO training for board members in the near future, By- Law and Policy changes to finalize and approve as well as another look at the organizations Strategic Plan are all twists and turns in the road ahead. I look forward to the next year and what we will accomplish therein. Thank you Danette, Yvonne and Allison for your commitment to Wawa and Area Victim Services, our confidence in your hard work and professionalism makes our roles as Board Members come with ease. Jody Tait Board Chair Volunteer Appreciation Evening On November 26, 2014, Wawa and Area Victim Services held their annual Volunteer Appreciation Meeting. This year, the Volunteers enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by the Legion Ladies Auxiliary. It was fabulous! Joining us for the celebration were Regional Program Consultant, Lillian Esarik, Mayor Ron Rody, Dr. J. Weinstein and Dr. A. Oberai. Certificates and tokens of appreciation were given to all volunteers recognizing their continued commitment and dedication to the organization. We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every one of our volunteers. Please know how truly appreciated you are! Thank you!

3 th Annual William Rose Golf Tournament On Friday July 25 th, 2014 Wawa and Area Victim Services hosted the 8 th Annual William G. Rose Golf Tournament. We couldn t have asked for better weather, the sunny day saw 115 golfers. After 9 holes of golf, the participants were treated to a wonderful meal prepared by the staff of the Clubhouse. Once again, Mission Motors of Wawa graciously sponsored the chance to win a car on Hole #7 if the lucky person could get a hole-in-one. Wawa and Area Victim Services would like to take this opportunity to thank the Michipicoten Golf Club, all participants, volunteers, and especially our local businesses who continue to support this annual event. Thank you! Proceeds from the tournament support a bursary to a graduating student who is entering the field of law enforcement as well as our Victim Services program! Message from the Executive Director I am very pleased to present the 2014/2015 annual report for Wawa & Area Victim Services. Each year brings additional challenges and without a doubt, our team approach has allowed us to direct our resources where they are needed most. The success of our program stems from our dedication to servicing victims of crime and tragic circumstance in which our responsiveness and flexibility is always about adapting to the needs of victims in the most practical and professional manner. Wawa & Area Victim Services has completed our seventh year of service delivery of victim services, sexual assault services, and services for the Victim Quick Response Program within the Wawa, Hawk Junction, Michipicoten River Village, and Michipicoten First Nation areas. To our referring partners, the Superior East Ontario Provincial Police, the Wawa Volunteer Fire Department, and the Lady Dunn Health Centre thank you for your continued trust in our program. Our Board of Directors is a very dedicated group of professionals who continue to guide the organization in a most productive way. I very much appreciate your support and direction throughout this past year and the work that has been completed in preparation of the implementation of the new program standards. We continue our membership with the Ontario Network of Victim Service Providers (ONVSP) and commend the ONVSP board on the work in moving forward during a time of transition. The key to the organizations success is based on our outstanding group of volunteers. It is always an exciting time to have new people join our amazing team of trained crisis responders. We welcomed new volunteers over the past year. And just as new people come on board, others end their time with us and move onto other endeavours. Our appreciation to our volunteers is tremendous and we cannot thank each of you enough for your continued commitment to Victim Services. To the staff, your hard work and diligence portrays the organizations mission and values. We are always challenged during our work day, but we remain committed in always providing a warm and supportive environment for those whom we serve. As we move forward into the next fiscal year we will be tasked with transition and change although our services will remain consistent. I am grateful of this organization and to work with so many dedicated individuals. Thank you to all of you for making a difference in the lives of our fellow citizens. Danette Mathias Executive Director

4 4 9 Sexual Assault Program The fiscal year brought about new challenges and continued ventures for the Sexual Assault Program! Volunteer Conference Manitoulin Island The Sexual Assault Program remained in partnership with Lindy Mills from Centre Victoria pour femmes to provide groups for all students at Ecole St. Joseph. These groups dealt with topics around self-esteem, drugs, alcohol, healthy relationships, and other subjects asked for by the students. Food for Thought also continued its success in Michipicoten High School. Our partnership grew to welcome Samantha Dunn from Algoma Public Health as she joined Pam Carruthers from CHADWIC Home and the Sexual Assault Program. Again a hot lunch was provided to students as they engaged in conversations about sexting, STI s and healthy relationships. We hope to continue to offer this group in the upcoming year. Our program continues to be a partner at the tables of the North Algoma Committee on Woman Abuse, The Glad Grad Committee and the Sexual Assault Advisory Committee in Sault Ste. Marie. Our program looks forward to a new year and with it, the continuing opportunity to make a difference in the community and build upon our partnerships. Organizational Vision Wawa & Area Victim Services is a uniquely hybrid program delivering innovative responsive services to victims of crime & tragedy & survivors of sexual assault, within a strong network of volunteers and partnerships No one can make you feel inferior without your consent On April 11 th, 2014 as part of National Victims of Crime Awareness week, our volunteers travelled to Manitoulin Island to attend a volunteer conference. These conferences provide excellent training forums, self-care forums and excellent networking with other volunteers from other Victim Services sites across the province. This year, two speakers, Julie Lalonde and Heather Imming, were able to share their knowledge and experience relating to sexual violence and violence against women. Thank you to the volunteers who represented Wawa and Area Victim Services!

5 8 5 Volunteer Appreciation Week Sexual Assault Program Stats Volunteer Appreciation Week was celebrated from April 6 th -April 12 th, An invitation was extended to our community partners to share in the recognition of our volunteers. We were joined by Dr. Weinstein and Lucie Haman of the Lady Dunn Health Centre. A wonderful meal was had at the Lai s Restaurant and the evening concluded with tokens of appreciation being given out to the Volunteers for their dedication and contributions to Wawa & Area Victim Services. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our volunteers and community partners for their continued support. You all make a difference in our community! 0

6 6 7 Financial Snapshot Year ended March 31 st, 2015 Program Stats for 2014/2015 Revenue Ministry of Attorney General $ Victim Quick Response Program $6 667 Justice Grant $ Donations & Other $ Total $ Allocation of Expenses Salaries $ Benefits $ Staff Expenses $ Volunteer Expenses $ Board Expenses $ Office $ Administrative Expenses $ Telephone and Communications $ Insurance $ Professional Fees $ Office Program Equipment $ Client Expenses $ Building Occupancy $ Public Education $ Association Fees $ Other Expenses $ 845 $ Excess of revenue over expenses $ Payable to the Ministry of Attorney General $ 0 Information/ Referrals Sexual Assault Centre - 18 Shelters - 10 Public Funded Counselling - 4 Other Counselling - 2 Other Public Education Events - 27 Accompaniment - 91 Meeting with Community Organizations Volunteer Hours - 24,918.5 Aboriginal Clients Francophone Clients - 2 Incident/Occurrence Referral Source Police - 34 Health Organizations - 9 Shelter - 7 Self-Referral - 6 V/WAP- 0 Other - 10 Net Revenue (expenditure) $ 3 843