There's a lot more going on with the Sooke Region Communities Health Network than raising funds to build the Sooke Gathering Place.
"Sometimes we need to remind people about all the other initiatives we're involved in within the community," said Mary Dunn, vice president for the Sooke Region Community Health Network (SRCHN). "We have a very active board and a few dedicated staff that provide a lot of services and community assessments."
SRCHN is an amalgamation of Community Health Initiative (CHI) and Cooperative Association of Service Agencies (CASA).
"CHI was a non-affiliated group of volunteers and service providers that strove to assess communities’ needs and work with existing organizations to work together to fill those needs and CASA worked with the Victoria Foundation to build and run the Sooke Child Youth and Family Centre," Dunn explained. "Embedded in both organizations was the value of working together rather than in competition with each other to ensure Sooke residents get the services they need and deserve."
Dunn stressed that collaboration remains one of the main values of SRCHN.
"SRCHN's board puts in hundreds of volunteer hours, leading many community development and collaborative projects," she noted. "This includes the Sooke Gathering Place and increasing and improving health services for the Sooke Region."
The board is currently working with the District of Sooke, West Coast Family Medical Centre, and the Ministry of Health to build a community health centre with Urgent Care services.
"We also run programs at the Volunteer Centre, which helps people connect with the volunteer opportunities that fit for them."
Another initiative, Better at Home, provides non-medical support for seniors to help them remain independent in their own homes, as well as opportunities for socialization, food security, tech support, and learning.
"Lifelong Learning has a stimulating and fun list of workshops being offered by volunteers with special interests and expertise," Dunn said. "Our Mental Health Committee is working on increasing these services in the community and just ran a mental health fair where people could learn about the services available in Sooke. It was such a success that we plan to make this a yearly event."
The Women’s Cancer Support Group is a place where women can get together to learn and share with others who understand what they are going through, Dunn noted.
A collaboration with Canada Revenue Agency offers a volunteer income tax program that helps those with modest income complete straight-forward tax returns. Through the Navigation Bureau, staff and volunteers help community members navigate systems, forms, and technology.
"Our latest collaboration was obtaining the Food Security Grant, which worked with existing services to identify needs, develop collaborations and enhance the work of the existing organizations," she added. "This work is now being continued by Food CHI. These are just a few of the ways we work with the community to increase the health and vitality of the residents of the Sooke Region."
Dunn also wanted to announce that Katie Sperret recently took on director of community programs for SRCHN after serving as the interim programs and office manager since 2022.
"Katie is a proud mother of two who is very active in the community," Dunn said. "We are very fortunate to have her on our team."
Katie joined the Sooke Region Communities Health Network in 2022 as the interim programs and office manager, taking over the role of director of community programs in 2022.
Sperrer believes her two years with the organization have given her a good understanding of what SRCHN does and aims to achieve.
"I'm looking forward to improving the programs we provide for a growing community," she said.
Visit sookeregionchn.org/ to learn more about the Sooke Gathering Place or to make a donation.
