Boyle Street Community Services

2 weeks left until the Beyond the Status Quo Summit!    We're counting down the days to the Summit! This is the event of the year for Edmonton's human services sector to connect with each other and explore social change to shape the future of the human services sector for 2050 and beyond.     Register today!: https://lnkd.in/gUeGp_64  📅 April 9, 2025  📍 Edmonton Convention Centre    Summit Collaborators: Africa Centre, Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, BGC Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area, Boyle Street Community Services, EndPovertyEdmonton, Edmonton Seniors Coordinating Council, Edmonton Community Foundation, Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, M.A.P.S. Alberta Capital Region, Edmonton Newcomer Centre , REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities and The Family Centre of Northern Alberta.     Thank you to our sponsors:     Change Catalysts: Four Directions Financial empowered by ATB Financial and Boyle Street Community Services.    Impactor Innovators: Gryphon Benefits & Insurance.    Visionary Partners: Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society , BGC Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area, Edmonton Community Foundation, Edmonton Newcomer Centre , The Family Centre of Northern Alberta, and The Muttart Foundation.    Community Activators: Alberta Counsel, Chandos Construction, and HUB International Canada.    Community Builders: The Action Coalition on Human Trafficking Alberta , Homeward Trust Edmonton, and Three Hive Consulting.    Grassroots Allies: Cornerstone Counselling, Creating People Power Inc., Imagine Institute For Learning, and PolicyWise for Children & Families.    #BSQ25 #edmonton #yeg #yeglocal #edmontonliving #edmontonalberta #edmontonevent    

A huge thank you to Law Show at the University of Alberta (www.law-show.ca) for raising $17,500 in support of Boyle Street Community Services! Each year they put on a parody show where students act, sing, dance, perform in the band, and build props – then donate the show’s proceeds to a non-profit. Their creativity and generosity reflect the kind of meaningful connection that lies at the heart of everything we do.

Our Emergency Response Teams (ERT) encounter many folks living rough during cold snaps. Earlier this year, one of our ERT met a woman ready to help them all! Maria*, experiencing homelessness for the first time in her life, still felt it was important to help care for her community. A mother herself, Maria insisted on helping our ERT carry hot chocolate and noodles to everyone nearby without spilling a drop (go mom skills!), all the while telling us about her expected grandchild, and how hard she was working to be a part of her grandbaby’s life. We were able to provide Maria with food and supplies to keep her safe, but also to hand out to her less mobile peers. There’s truly nothing like a mother’s touch. *names have been changed to respect the community member’s anonymity

Yesterday we held our annual employee wellness fair! We know that taking care of our team is essential – we want to better serve our staff as well as our community in all aspects: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. A dedicated staff wellness day is just one of the ways we meet those needs. And it was lots of fun! There were lots of activities, including relaxing massages, soundbath healing, yoga, movement workshops, and even a mobile dentistry vehicle. There were booths and vendors on physical, mental, social, financial, and cultural health, helping staff learn more about everything from physiotherapy to fitness to their own employee benefits. A huge thank you to all the vendors, artisans, and health professionals who came out!

Moving beyond the status quo and real change happens when we work together—"not just in isolation, but as a sector together." – Jordan Reiniger, Executive Director, Boyle Street Community Services     Watch how Jordan discuss how important it is for everyone to work together to drive social change. Join the Beyond the Status Quo Summit where Edmonton's human services sector will come together to collaborate, share stories and transform Edmonton for an engaged, healthy, inclusive and resilient community.    💡 Register: https://lnkd.in/gUeGp_64  📅 April 9, 2025  📍 Edmonton Convention Centre    Summit Collaborators: Africa Centre, Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, BGC Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area, Boyle Street Community Services, EndPovertyEdmonton, Edmonton Seniors Coordinating Council, Edmonton Community Foundation, Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, M.A.P.S. Alberta Capital Region, Edmonton Newcomer Centre , REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities, The Family Centre of Northern Alberta     Thank you to our sponsors:    Change catalysts:   Four Directions Financial empowered by ATB Financial, Boyle Street Community Services    Impactor Innovators:   Gryphon Benefits & Insurance    Visionary Partners:   Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, BGC Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area, Edmonton Community Foundation, Edmonton Newcomer Centre , The Family Centre of Northern Alberta, and The Muttart Foundation    #BSQ25 #edmonton #yeg #yeglocal #edmontonliving #edmontonalberta #edmontonevent

