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Alternate Shelter Society has been awarded its second three-year CARF accreditation for the following programs: Valley House and Murrayville NEWS RELEASE ALTERNATE SHELTER SOCIETY IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR COMMITTED BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE 2007/2008 TERM - Interested volunteers: Click here :: Over 25 Years of Innovative Youth Care Services  Alternate Shelter Society
has been providing effective services to at risk
and high risk youth and their families since 1977. Our services range
from home support to intensive treatment programs. Alternate Shelter
Society provides residential and support services to a population of youth
variously described as “abused,” “homeless,” “at risk,” “street-wise teens,” or “behaviourally disordered.”
We are a non-profit society, governed by a Board of Directors. The society was initially formed by a group of care givers and other interested community members who felt new and flexible models were needed to serve youth in care. :: Mandate Our Mandate is simple... To care for the children and youth at Alternate Shelter Society the best we can. Alternate Shelter Society assumes that behaviour has meaning and purpose. Behaviour challenges, anger/violence, street involvement, substance abuse, criminal connection and even self-mutilation are survival strategies for the youth we serve. Such behaviours are attempts by children and youth to create situations where they feel in control -- where they think they have a choice. We have seen that strong people can emerge when this survival drive can be reassigned from self-destructive behaviour to healthy functional skill development that will help them integrate into their families and communities. We have a unique child-centered approach that works well with this group of youth, especially when combined with a committed multi-disciplinary team. Alternate Shelter Society believes youth have a right to live in a home that is safe, secure and nurturing; an environment that assists youth in developing self-discipline, control, and helps to identify goals that result in meeting the objectives of all individuals involved in caring for youth. Often systemic issues arise for youth that are counter-productive to their well-being. Our goal is to provide individualized streamlined service to each youth that we serve. Since our inception, Alternate Shelter Society has actively put our mandate into practice. We have developed expertise in building individualized programs to meet the distinct needs of each youth in our care. We have a high tolerance for emotional and behavioural problems, believing strongly that all behaviours have meaning and purpose. Times have changed but our mandate has not. Success, or meeting our mandate, will look different with each youth for whom we provide services and care. We hope to provide children and youth with the appropriate skills, choices, opportunities and care in order to help them integrate back into their families and communities. We must hope that we can meet some – if not all – of the youth’s needs in this process without putting the youth or others at risk. :: Structure Each year, members of Alternate Shelter Society elect a Board of Directors that governs the Society. On a day-to-day basis, Alternate Shelter Society is managed by the Management Team. Anyone who shares the goals and agrees to the mandate of Alternate Shelter Society is welcome to become a member. Alternate Shelter Society adheres to a constitution and bylaws that are detailed in our policies/procedures. To see the Code of Conduct/Code of Ethics that all staff at Alternate Shelter Society adhere to please click here. :: Accreditation Ministry of Children and Family Development - www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/accreditation/ Commission on Accreditation of rehabilitation Factilities - www.carf.org For more information regarding the Alternate Shelter Society accreditation process e-mail: accreditation@alternateshelter.com
Annual General Meeting Report, October 17, 2007
Click here
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