Celebrating new volunteers, funding partners, and upcoming special events!

On behalf of the North Simcoe Victim Services Board of Directors, board member Josh Barath proudly accepted donations from two designated funds of the Community Foundation of Orillia & Area at a presentation held on March 23. Josh accepted $800 in donations, thanks to the Carol Ivey Victim Crisis Service Fund (shown above with Theresa Varey) and the Orillia Volunteer Firefighters Community Disaster Relief Fund (shown below with Cody Koesdibyo and Chris Middlebrooks). NSVS is also fortunate to receive an annual donation of $500 from the Trillium Home Ladies Orange Benevolent Association of Ontario West. It is through donations such as these that allow us to support a wide variety of client needs and enhance our volunter training.

Meet Volunteer Lead – Liz

Liz has been a volunteer with NSVS since 2013 and says she loves being part of an "awesome team of incredibly passionate people who want to improve the situations of others." Liz is the owner of Young Drivers of Canada in Orillia and was looking for a way to give back to her community when she heard about the work of Victim Services. "I enjoy being able to help someone through a stressful situation and the experience has been a good reminder to not prejudge people, as you never know what is going on in their lives." Her motto is: "being positive generates positivity and a bright light moving forward." Thank you Liz!

In this interview with talk show host Yvonne Heath, Frances Yarbrough shares valuable insight about the process of grieving and post traumatic growth. View the interview here.

Partnership with Lighthouse Soup Kitchen & Shelter
North Simcoe Victim Services is in the process of developing a new protocol with a community partner and neighbour, The Lighthouse. The agreement between the two organizations will help all volunteers and staff understand the role of each organization, with an aim to improve client referrals and services. "We know that individuals experiencing homelessness or who are under-housed are at higher risk of being in a crisis situation or victims of crime," says Frances Yarbrough, "so this is really a common sense partnership that should improve lives and support community safety."

Homeless Enumeration Project
Thank you to the NSVS volunteers who joined volunteers throughout the region to assist the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness with its enumeration project. This is the first province-wide count of its kind to identify people experiencing homelessness. Data collected will help develop strategies to end homelessness.

Rama Police Update
Congratulations to John Domm who recently retired as Chief of Rama Police Service and to new Acting Chief Tom Batisse. Rama Police Service will be showcased in an upcoming documentary film series, Tribal Police Files on APTN. So if you're in the area, you may see film crews at work! To learn more, read this news story.

Surveys evaluate volunteer roles and first responder partnerships
Over the past few months, our field placement student, Amanda VanBilsen, has been busy working on a survey project as part of the evaluation of NSVS services, and the organization's strategic plan. The first group to be surveyed, of course, is the amazing volunteers who are at the core of NSVS. Working in conjunction with a group of Lakehead University Social Work students, Amanda supervised the implementation of the survey, with a focus on the evaluation of our ongoing efforts to ensure positive experiences for our volunteer team. Once staff have reviewed the findings, results and any recommendations to improve the volunteer experience will be shared with volunteers. A big thank you to all volunteers who participated in the survey. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helpful.

Amanda is currently working on a survey with first responders. This portion of the evaluation will be completed by the end of June and once results are analyzed, highlights and recommendations will be be shared.

In recognition of Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, we are hosting this event for first responders, volunteers and all of those who work with us to support and assist victims of crime. Guest speaker Corey Walsh, a member of the Durham Regional Police Service, part-time professor at Durham College and a victim rights advocate who worked with the federal government on a Victims Bill of Rights. Corey has been an active volunteer for Tema for several years, and is the definition of “peer supporter.”