We want to congratulate Kassidy Green, Boyle Street’s Manager of Development, and Mohamed Elsaghir, Executive Director of the C5 Hub. Last month both Kass and Mohamed received the King Charles III Coronation Medal, awarded for having “made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region, or community of Canada.” We are so proud of them! Kass is a registered social worker who serves as manager of our development team, overseeing our volunteer program, facilitating public education through the Boyle Street Academy of Understanding, and developing partnerships and engagement opportunities. They are a fierce advocate for the dignity and well-being of our community members, ensuring that those experiencing poverty and hardship receive the care and respect they deserve. Blake Desjarlais presented the medal to Kass. Mohamed was recognized for his amazing work in promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Edmonton. He is dedicated to ensuring newcomers to Edmonton, vulnerable children, and families feel welcome and cared for in our community. His leadership and advocacy create spaces where everyone belongs and has the opportunity to thrive. Governor General of Canada Mary Simon presented the medal to Mohamed. Kass and Mohamed’s commitment to uplifting others makes our community stronger every day. We are so proud to have them as part of the Boyle Street and C5 families - please join us in celebrating this well-deserved recognition of their hard work and impact!

The deadline to apply to become Boyle Street Community Services' Artist in Residence is this Friday, March 14, 11:59 AM (noon). Thanks to funding from the Edmonton Arts Council this four-seasons (1-year) residency is open to artists of all types and aligns with Boyle Street’s move into okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre). The residency will prioritize submissions that clearly support the selected artist(s)’ development, and may incorporate collaborations with the BSCS community, which includes individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness and poverty in Edmonton. Read more about the position on our blog: https://lnkd.in/gBzmB4fV

Happy International Women’s Day! Today, we celebrate the achievements, joy, and resilience of women in our community and around the world. True gender equity means ensuring no one is left behind - especially those facing systemic barriers like poverty, homelessness, and discrimination. Women and gender-diverse people in Edmonton experience homelessness and poverty at higher rates than men. Their experiences are often less visible because they are more likely to avoid shelters, couch surf, or live in precarious housing. Intimate partner violence, unaffordable housing, and systemic inequities are some of the most common factors leading women and gender minorities to homelessness. At Boyle Street, we believe in creating safe, supportive spaces for women who need them most. One of these spaces is sakihta kikinaw - Cree for “house of love” - a 27-unit supportive housing site designed specifically for female-identifying people facing homelessness. sakihta kikinaw provides a stable, flexible place to stay, with 24/7 staff support and harm reduction services. It offers residents the chance to move forward on their own terms. This International Women’s Day, we call on our community to take action to support all women and gender-diverse people. You can directly support our community by becoming a Homemaker, which helps to cover one month’s rent and will ensure continued access to housing choice: https://lnkd.in/gRtXrWbW Learn more about other ways you can get involved at https://lnkd.in/gZYsa2YG

Today is Black Balloon Day, a day we display black balloons in remembrance of those we have lost to overdose, drug poisoning, and other substance-related harms. At Boyle Street, we hold memorials every three months to remember and honour the lives of members of our community who have passed since the previous memorial. Twenty years ago at these memorials, we met to remember and honour the lives of usually four to six members of our community. Three years ago at these memorials, we met to remember and honour the lives of two to three dozen members of our community. Later this month, we meet to remember and honour the lives of nearly a hundred members of our community. This large increase is driven by the opioid crisis, along with overlapping crises of housing affordability and availability, mental healthcare, and colonialism. Stigma distorts our understanding of these issues, creating division instead of care, silence instead of action. The majority of lives lost to substance-related harms ended in isolation. We exist because we believe a better world is possible. To get there, we must work together to create support systems that address the root causes of substance-related harms, while providing universal prevention, treatment, and harm reduction strategies that meet people where they are.

Recently, at one of our Emergency Response Team (ERT) warming stations, we spoke with a gentleman who had a beautiful dog - he was so proud to tell us the story of how he got his dog, and how they kept each other safe. He had just found housing and was looking at his next steps. The ERT talked through potential options and encouraged him to connect with his housing worker. We gave him gloves to keep his hands safe while walking his furry friend, a hot chocolate for the moment, and some arrowroot cookies for both him and the dog! Consider checking out our pet food bank, Emergency Response Fund, or housing programs to donate or for more information. - Pet food bank: https://lnkd.in/eKPrJwsK - Emergency Response Fund: https://lnkd.in/gHFs-9Sv -Housing Programs: https://lnkd.in/gRtXrWbW