A Word From our CEO
March 31, 2014
By Bev Heim-Myers
The Huntington Society of Canada is a unified organization. Our national responsibilities are managed and supported by a dedicated group of staff in the Kitchener office and professional Social Workers from across Canada. We all work together to maximize our mission investments by meeting the needs of our families, funding research leading to reliable treatments for HD and raising the much needed revenue to meet our mission goals.
We do not have administrative infrastructures across Canada to support the work of the organization. Our resources are limited but the commitment, compassion and skills of everyone involved stretch our resources to maximize the support to people living with the challenges of HD and finding answers for HD.
We have professional Social Workers across Canada that are often seen as a lifeline for our families dealing with the challenges of HD, daily. The Social Workers are a committed team, sharing ideas, approaches, and keeping each other ‘grounded’. It is healthy to have a mix of staff who are new, bringing fresh ideas, perspectives and skill sets and those who are seasoned, understanding the complexity of dealing with HD. We are fortunate, at HSC, to have a team of staff with a range of one to over 25 years of experience, with the Society.
From a global perspective we are seen as the gold standard of lay organizational support to the HD community. Our professional Social Workers become integrated into the community and often stay involved for many years, well beyond anything they had anticipated, because they care and because they are inspired by our families.
Soon we will say good-bye to one of our dedicated, social worker team members. Sally Vincent, Resource Centre Director, has been working with families in the Edmonton area for 12 years. We will miss Sally but cannot deny that she truly deserves to enjoy this next stage of her life.