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Thank you United Way!

How lucky are we? Rachel from the United Way called us today about tickets for the Harbour Cats game tonight, and offered them to Umbrella. It took a quick call to Cooper House and Foundation House to have them all spoken for. The guys are all very excited to attend an...
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TJ’s reunion

On the weekend TJ had a playdate with the sled dogs he was rescued with - Roo (his almost twin), Mary Kate, Apex, Calli, Flash and his previous foster mom Deb. They all got together at the park and their reunion was captured on camera (thank you Wendy)! These dogs went ...
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Evan learns admin

Today Evan was taught about fax cover sheets and faxing his own faxes. It took a bit of guidance from Brianna, but Evan eventually got the hang of it. He might need a bit more training before Evan can add admin skills to his repertoire, but he is getting there!
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Justin moves on

Tonight was an emotional night at the weekly Foundation House meeting. Long time resident and previous Senior Resident Justin, is moving out tomorrow and tonight, we said goodbye. We welcomed staff, Cooper House guys and some alumni to the house as everyone thanked Just...
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Look what we grew!

Last night the guys at Cooper House sent us this photo of the potatoes they grew. They have other veggies growing too, but I was particularly impressed by these potatoes. It is amazing to see the new interests, passions and skills our residents learn when they are no lo...
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United Way Visit

Today members of the United Way team popped by Foundation House to chat with us about the great work Umbrella is doing in the community. The United Way has been a huge support of Umbrella and we always look forward to opportunities to chat with them and express our thank...
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Victoria Sexual Assault Centre

Every Wednesday Umbrella has a team meeting, and we rotate the chair of the meeting among the staff. This week, Louise was our chair and she had arranged for Victoria Sexual Assault Centre to come and share more about the great work they are doing in the community. Sama...
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Minister Judy Darcy

What a great meeting! Today, Sharlene and Evan had the pleasure to meet with the Minister of Mental Health & Addictions, Honorable Judy Darcy. Minister Darcy and her team have made some incredible strides in our fractured MHSU system, and there was some great conversati...
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Our new office!

It took all day Friday and half of Sunday, but we have the new office set up and ready to go for Tuesday! This office was truly a community effort with support from our board, staff, residents, and community. There was some major magic that played a role in this move as...
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IKEA building

Umbrella has been busy getting our new office all set up. We needed to enlist the help of board, staff and friends of Umbrella to get all the IKEA things together. As you can see Kelly and Sean were working hard while Evan was falling behind.. looking distracted by his ...