BARRHEAD - The Ripple Connection Support Centre (RCSC) is no longer in operation.
The RCSC is a not-for-profit organization which opened in 2010; it provides services for people who directly have mental illness and brain injuries, as well as their families and caregivers.
In late April, the Ripple Connection announced that it would be shutting its doors on May 15 for what it hoped would be a temporary basis.
The closure was made necessary due to a budget shortfall after the province cancelled the organization's Alberta Health Services (AHS)/Alberta Recovery grant, with the last payment coming in May.
The contract's cancellation came to a surprise to the organization as it was in the second year of a three-year contract.
In a Barrhead Leader interview, RCSC Executive Director Vernice Aitken said she hoped the closure would be only temporary, giving the Ripple a chance to find alternative funding or service model that would make it sustainable.
To that end, she said, she was in negotiation with another local not-for-profit organization which would allow them to remain open.
That not-for-profit organization was Barrhead and District Family Community Support Services (FCSS).
Earlier this month, the Ripple Connection, along with FCSS, issued a joint media release stating that the Ripple Connection had dissolved but that FCSS had purchased the RCSS assets, including the thrift store, and would create programming following RCSC's mandate to serve the organization's former clients.
"This transition ensures the continuation of vital community services that support mental wellness, social connection and recovery. Ripple Connection has played an important role in Barrhead by providing a safe, inclusive space for individuals navigating mental health challenges, and FCSS is committed to building on that legacy," the release states.
RCSC thanked FCSS for "stepping forward with a thoughtful and compassionate solution" and went on to state that they are glad it will not be the end of the Ripple Connection's mission to continue to provide compassionate, community-based support.
In a follow-up interview, FCSS Executive Director Savannah Belyk said they are still in the process of reviewing and planning the type of programming they will create, but their addition would be a natural fit.
"Ripple's mandate was mental health and addictions, which directly fits into the provincial priorities set out for FCSSes," she said, adding depending on the specific program,
Belyk said there was potential for FCSS to utilize its traditional provincial and municipal contributions to help stage the programs, depending on the function.
FCSS can only use provincial and municipal base operational funding for preventative programming.
Regardless of whether the program is funded through FCSS or by its community stream, Belyk said, Ripple programming would be tracked and accounted for separately.
"That way, people will know exactly where their money is going and how it is being used, she said. "When they donate to the Ripple, we will use it for the food bank or mental health programs which fit into its original mandates."
Belyk added their first step in creating programs to serve Ripple's former clients is to expand food bank programming.
"We will also be doing more mental health programming. We already programming, but we will be expanding those regular, weekly programs for Ripple clients," she said.
Belyk said they are also hoping to relaunch some of the RSCS' old programming and offer it in-house this summer.
"They've given us a list of the programs they were providing, and we will do our best to put them, or something similar on," she said.
However, she noted they won't be able to offer all of Ripple's old programming through the FCSS office, referring to Warm Your Heart.
The lunch program, a staple of RCSC, provides a noon-time, usually hot meal on weekdays for a modest fee.
"Once we can set up a commercial kitchen, then we will look to start up the lunch program," she said.
Unfortunately, Belyk said FCSS would not be able to use the proceeds from the Ripple Connection Thrift Store, noting that while it is self-sustaining, it generates little extra income.
"Initially, [any surplus] funds will be used to build an emergency fund for the thrift shop," she said. "Once we get them to a comfortable level, that is when we look at using the money the thrift shop generates in programs that fit Ripple's mandate."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
