May 12, 2025
Hi everyone! Here’s my monthly message.
We talk a lot about culture at St.Amant – the values and customs, the ways of being and of treating one another, year after year, that make St.Amant such a special place. Last month brought reminders of a simple fact: culture comes from people making their values real in the world.
In April, we celebrated staff Long Service Awards and the Volunteer Appreciation Awards. We honoured 235 dedicated staff members marking milestones ranging from 5 to 45 years. We celebrated hundreds of years of combined experience— years that have been dedicated to to kindness, compassion and supporting people to live a good life. To all of my long-serving colleagues: thank you.
At this year’s Volunteer Appreciation Awards, we celebrated over 400 amazing volunteers who are giving so much to the people we support and to our organization. Volunteers probably have some of the best jobs of all: baby cuddling, story reading, art making, and simply being present with another human being. We are so thankful to the many volunteers who bring such joy, energy, and connection to the people we support.
Although our work is joyful in many ways, we know that people sometimes come to St.Amant in moments of crisis. That’s why we operate three crisis-stabilization-related services: the Children’s Respite and Family Support Service, the Stabilization Unit at Health and Transition Services, and the Community Stabilization Service. Each of those services has its own mandate but all are intended to help people to enjoy full community inclusion as valued citizens. That is why our stabilization services are holistic and support both the person in crisis and their support networks. It is also why leaders of the stabilization services are examining how we deliver those services to make sure that, even in a crisis, we are always providing the right level of support. We are committed to always supporting people in the least restrictive environment and to protecting and promoting people’s rights.
Finally, at a moment of tension and uncertainty in the world, let’s remember that kindness is always a choice. Thank you for choosing to be kind.
