Proving that coming together to create one agency was the right choice.

As a new agency, Trellis has leaned into working collaboratively across all of the programs in our continuum. This collaboration became critical when a family in crisis reached out for support on a December Friday night before the holidays.

Through our partnership with a diversity worker from the Calgary Board of Education, a youth referral was made to our All In For Youth (AIFY) success coach. AIFY success coaches support youth to stay engaged in their education and be successful in school. This particular youth was requiring a number of supports and we quickly learned that their family of five, (four children under 18 and a mother), needed immediate referrals. The father had recently left to return
to their home country.

It was a major concern that the family was not connected to any settlement agency or other support services while experiencing such difficult family breakdown. On top of this, the family was in quarantine due to COVID-19 with no access to food over the weekend. Our AIFY coach immediately purchased and delivered groceries to ensure the family would have access to their basic needs over the weekend and submitted an application for a food hamper that would arrive to their home on Monday.

As the family is a Yazidi refugee family with permanent resident status, the success coach reached out to her teammates in Building Youth Connections (BYC). Quickly a team assembled to provide wraparound services and supports to the family. This team was made up of members from our AIFY, BYC, 1000 Voices and Forest Lawn Clubs teams.

These various program teams previously came from different legacy agencies (pre-merger) and were brand new to working together, however over the span of a week, they gathered and delivered items such as grocery gift cards, essential winter clothing, hygiene supplies, school supplies, toys for the kids, activities to do at home and a desk for homework. Through listening to the family, developing a plan to meet their urgent needs and collaborating across programs, the team supported this family in the short term while connecting them to the resources and programs needed to reach their long term goals.

This type of integrated service delivery only happens when teams are readily accessible to one another and are encouraged to think creativity and strategically. Stories like this are an example of why we came together to create Trellis; as one cohesive agency we can ensure that the people we serve are fully supported and connected so they can thrive in our community and reach their dreams.