Happy New Year! As is tradition, we’re looked back over the past 12 months at our agency.

We continued with our implementation of the CARE model across the agency, and those six principles (relationship based, developmentally focused, family involvement, competence centred, trauma informed, and ecologically oriented) have guided us in everything we do.

Over the course of the year, we highlighted what we’ve come to call CARE moments: stories where the principles of CARE really stood out. But that’s not all! Take a look at some of the other big things that happened in 2019:

Ranch Ehrlo receives top employer designation
For the eighth consecutive year, Ranch Ehrlo was named one of Saskatchewan’s Top Employers! This special designation recognizes the Saskatchewan employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.

Family Program Expansion
Ranch Ehrlo’s Family Treatment Program (FTP) expanded outside the city of Regina. The unique, innovative, and nationally recognized program expanded due to demand from across the country. The FTP grew to allow six additional families to access the program in the communities of Moose Jaw and Fort Qu’Appelle.

Ranch residents take gold in Yukon
Last winter five residents and two staff from Ranch Ehrlo’s Programs for Persons with Developmental Disabilities visited the Yukon to participate in an invitational Special Olympic soccer tournament, where they took home both the gold medal and memories of a lifetime. 

Lessons learned in MasterChef kitchen
Earlier this year, Ranch Ehrlo Society unit manager Josh Miller appeared on MasterChef Canada, a reality television show that pits amateur and home chefs against one another to earn a grand prize. Josh was able to apply some of the things he learned from working at the agency to his time in the MasterChef kitchen. And while he didn’t win, he finished in third place!

Surprised and honoured
Ehrlo Counselling’s Shelley Tamaki has spent six years providing outreach services to the community of Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation, located approximately two hours southeast of Regina. In the spring, her contract came to an end. She was surprised and honoured by the reaction received to the news she wouldn’t be renewing, which included gifts and a celebration.

 Shelley added, “I believe we could all benefit from attending at least two Indigenous cultural ceremonies a year to have more cultural awareness and humility in service to our Indigenous clients.”

Pride around the agency
At Ranch Ehrlo, we are constantly striving to ensure all our clients feel safe, whether they are at home, school, or out in the community. So when Schaller Education Centre principal Hayley Maurer and vice principals Ian McLellan and Scott Landry received a letter from a student asking them to display the Pride flag at Schaller for the month of June (known as Pride month), they didn’t hesitate. Whether it’s through support groups, flag raising, inclusive language, or any number of other initiatives, we have and will strive to make all youth and adults around the agency feel welcome, safe, and loved far beyond Pride month.

Sport Venture gets new mural
In the summer, Sport Venture received a brand new mural, courtesy of Sâkêwêwak First Nations Artists' Collective Inc. summer student Larissa Kitchemonia and admin Jamie Reynolds. The new addition was a great way to celebrate a new chapter and a new look for Sport Venture.

Camping program expansion
The newest addition to Ranch Ehrlo’s therapeutic camping program officially opened in July. The newest site, equipped with a large three-season cabin and a garage for storage, is located at Heritage Lake. The property was formerly owned by Scouts Canada Saskatchewan, who transferred the provincial land lease to Ranch Ehrlo due to declining usage.

Fourth annual powwow
Each year, our powwow continues to get bigger and better.

“Our youth need to understand what it is to be at a powwow – a celebration of life. A lot of it has to do with getting connected back to their roots again, and realizing the importance of their culture in their life,” said educational assistant and organizer John Whitestar.

Leadership changes
Pam Dmytriw took over the role of Vice President of Residential Services at Ranch Ehrlo Society. Former VP of Residential Services Malcolm Neill stepped into the newly created role of Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Effectiveness.  The VP of Strategy and Effectiveness will be responsible for performance quality improvement, enterprise risk management, CARE initiative, governance, and IT.

COA re-accreditation
This fall, Ranch Ehrlo was again reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) following a year review of the agency which culminated with a site visit in Sept. 2019.   COA accreditation demonstrates that our organization meets the highest national standards of best practice and that it is delivering the best quality services, which aligns with our commitment to excellence in our continuum of service delivery.

Art from the Heart
Ranch Ehrlo’s artists showed off their artistic achievements at the 15th annual Art from the Heart calendar reception to a full house. Staff and families had the opportunity to get the first glimpse of the calendars at the reception held at Schaller Education Centre on the Pilot Butte campus.