BARRHEAD - Barrhead Family Community Support Services (FCSS) are seeing more people seeking help for personal issues.
Not only are the numbers on the rise, but the types of issues FCSS support workers are seeing are more complex.
That is what Karen Gariepy told Town of Barrhead councillors during their June 26 meeting.
She noted that their client support worker caseload had increased significantly in the first five months of the year, with 56 new client files. This is in addition to the 64 case files the worker is already attempting to help.
"They are not simple issues that we used to see. They are getting increasingly complex," Gariepy said, adding many of the files stem from domestic disputes and drug addiction situations. "And we are not the only ones seeing that. Other agencies are telling us the same thing."
Since the Thrive program's loss, Gariepy said that FCSS has been working closely with the Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) out of Jessie's House and the Jessica Marel Memorial Foundation in Morinville.
She noted that emergency room physicians at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre call on DART whenever they suspect that a domestic abuse situation is at play.
The Thrive program was a family violence prevention program which FCSS ran from 2011 to 2021 when funding dried up.
Jessie's House is a 35-bed emergency centre that accommodates any age or gender and large families. In addition to the shelter, the facility provides a broad range of services, including family violence outreach, case management and court support.
She added to help fill the gap from the loss of Thrive, two FCSS staff members have completed Sagesse training.
Sagesse is an Alberta-based agency that works to prevent domestic abuse, using research from the University of Alberta.
Specifically, Gariepy said they took training so FCSS could offer Sagesse's Finding Your Voices program.
"It is an empowerment program for women," she said, adding they hope to have the program ready to roll later this summer.
Gariepy said FCSS is also partnering with the province to create trauma-informed communities.
"Bringing trauma awareness to people like hairdressers and others who could face traumatized people and teach them what trauma looks like," she said.
Coun. Don Smith asked if the 110 clients that the FCSS client support worker has been helping are strictly from Barrhead.
Gariepy replied that most were but did note some were from Woodlands County, specifically from the Fort Assiniboine and Goose Lake area, as FCSS has a contract with that municipality to serve residents from those areas.
Coun. Ty Assaf asked for Gariepy's opinion on why FCSS was seeing more clients come in with more complex issues.
"Are we dealing with more mental health issues, or is it more of a financial situation?"
Gariepy said the majority of cases were the result of a mental health situation, at least in part.
"COVID did not help, especially the isolation," she said. "Even with our (Family Resource Network) moms and tots program, a lot of the kids coming forward are (pandemic) children whose socialization skills are not there. We are also seeing mental health issues with some of our seniors who were isolated and are still afraid to come out."
Gariepy added the additional financial stresses, especially the increasing cost of utilities and groceries, certainly do not help matters.
She added that people are also feeling stressed about their housing situation, referring to the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) rural homelessness study the community took part in earlier in the year.
Although Gariepy said the complete results of the study would be known in mid-August, there are a few of the findings have been released.
"(The survey) reports that a high number of respondents are 'housing insecure'. The three top reasons are low wages, inability to afford rent or mortgage payments and increasing mortgage and rental rates," she said. "And 74 per cent of respondents who feel their housing is insecure are employed in some capacity."
Gariepy added that sometimes the role FCSS plays in these types of situations is limited, saying whenever possible, they partner with other agencies and organizations (including Alberta Health Service through Addictions and Mental Health) to ensure they are not duplicating services.
"When people don't know where to go, they come to us, and we act as an information and referral point .... because we know pretty much everything that is going on in our community," she said. "If we are not the right people, we will refer them to who is to the point of walking our clients to wherever they need to go."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
