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Envision – a history of care and success

In its 25-years history, the Envision Counselling and Support Centre has grown significantly, turning from a narrowly focused program into a diverse organization.

In its 25-years history, the Envision Counselling and Support Centre has grown significantly, turning from a narrowly focused program into a diverse organization.

None of it probably would happen if not for its long-term executive director Patt Lenover-Adams, who was leading this ship for 20 years.

“When it started in 1994, we started with a very small budget and two staff, two counsellors and myself. That was the beginning. And then from there in the fall of 1995, we started our 24-hour support line. And from there we had about 30 volunteers join our organization,” said Lenover-Adams.

The board, the staff and volunteers helped to develop the vision for Envision. They looked strategically at expanding programs to include working with families and to cover other conflict issues.

Another significant move was getting core government funding to allow that expansion to happen.

“That’s what started happening, we grew into a large budget, multiple staff (organization). We started with the two offices in Estevan and Weyburn, but then that allowed us to expand to Carlyle and now to Oxbow,” said Lenover-Adams. 

At that time the budget was so limited and the Internet was just starting, so just getting the word out was one the biggest challenges for the young agency willing to help people in southeast Saskatchewan.

“To let people know that we even existed was probably one of the biggest challenges at the beginning. Because advertising dollars are so expensive and we didn’t have social media like today to let people know we were there. I think that’s where the idea I had for the 24-hour line would at least ensure that all people living in the rural areas would have access to support and help,” said Lenover-Adams.

She believes that the 24-hour support line along with getting the sustainable funding were the two greatest milestones for the organization.

“We were fortunate to get funding for different programs, our in-home support program, and we got core funding for a children’s counsellor. And we were able to expand our staff; we were able to hire staff just for outreach; we were able to go into schools more … So the last 10 years we expanded quite quickly, and having the core funding allowed the sustainability, which we always were worried about financially each year.”

They started with one basic program and by the end of Lenover-Adams’ tenure, they had six and keep growing, dedicating a lot of attention to violence prevention programs. 

“We can help people after the fact, but we wanted to be able to help young people before the fact. So we could do presentations in schools, have a school outreach worker who works with teens talking about dating violence, what is the healthy relationship, where to access help down the road if they need it. Because prevention is what’s going to change the dynamics of the issue of violence against women. That’s the bottom line. It’s prevention,” said Lenover-Adams. 

Before Envision the only place people could get any counselling support was mental health. For people who were there for the origins of the organization, it was important to focus specifically on violence against women and children, providing professional support without wait times and any extra threats. 

“I think it was important that people had a safe and secure place they could come privately to deal with their issues.”

And they succeeded in their goal, spreading their support to other target groups further down the road.

Lenover-Adams says that a lot of credit has to go to the volunteers with the agency, which include the board of directors and the volunteers working on the line.

Although the line has stopped now, people who volunteered for it, are still able to impact the community and help others.

“Having these volunteers in the community talk about Envision, it makes it less threatening for people to seek help. And we’ve had volunteers come forward over the years that told us they were in a bathroom and they saw a woman crying. And because of their training, they were able to get her support and approach her, where they wouldn’t have approached her before.

"Volunteers often said that once people knew they were volunteering for the line, they knew they were a safe person to go and talk to as well,” said Lenover-Adams.

Thus, in one way or another on a daily basis Envision for years has kept serving the community making it a better and safer place to live in.