In Crisis? 
As I am in the lead up to my second anniversary in my role as Executive Director of Klinic and SERC, and we wind into what I hope will be a little more of the lazy hazy days of summer, I have been reflecting a great deal on the last year. In particular, I have been thinking about the experiences I have been able to share through the Day in a Life Initiative and this blog, and my thoughts on what is coming.
I am writing this in the hours after our shared AGM, my second one, having just had the privilege of hearing WRHA President and CEO Milton Sussman talk about his thoughts on community health and the important role that organizations like ours play. I have also had the both daunting and exciting opportunity to share, for the first time with our staff and partners, the anticipated relocation and co-location plans for Klinic and SERC to 167 Sherbrook Street in the coming years.
Two of the things that Milton spoke about are fundamentally tied to our announcement: “Community Health Centres are often the first place that many Manitoban’s access services”, and that we have “the ability to be nimble, adaptive, and innovative.”
Milton Sussman at our AGM
I knew when I accepted this role that there was a clear goal at the top of my to do list- it was certainly no secret. Klinic desperately needed new space to house our continuously expanding operations and services to ensure we were meeting the needs of the communities we serve, and co-location with SERC was the preferred solution to-do this and create more efficiency.
A full house for our AGM!
The last two years have included a significant amount of work by the management teams and boards in both organizations, and our partners and funders in the WRHA and the Province, to try and make this happen. I am pleased that we are now at a time when we can share this work with others.
The reality is that it is critical for non-profits like ours to be continually innovating and changing to meet the needs of those we serve, and we need good spaces to do that. We need places where we can create comfortable, safe environments, respectful and responsive service delivery in as efficient a way as possible. We know that our spaces at Klinic have served us well for a long time, and some of these changes will be hard for many; saying goodbye to our Broadway house, where our roots are, or our second floor patio at the portage site where so many staff enjoy their lunch during warm summer days. However, we also know that change is necessary to growth.
We have some time to think about how we do this. Due to the current lease arrangements on the new site, this relocation could take 3-8 years. This gives us some real time to think about how we make the right kind of spaces for our staff and clients to feel comfortable, safe and respected. I am very excited to work with our staff and boards over the next few years to plan the best way we can make this happen.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of getting us here, fingers crossed, as we try to clear those last few hurdles to make our dream a reality.
Got an idea for how we communicate and plan for the relocation? Do you have questions about what this means for the future? Feel free to email me at nchammartin@klinic.mb.ca