HELP US FILL OUR EMPTY CHAIRS!!
Donation protected
We are a not for profit agency that assists adults, children and families and friends in dealing with traumatic, sudden and unplanned loss and the resultant impact of grief. Our agency has been in existence for over 43 years. We started out in the basement of the YWCA with our then founder Elsie Palmer who was new to this work and started a group becasue there was nothing in the city of vancouver or the province. Not a professionally trainined therapist/counselor Elsie had passion, committment and persistence and she found space and widows to come to her drop in groups. Much gratitude was felt and not long after Elsie found support from the YWCA additional support came via small grants from bc government and as well we became a founding member of united way of the lower mainland.
We grew a little but always with the focus of helping those less fortunate.
The agency became a professional organization in the late 80's with all the therapists having post graduate degrees and all members of a professional organization. Elsie Palmer retired and we hired Lynette Pollard-Elgert who evolved the agency along with her board to be known for the exceptional work done not only at the client level but also in educating and training professionals throughout the province.
The 1990's were good to the agency in as much as we were able to continue our program of helping those less fortunate to access professional services in grief and loss. The open door program fund allowed the agency over the years to see thousands of indiviuals who live in poverty or with few resources to access our counselling and groups. This was given to us by the BC Government and partially provided by the Unite Way. By 2000 we fell out of favor with the United Way, as grief death bereavment and traumatic loss was not where they were targeting their funds and our funding was cancelled with our final allocations completed by the mid 2000's.
In 2012 we had to lay off our executive director and office manager. The business operates on a board management model for governance and oversight and contract independent therapists.
There is no other service like ours in the province and would suggest most of Canada that has specialzed only in grief & loss and the resultant impacts. Professionals seek us out for help and guidance in working with clients from within and outside of Canada. We are the go to organization when a traumatic death happens to support the surviving victims. Our agency was at the forefront of support for two years with Pickton murders and worked tirelessly with the families and Crime Victims organizations and Crown Counsel.
If we are unable to secure funding we will have to close the agency doors to this program once and for all. We need enough money to pay the rent and utilites and the rest we can carry through client fees and small acts of kindness. However the big win would be to have 75,000 which would allow us to not have to say NO to running drop in groups for free and see at a minimum at least an additional 5 to 10 clients that we currently say No to each week.
Please help our agency.
dr cheryl l bucar, board chair & managing director
We grew a little but always with the focus of helping those less fortunate.
The agency became a professional organization in the late 80's with all the therapists having post graduate degrees and all members of a professional organization. Elsie Palmer retired and we hired Lynette Pollard-Elgert who evolved the agency along with her board to be known for the exceptional work done not only at the client level but also in educating and training professionals throughout the province.
The 1990's were good to the agency in as much as we were able to continue our program of helping those less fortunate to access professional services in grief and loss. The open door program fund allowed the agency over the years to see thousands of indiviuals who live in poverty or with few resources to access our counselling and groups. This was given to us by the BC Government and partially provided by the Unite Way. By 2000 we fell out of favor with the United Way, as grief death bereavment and traumatic loss was not where they were targeting their funds and our funding was cancelled with our final allocations completed by the mid 2000's.
In 2012 we had to lay off our executive director and office manager. The business operates on a board management model for governance and oversight and contract independent therapists.
There is no other service like ours in the province and would suggest most of Canada that has specialzed only in grief & loss and the resultant impacts. Professionals seek us out for help and guidance in working with clients from within and outside of Canada. We are the go to organization when a traumatic death happens to support the surviving victims. Our agency was at the forefront of support for two years with Pickton murders and worked tirelessly with the families and Crime Victims organizations and Crown Counsel.
If we are unable to secure funding we will have to close the agency doors to this program once and for all. We need enough money to pay the rent and utilites and the rest we can carry through client fees and small acts of kindness. However the big win would be to have 75,000 which would allow us to not have to say NO to running drop in groups for free and see at a minimum at least an additional 5 to 10 clients that we currently say No to each week.
Please help our agency.
dr cheryl l bucar, board chair & managing director
Organizer
Cheryl Bucar
Organizer
Vancouver, BC
