Volume 1 / Issue 1 Who is RYSE?

Raising Youth with skills to excel

When I set out to create our very first newsletter, the first thing that came to mind is “what if people don’t ‘really’ know who RYSE is. Sure, provide Specialized Homes that support Youth. But what makes RYSE unique? Who are we really?.... In other words, what makes RYSE “SPECIAL” in the specialized home category? Well, this is the start….

If not us, then who?

What does this phrase mean to you? RYSE prides itself on welcoming youth into our homes, no matter their past struggles, challenges, or placement history. Often, Kids who come to RYSE have no place else to go. Until RYSE… We take them in and welcome them into our RYSE family.

OUR VISION The FOUR Pillars of RYSE:

Consistency is vital for all our youth. This means staff showing up on time, greeting our kids with positivity, and responding to their needs consistently through protocols, emotion coaching, behavior support plans, and safety plans.

Genuine Caring-All human beings need (and deserve) to feel cared for. We understand that change is difficult, and it requires time to create new connections. Genuine Caring is an integral part of our RYSE culture. Being a part of our RYSE family and creating a safe environment for our kids is the cornerstone of our care plans.

Solutions Oriented-being curious, looking through different lenses, listening, and seeing new possibilities that uplift and empower our RYSE kids to be a part of their own success. Encouraging the staff and the kids to access support when needed in order to find the best solution to seemingly impossible problems.

Creativity-Our personal growth is based in large part, on creativity. Art, Music, and Recreation are all encouraged in our RYSE homes. Being open to new possibilities begins with imagination and creating a vision for the future.

OUR MISSION To provide the highest standard of care for the physical, emotional, and intellectual support and growth of our youth. Through compassion and integrity, we operate on the foundations of human dignity, respect, and ethics, while complying with the standards of CARF, and Social Services

If you would like to know more about what makes RYSE special in the world of specialized resources, check out our Website. Or better yet, stay tuned for Issue 2 where we will dive deeper into the heart of this company and share stories from the true heroes that provide our kids with skills to excel- our staff!

RYSE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES –

VOLUME 1/ISSUE 2

WORKING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE

SUCCESS…

SURVIVING A PANDEMIC

I spoke to a long-time RYSE caregiver recently. He is an Information Technology student (we employ many students who are working in a field they are passionate about while financially supporting themselves through post-secondary education). His call to me was to ask for some ideas for a paper he must write for a professional writing class he is taking. The task was to find something within the company you work for, and the company has lost 14% of revenue due to the pandemic. We quickly came to the realization that while our company struggled greatly over the past 2 years, the struggle was not funding related. We spent the rest of our conversation discussing our gratitude for the endless support we received from the Ministry, our community, and most importantly our caregivers. People with their own families at home, made countless sacrifices over those first 18 months. People volunteering to quarantine at the care homes when a youth tested positive, or to isolate at their own homes so they could stay healthy to come to work. Overtime, endless sanitizing, temperature checking, mask-wearing and stressful days after days after days…. “When will this end?” was on the minds of everyone in our RYSE family. But the other thing that was on the minds of our caregivers was that our youth deserve a safe, consistent and positive home to live in. So, they continued to show up every day for our kids, and even though the past 2 years have not gone without their challenges, RYSE continued to meet the goals set out in our Mission statement. I call that a success!

PERHAPS OUR

LONGESTSTANDING SUCCESS…

“We don’t give up on kids…”

What exactly does this phrase mean? This Motto builds upon our other Motto shared in our first newsletter

“If not us, then who?”

What this means is that RYSE often gets the “call” for services when most other resources have been exhausted. Foster homes, group care homes, other specialized care homes and sometimes even complex care facilities have not been successful in providing sustainable care for some of our province’s most challenging youth. RYSE welcomes these youth into our homes, no matter their past struggles, challenges or placement history. And we don’t give up on them, because we truly believe that every child deserves a safe, and most importantly, a consistent environment to live in. I personally believe that this commitment is our longest-standing and greatest success.

Has it been challenging at times? Absolutely. Our caregivers, residential technicians, plumbers, locksmiths and Glass companies are kept busy on a regular basis, as our youth struggle with finally finding acceptance and a sense of belonging. They push the limits of patience, understanding, forgiveness and love. They expect to have grown ups “quit” on them, they prepare to “start all over again” somewhere new with new faces and new rules. Sometimes it takes a few months. Sometimes is takes a year. But our caregivers and their supports have “what it takes” to provide those youth with everything they need and deserve…patience, understanding, forgiveness and genuine care. And so they stay….

Recent success?

We are excited to hear from you! In the issues following, we will be featuring success stories from our employees, our youth, and perhaps even our stakeholders! We are looking forward to hearing from you and including your stories in our newsletter. After all, our success is possible because of you!

Got a great RYSE story? We want to hear it!

OUR MISSION: To provide the highest standard of care for the physical, emotional, and intellectual support and growth of our youth. Through compassion and integrity, we operate on the foundations of human dignity, respect, and ethics, while complying with the standards of CARF, and Social Services

IF you want to know more about what makes RYSE special in the world of specialized homes, check out our Website. Or better yet, stay tuned for Issue 3 where we will dive deeper into the heart of this company and share stories from the true heros that provide our kids with skills to excel- our staff!

Contact Us:

32398 Emerald Ave Abbotsford, BC

Ph: 604.613.0485

daniellek@rysesupportiveservices.ca

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