Shelley Sayer has worked at Ranch Ehrlo Society for 31 years. Now the director for Ehrlo Housing, Shelley started her career as a youth care worker in 1985.
She has seen growth on both the residential and community services side of the agency, which she credits to the Ranch’s highly motivated, creative staff.
“People in the Ranch were, and still are, really creative around ideas and identifying where the gaps are and wanting to do something about that, something that’s going to help children and families,” she said.
Ehrlo Housing is just one example of that kind of thinking.
Shelley
“When we established Ehrlo Housing it was a result of the vision that we needed to be involved in the community and provide some preventative services for families and children,” Shelley explained. “If we could provide affordable, safe, stable housing for young families, it would help them in the long run.”
Ehrlo Sport Venture and its counterpart in Prince Albert (Community Sports Program), Ehrlo Counselling, Ehrlo Early Learning, the Family Treatment, Intensive Family Preservation Services, and Treatment Foster Care programs, and Paper Crane have all come about as a result of seeing gaps in services and working to fill them.
“In hindsight, now, looking back, all those things that we were thinking about and talking about and trying to put in place, have flourished. And I think we are providing services where services need to be provided,” Shelley said.
“Of course, you’re always sort of thinking, ‘ok, now we’ve got that gap filled – what else do we need to work on?’ So it’s always forward thinking,” she added.
And forward thinking is what will continue to ensure that Ranch Ehrlo Society flourishes for another 50 years and beyond.
“Being in the community I hear all the time, that people respect what Ranch Ehrlo does and the commitment that they have to children and families,” Shelley added.
She believes that the 50th anniversary is a perfect opportunity for employees of Ranch Ehrlo to recognize the good work that’s been done.
“That’s what makes Ranch Ehrlo sustainable in the long term, employees and staff that work really, really hard to give kids and families a good start,” she explained.
As for the next 50 years?
“I think knowing the culture of the Ranch and the people that work here, the sky’s the limit.”
We encourage you to join us in celebrating 50 years innovation and forward thinking at our anniversary event, Sept. 29th at the Queensbury Convention Centre in Regina.
