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Port Renfrew Health and Social Services Society (PRHSSS)

2004 Newsletter




PRHSSS NEWS

The Port Renfrew Health & Social Services Society is still alive and even kicking. The present officers are: President - Geneva Shen; Vice President - Bill Jones; Secretary/ Treasurer - Caroline Griese. There will be an Annual General Meeting in the fall to elect new officers. Membership costs $1 per year

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The HSSS administers three government programs to help the people of Port Renfrew: the After School Program (Stay Around Play Around), the Summer Program, and the Peer Helper Program. The HSSS also runs the CAP (Community Access Program for internet), and a Teen Drop-In Program at the Rec Centre.

STAY AROUND PLAY AROUND

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Government budget cuts strike again-the after school program was axed!! This is our most important, most popular, and most successful program. It is the reason that PRHSSS was started, almost ten years ago. It gives our kids in the Port Renfrew school a place to go after school for a snack and some semi-organized, non-school projects and social interaction. It gives our kids two more adults (other than parents & teachers) who understand and sympathize with them, so they know there are people "out there" to turn to. It gives our kids a chance to use that expensive swimming pool in Sooke that our taxpayers are being charged for. It also provides part-time jobs for two Port Renfrew residents. This program runs Mondays through Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m., with trips to the pool on alternate Fridays.

Fortunately Donna Jones, who, with Ann Del, was the leading force in getting the program started in the first place, came to the rescue. She convinced the "powers that be" to reinstate the program. The funding is less than what it was before, but that is way better than having nothing

There were many more students in the Port Renfrew school this last year, and with some of the middle school students also wanting to participate, there were a lot more kids than the year before. And with the funding being reduced and the overhead expenses being increased, we were struggling to make ends meet. Donations of food appropriate for after-school snacks were much appreciated. Also craft and play supplies (dolls, etc.) are always needed. Drop them off at the Rec Centre any afternoon.

SUMMER PROGRAM

The Summer Program of activities and trips is very well received, as always. Last year there were no overnight camp-outs because the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) people were unable to participate and there were no other volunteers to take their place, but this year there will be some camping, in addition to the regular trips to Lizard and Fairy Lakes, Botanical Beach and Victoria, beach parties, hikes, plus the annual trip to the water slides. There are a lot of kids that live here only in the summer, so the participation is much higher than the after school program. We don't yet know for sure if the funding will continue. (Food for snacks is still appreciated.)

PEER HELPER PROGRAM

The Peer Helper program provides training in helping people with emotional trauma of various kinds, including grief counseling, spousal abuse, drug and alcohol problems, depression, bipolar disorder, etc. Peer helpers are trained to recognize the problem and direct the client to the government agency best suited to be of assistance.

Although this training usually costs a substantial sum of money and requires community service as part of the payment. it is free here in Port Renfrew and all adults are welcome to sign up to take a course. The courses usually meet once a week for 4 hours, for 4 to 6 weeks. Taking the training is very worthwhile, even if just to be able to cope with personal and family problems. If you are interested, call Kurt Wiesselmann at 647-????

If you have problems and would like to talk to a trained Peer Helper, call 647-0030

REC CENTRE

Drop-In. Keeping the Rec Centre open for people to "drop in" to use its facilities is continuing, thanks to Caroline Griese who went through all the paper work and jumped through all the hoops to get some funding from the Gaming Commission. It has worked out very well, since one person can take care of the open rec centre, the Internet computers (CAP) and the Chamber of Commerce information centre at the same time. This way each of these services can be open many more hours than otherwise, in fact 7 days per week. .

Info CENTRE

Normally, the Visitors Info Centre would be closed after Labour Day, but it stayed open all winter, and there were 52 visitors asking questions and buying maps one Saturday alone (plus 50 mushroom pickers from a mushroom pickers club in Victoria, but they only wanted to use the wash rooms).

Now the Info Centre is the main focus, and the Chamber of Commerce is paying the bills. It has been open every day and very busy. Businesses, please update the Info Centre regarding your costs, availability, etc.

The drop in aspect of the Rec Centre was to be primarily for teenagers to come and "hang out," but anybody is welcome to come to try the alley, game machine, pool table or computers

Cap

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CAP stands for the federal Community Access Program for Internet use and computer work/play. The government paid for the start up but there is no ongoing funding. Kurt Weisselmann has been in charge and has done the paperwork, jumped through the hoops and worked around many delays to get some more money for computer upgrades.

The four computers connected to the internet are all working fine, except for the occasional glitches. There are now two more computers that will not be connected to the internet but they have Microsoft Word and other programs so people can write letters or resumés, make advertising brochures or posters, and do other offline work. Visitors continue to use the Internet to check their email, paying $2 for half an hour. It's free for residents.

