After the sudden death of my first husband and the birth of our son, I entered the world of single motherhood. In the following years I began mentoring women and sitting with the grieving. This led into the formation of a program called Assisting At Risk Mothers and Children (AARMAC), a residential program to help single moms complete their high school and enter college while receiving housing and supports to be successful. This program relied on several volunteers and connections with various agencies.
I remarried and when the last of our 5 children were almost through high school, I became interested in Narrative Therapy. The opportunity came for me to complete a Master’s in counselling and become a Narrative Therapist, during which time I was able to complete my certification as a Hurley/Donson Certified Enneagram Trainer (personality typology).
After completing my education, I handed off the AARMAC project and started a private practice while at the same time working in the inner city of Edmonton. In my employment in the inner city I supervised, mentored, and cared for several staff who were giving counsel and care to the disadvantaged and unhoused. Teambuilding using my training as a Narrative Therapist as well as a Certified Enneagram Trainer also became part of my work.
During my work with an accredited shelter and detox center in Edmonton (George Spady Society), I became a clinical lecturer for the University of Alberta, working with their Occupational Therapy students during their practicums. I also became connected to the Royal Alexandra Hospitals Addiction Recovery and Community Health (ARCH) team and Managed Alcohol Program (MAP). I gave tours of our center along with addiction/homelessness/poverty training for students, doctors, nurses, social workers and other community members. An innovative program that I helped to develop was the George Spady Place of Dignity (SpadyPOD). This program was in response to the growing need for long-term care for the most vulnerable, aging-out unhoused/substance misuse population in the inner city of Edmonton.
The desire to live on the west coast became reality with a job as Director of Housing for Our Place Society in Victoria. Working with the city on the challenges of Tent City gave me a new perspective on the broader issues our societies are facing. With this knowledge and the experience of managing a large budget with five programs, I took a job as Executive Director of Cowichan Women Against Violence. This expanded my experience and knowledge as we worked on developing various projects: Women’s Night Shelter, Poverty Law Advocate program, Child and Youth Advocacy program and a Supportive Housing project. These were in addition to the existing safe house, counselling and victim services programs. My work included navigating the challenges of COVID; balancing keeping an essential service open while honoring the safety of staff.
During my career I kept up my private practice and took on consulting contracts, working with non-profits to improve their services and knowledge base. Currently I am doing private practice and consulting in BC and Alberta.