We celebrated in August when one of our supportive housing residents achieved their goal of moving into market-rate housing (while continuing to be supported by the services and team at Squamish Helping Hands) and again in October when a resident transitioned to Hiyam House.  These accomplishments were closely aligned with their care plan goals and were achieved with the support of our outreach team.  Both participants still engage with our programming and services, and our team regularly checks in to ensure their needs continue to be met and their goals to live independently are encouraged and supported. Both remain substance free, and one has been gainfully employed for several months which, in part, created the conditions for them to move away from our transitional housing. 

We also mourned four of our residents after they passed away and our outreach team transported another to our local hospice for palliative, end of life care.  Over the years, we have lost many of our participants to fatal incidents which have resulted in sorrow, grief, and overwhelm for many of our team members, residents, and service users.  In the summer of 2024, we worked with a local artist to create a mural dedicated to the people who have passed away in our community.  Volunteers and participants were given river rocks, painted vibrantly with their name and designs which aligned with who they were.  Each is a reminder of the true toll of poverty, addiction, and mental dysregulation.  On October 25, 2024, we held a ceremony with the artist, participants, outreach workers, and elders from the Squamish Nation to explain and honour the mural, the deceased, and the survivors.