In addition to the (black & white) laser printer, there is a scanner and a camera available for use. There is a teach typing program and various computer games. Come give them a try

Bowling Alley

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HSSS has paid to repair the ball return motor which was burnt out, and has been working on getting the alley into better shape. It was working pretty well for a time, but it can't be used at the moment.

Natural art; driftwood, shells, rocks and recycled art stuffs with minimal costs for embellishments will be a main focus. Perhaps, somewhere along the line, some items may be found to be marketable, giving the program a financial boost affording us other pursuits.

Rec Center/Info Centre/CAP open hours are:

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Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri., Sat: 10 am-8 pm, Wed: 10 am-3 pm. Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m

Church.

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The church has come "under the wing" of the HSSS (as the only officially non-profit society in town) in order to get insurance at an affordable rate. The funds available covered the insurance for one year, but there was not much work done on the church or much use made of it, and there is no funding for another year, so it is not insured at this time. Some much needed outside painting was done, but there is more to do and the interior remains unpainted. The insurance rates went from $600 for a year to $1200

Cadets

"The Cadets" was a pilot program started by Ann Del Farrish four years ago to give youngsters training in life-saving procedures. They met every week for rigorous training in medical assistance, ambulance and fire-fighting work. Since Ann Del died, the program is discontinued, but the participants benefited from the training.

TRUSTEES NEWS

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The present Local Services Committee Trustees are: - Maurice Tremblay (Chairman), --Rob Wilson (Water), --Brigitte Wasner (Snuggery Cove Water), --Caroline Griese (Solid Waste), --Manfred Stubner (Rec Centre), --Bill Dingee (Sewer), --Bruce Comaniuk (Fire Protection).

Snuggery Cove Water

The big (old) news from the Trustees is that the infrastructure grant has indeed been granted, at last. That's the grant to provide water from Beach Camp to Snuggery Cove and points in between. Property owners in Snuggery Cove will borrow $350,000 for their part and the government will provide about $1 million to cover the rest of the cost for building another water tank, finding new water, and laying a proper pipeline to all the properties along Parkinson Road and beyond. Work will start this fall.

This will mean that the property taxes in Snuggery Cove will be considerably higher, at least until the loan is paid. This could mean that Beach Camp will get some help (from the larger tax base) in the future when water problems arise. This could mean that the "Phantom Lodge" may actually become a reality some day.

The Trustees want the CRD to use the water in the Baird Creek dam (near the school) instead of spending a lot of money looking for more water. Maurice has measured the water flow and it is adequate for most of the weeks in the year. There is only one or two weeks when it would have to be be supplemented by water from our present well. The CRD wants to drill for water.

Transfer Station.

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There was a big upset in June when the CRD said they would not continue the contract with Evann Driver for care of the Transfer Station. Evann has saved the community thousands of dollars by sorting out all the recyclable materials, so they don't go to the landfill. The CRD proposed curbside pick-up, twice a month for garbage and once a month for recycle boxes. They couldn't seem to understand about our thousands of tourists and our resident bear population. There were other problems also, but the present arrangement is that Evann continues as usual through the summer season and in the fall a facility will be built for sorting garbage and Evann will be hired as an employee by the CRD. Some of the money he has saved the community will be used to build the facility (probably with a compactor) and upgrade the site.

Rec Centre

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The Rec Centre needed some work done, so the Trustees approved the enlarging of the Info Centre to accommodate the CAP computers (so they could be moved out of the bowling alley) and lowering the ceiling (to cut down on heating costs. A mould expert was brought in to assess the mould and he reported that the main problem was that when the wall dividing the bowling alley from the meeting room was extended to the ceiling, heat ducts were put into the alley side, but no return ducts, which is why the alley smells musty when it has been closed up (even overnight). Also, the insulation is sub standard, allowing condensation within the walls.

A notice board has been put up at the Transfer Station, where dates of meetings and other information related to the CRD will be posted. Look at it regularly, and come to the meetings if you want to hear and/or be heard.

Visitor Info Center News

The Chamber has put out a large book of pictures and stories of Port Renfrew that is on display at the Rec Centre/Visitor Info Centre. It's good -- check it out.

The Visitor Info Centre has been open 7 days a week, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The Info Centre room has been enlarged to accommodate the CAP (Community Access Program) computers, so the CAP hours are the same as those for the Visitor Info Centre (and also for drop-ins), since one person takes care of it all.

For the Month of September the new hours will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, 7 days per week.
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A favorite word occurring frequently throughout this newsletter is:

Voluntary (1) acting, or given etc. of one's own free will and not under any compulsion. (2) working or done without payment; voluntary work. (3) (of an organization) maintained by voluntary contributions or voluntary workers...

It seems as though present-day society has a problem with public participation in civic activities. One reason may be the extra entertainment and diversion provided by the electronic medium in relation to past-day society. It is much easier to spend one's time on that. Carefree.


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