About Us
Brief History
PCHS began in July 1990 as a community development project. It is now a not-for profit, charitable, accredited and a Health Service Provider organization.
Mission, Vision, Objectives, Activities, and Values
Mission: To improve the quality of individuals, families and communities.
Vision: Empowered diverse communities.
PCHS General Objectives are:
- Address domestic violence
- Develop programs to address the needs of children, youth and families
- Develop programs to cater to the needs of people with mental health problems
- Develop programs to address the needs of people with addictions
- Develop programs to serve seniors
- Support newcomers by providing settlement services
- Education and awareness
- Counselling clients in one to one, case management and group format
- Community development and capacity building
- Newcomers’ settlement services
- Arts, research and innovation in service delivery
- Social entrepreneurship
Values:
- Respect for Diversity
- Service Excellence
- Accountability
- Innovation
Mandate
To provide health, settlement an social services to improve the quality of life of individuals, families and diverse communities.
Governance
PCHS is governed by the Board of Directors (BOD) elected at the Annual General Meeting. There is a provision for between seven to nine BODs and at present, there are nine elected BODs. The board manages its responsibilities through existing committees and the committees are: Governance Committee, Quality Improvement Committee, Fundraising Committee, Audit Committee, and Anti-discrimination and Diversity Committee.
Program Overview
Mental Health Program:
The South Asian Mental Health Program provides assistance and support to clients who are dealing with problems associated with some form of a mental illness. Our program uses a holistic approach by providing supportive counselling services to individuals and family members.
Addictions and Opioids Program:
The South Asian Addictions Program (SAAP) provides assistance and support to those individuals and their family members who are struggling with substance abuse issues. SAAP strives to improve the quality of life by supporting clients and their families through a guided journey to recovery from substance use/abuse in a holistic and culturally appropriate manner. In collaboration with the CW LHIN’s Narcotic Strategy, PCHS has developed the South Asian Opioids Addiction Program. This program caters to the needs of 16 years + South Asian clients with an addiction to opioids.
Geriatric Program:
The Geriatric Program at PCHS strives to empower seniors to improve their quality of life in spite of their existing conditions by providing education and support, linkages to community resources and health education, which promotes healthy aging, physical independence and wellbeing.
Settlement Services:
The Settlement Services Program at PCHS helps newcomers integrate into Canadian society, Settlement Services are available for newcomers/permanent residents (PR), citizens, live-in caregivers and conventional/refugee claimants to Canada (proof required). Services are provided in English, Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic and Urdu.
Child, Youth and Family Services:
This program provides support to youth and their families in the areas of mental health, cultural conflict, domestic violence, and substance abuse. The program provides 1 – 2 hour sessions to individuals in a group format, individualized assessment and planning, service co-ordination, supportive counselling, monitoring and evaluation of services provided to recipients, systems advocacy/resource co-ordination and outreach in the community.
Operations
Management Team
The Management Team consists of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Director of Settlement Services, Manager of Operations, HR Manager, Finance Manager, and Manager, Quality and Accountability Systems.
Program Supervisors
Currently programs are supervised by two supervisors and the Director of Settlement Services. The Director of Settlement Services supervises the Settlement Program. One supervisor is assigned to the Geriatrics, Mental Health, and Better Families programs. One supervisor is assigned to the Addictions and Opioids Addictions Programs
Models of Engagement
PCHS uses a holistic model based on a family centric approach. It dovetails the main aspect of South Asian culture, which is “collectivist in nature”. All services are provided under one roof.
Growth of PCHS
In the last three years PCHS has experienced significant growth as an agency, PCHS has been accredited by Imagine Canada and CARF International, seen an increase in the total number of employees, and introduced new programs under the existing four core programs. Over the course of three years PCHS has seen its staff size grow to 50.
With the addition of new employees also came the addition of new programs. The Geriatrics Program added the SAHARA Caregiver Support and Respite (SCSRP), this program provides culturally and linguistically appropriate services to seniors and care givers. The community respite program was started to provide home support to seniors so that their caregivers could take a break thus preventing “burnout”. The scope of services includes one on one supportive counselling, caregiver support workshops, educational sessions, and respite services for seniors to provide relief to caregivers. The Mental Health Program added two programs, In – Short Term Emergency Diversion (In-STED) and Early Psychosis Intervention Program. In-STED is a short term case management program that offers support to individuals 16 years of age or older. This project aims to identify complex mental health needs in a timely manner in hopes of reducing unplanned repeat visits to hospital emergency departments. The Early Psychosis Intervention Program is a case management program that offers support to individuals who require early intervention support for first episode psychosis or mental health concerns within the past two years.
PCHS Expansion
PCHS has positioned itself to provide culturally competent services in other geographic areas as well. PCHS has branches in Calgary and Punjab, India. Very soon two new branches will be started in Ottawa, Montreal and Windsor.
Accreditation
PCHS is accredited by one of the most rigorous and recognized international standards of excellence in service quality and best practices – CARF International (www.carf.org)
It demonstrates to the community that PCHS is committed to reducing risk, addressing health and safety concerns, respecting cultural and individual preferences, and providing the best possible quality of care.
It also means that PCHS strives to ensure that our programs and services are of the highest possible quality, measurable, and accountable.
PCHS is also accredited by Imagine Canada. Imagine Canada accreditation is awarded to those charities and non-profits that demonstrate excellence in five areas of operations. The areas of operations that standards are focused on include Board Governance, Financial Accountability and Transparency, Fundraising, Staff Management and Volunteer Involvement.
Accountability
Our accountability is to the Board of Directors, Clients, Community and the Funders. It is imparted through annual community engagement session called “Friends of PCHS”.