Following the dissolution of the Airdrie and District Victims Assistance Society (ADVAS) this fall, the Southern Alberta Regional Victim Serving Society (SARVSS) introduced itself to members of the Community Safety and Social Services Standing Committee, outlining the service's mandate, its role, and what it offers, and how it differs from what was previously provided.
Gerald Cook, SARVASS's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), presented to the committee, underlining that they are housed in the city's RCMP detachments, where ADVAS previously worked.
"The entire organization currently consists of approximately 40 paid-time employees with approximately 30 volunteer advocates spread throughout the southern Alberta region, in partnership with the RCMP."
Cook described his role as being in charge of setting overall strategic direction, while Tanya Galliott, the Assistant Director of Regional Operations—North subregion, resides in Cochrane but whom Cook underlined resides in a portion of the area.
Cook explained that Alberta's victim services program has undergone a significant restructuring, reducing from 64 individual service units to four regional societies. This change, directed by the Government of Alberta and based on various studies, is now managed by Public Safety and Emergency Services.
"We have our centralized professional support staff. There are nine of us, and with all those various positions, we are the ones that set the direction and establish the policies and programs for the execution of our frontline staff," Cook said.
A team of four courts, support navigators, and seven volunteer advocates are working to provide community support in Airdrie. The regional model divides the province into north and south subregions, with the southern region led by Amy Carlson, now Director of Regional Operations. The Airdrie team supports the Airdrie detachment, the city proper, and surrounding areas.
"We are already seeing the benefits of this regional model," Cook said. "For example, our team in the Bow Valley area is getting real-time training from experienced staff in Fort McLeod, ensuring seamless support across the region."
Cook said the service still operates under the same mandate as before, adhering to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and Alberta's Crime and Public Safety Act.
While the organization no longer offers some services, such as dog therapy and group incident debriefing, it is partnering with other agencies to ensure they remain available to the public.
"We are in an ecosystem of serving agencies, and just because we may not be providing certain services anymore doesn’t mean they aren’t available to our citizens," he added. "We just have to set up the partnerships and the relationships to do so."
Regarding expanded 24/7, 365-days-a-year support, Cook said that while they want to offer it for more occurences, it is very strenuous on volunteer staff.
"The challenge is the availability of those volunteer advocates who are going to be helping outside of business hours, Monday through Friday, when our navigators are going to provide that support," Cook said. "We are looking to do some trial runs in January and February and get established in March."
Volunteer advocates must undergo a lengthy process before they can begin assisting, including security clearance and 80 hours of training.
"It takes three to four months to get through the security clearance process for any of these volunteer advocates, and then we have approximately 80 hours of training that we need to provide these people," he added. "We don’t want to burn out those volunteer advocates, so we want them to do about a shift a week, that's 18... and now we're talking about 20 advocates to go ahead and run a full shift without any gaps of coverage."
While the program is still building its volunteer base, limited support may be provided in the interim, either by telephone or in person, but only during specific hours.
"We are working through those issues. Please just ask for some patience. We've been running operations for two and a half months now. It will take us a little while to get to full speed."
Citizen member of the committee, David Ansah, who said he also had experience as a social worker, raised concerns about the difficulty of recruiting and retaining volunteer navigators, especially given the challenging nature of their work. He asked about how these unpaid roles could attract individuals with the necessary skills and how the organization would ensure their retention.
Cook acknowledged the difficulty of building a volunteer program, noting that while the organization cannot offer financial compensation for the roles, there is a strong interest in the community.
"There are a lot of people out there that are truly interested in doing this and giving back to the community," he said. "This is not to say that I'm making light of the challenges... We understand the difficulty of it."
He added that security clearance and training, which require approximately 80 hours, can take several months and that the organization is currently working on expanding its volunteer base. Cook also noted the concerns about volunteer retention, acknowledging the risk of vicarious trauma from the work.
"We try to be very upfront and direct as far as what our expectations are of our volunteer advocates," they said, adding that the training program would help volunteers prepare for the demanding role. They also mentioned pairing experienced volunteers with newer ones for support while being mindful of the workload to avoid burnout.
Addressing after-hours support, Cook noted that the organization is exploring ways to balance volunteer advocacy with the navigators' regular duties.
"If I had them doing things at night, I can't have them doing their normal job during the day."
While Mayor Peter Brown said he wants the organization to succeed, he also expressed concern about the shift in service availability, especially after hours, and how the community has come to expect consistent, around-the-clock service. He noted that previously, there were three individuals dedicated to victim services via ADVAS, while now there are four, though it appears there is less service.
"Tragedies happen - 24/7, seven days a week. I'm not sure how to read into that because our community has grown to expect these services, and when this whole process started, the minister probably told us that we would not see a difference from your service. Well, we're getting a different service, but that one, in particular, scares me a bit, that we're structuring tragedy during the week, and we're not looking at after hours and through on the weekend."
However, Cook assured the Mayor that despite the current limitations, they are committed to providing the best service possible.
"You're right. This is a challenge. We're looking primarily at how the redesign is really on those volunteer advocates to provide that ae are working to be creative where we can. After Afterupport, I don't expect a quick solution to this problem, but we are 100 per cent committed to having a solution to this problem and building from here."
He added that he is hoping there will be more evolutions in the next half year.
"And a year from now, we're going to see that service, and certainly, Advas set some of the standards they had for Cadillac service, and we are committed to providing the level of service that this community deserves and expects."
Mayor Brown also asked about the organization’s efforts to connect with local social support services like food banks and community links. The spokespeople for SARVSS confirmed that these connections are actively being made, though they could not provide specific details for Airdrie.
"We’ve been working with various agencies throughout southern Alberta. Community engagement is critical, and we recognize it, and it has to happen, and it will happen."
SARVASS is headquartered in the city's southeast, while its regional office is housed in the Airdrie RCMP detachment.
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