Recently, Andrea - the new communication specialist at the Ranch, Cary - a video director from Twisted Pair Productions, and me, headed out for a Pilot Butte and Regina tour of homes and facilities. We were scouting shots for an upcoming video highlighting the programs and services of Ranch Ehrlo. We have a lot of those. And they serve a wide range of people with a wide range of needs.

We had an ambitious plan to visit 14 locations in one day. We started first thing in the morning looking at locations at Pilot Butte: the amazing Schaller School, the court yard area, and a few of the group homes.

Our plan was to then head into town and visit the locations in a north to southeast pattern (see map). All very logical and organized. It didn’t quite work out and we didn’t quite get to every location (we got off track and slightly lost a few times) but we met and engaged with some awesome staff and clients along the way and we all learned a lot about the diversity of the Ranch!

Locations we visited included:

• The clinical offices – This is where the Clinical Assessment team provides support for clients with complex needs. It consists of psychologists, social workers, and access to other professionals such as an occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, audiologists, art and play therapists, and psychiatrists.


• Several CVEP locations including 12th Ave, Henderson Drive, and Hodsman Drive - The Community Vocational Education Program (CVEP) provides a variety of vocational services that assist people with developmental disabilities. Everything from recycling, to building wood projects, community jobs like lawn maintenance, and learning skills like cleaning and cooking.


• Transition Centre – This is a school that prepares youth to transition from their intake classroom at Pilot Butte toward a mainstream placement in a Regina school. It also provides a more structural environment for youth challenged with a more independent learning environment.


• Sport Venture – This is a community program that provides inner-city youth and families with access to recreation programs and equipment at no cost. The lending library is full of rows and rows of every sporting equipment you could image.


• Ehrlo Counselling - Provides professional counselling services and programs to the public.


• Family treatment program – This program works to prevent the placement of children out of their home, assist families to reunite after having a child in care, or provide family based care for children. It’s really great to see the whole family involved in treatment.


• Paper Crane Community Arts Centre – It serves the clients of the Ranch and also the community. It uses a variety of art methods to create well-being in our daily lives.


• Two Ehrlo Housing locations – We saw two different locations where Ehrlo Housing provides affordable housing to low-income families in Regina. There are over 100 units in the city.


• An in-town house - We visited one of over 30 group homes located in the city.


• Wilfrid Walker Ehrlo Early Learning Centre – one of five early learning and child care centres we run in the city.

It’s hard to understand the sheer size of Ranch Ehrlo until you do a road trip. I highly recommend it.