The Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours (SIGN) began 45 years ago, when four clergymen saw issues in the community that they felt needed addressing. In the years since, SIGN has grown into an integral part of the community, growing from a $7,000 budget and a small staff to a budget of around $5,000,000 and 106 employees, offering 20 programs, with 2,000 people going through their doors in 2014, says Andrew Sedley, Executive Director.
The programming on offer is universal, Sedley explains, and it touches on a wide spectrum of the community, hence so many people going through the doors annually.
“It could be a daycare where your children are attending, it could be you are referred here due to legal issues, it’s universal, there’s so many different ways you could access our services or enter our services. It’s not only social services referring you, but it could also be someone needs some help parenting.”
SIGN has also been one of the groups at the forefront of dealing with problems related to the growth of the community, and trying to deal with the issues that are in the city. Sedley notes that SIGN has been a part of the social housing committee to meet the need, which is a serious issue in the city.
“Affordable housing is a huge issue here in Yorkton, we’re seeing prices going up. It’s a big issue not only for low income earners, but also new homeowners to afford an entry level house. There are many occasions where we have individuals moving here from down east, they’ve heard about the boom in Saskatchewan and they’ve moved to Yorkton, they’ll come to our doors and say they have nowhere to stay. There are a lot of homelessness issues that, although you may not see too much of it on the street, homelessness is a huge issue in the community.”
Many programs have come and gone over those 45 years, and Sedley says a common theme has been seeing SIGN begin a program, get it working well, and then give it to another community organization. He notes examples such as the Accent on Kids Daycare, which began as the SIGN Daycare, as well as Meals on Wheels and the Mental Health Drop-In Centre, which began with SIGN and went on to other groups.
“It’s not that SIGN wants to own every program. Let’s build it up, develop it based on what the need is in the community, and then look at how to pass it on into the community.”
Community support has always been a big part of the programming at SIGN, and Sedley says that the partnerships that sign has developed for the different programs it offers are what makes them possible. He says that the focus is always on working with different groups to best meet people’s needs. As well, he notes that there are still many people who come in with ideas for fitting the community’s needs, and Sedley says people with issues are always welcome, whether they need develop programs or get connected to another program offered by a different agency of which they might be unaware. He says they’re also focused on Yorkton Community Unity, and working with other agencies to develop shared solutions, as many agencies are noticing overlap in the issues they’re tackling.
“SIGN has always been big on being collaborative, we need to be together and working with other agencies within our community.”
An example of that collaborative approach has been the Clean Sweep initiative, which is run in partnership with the Yorkton Business Improvement District. In the summer, the program employs four people to keep the sidewalks of the city clean, and was developed to provide people within the program a way to gain job skills while also contribute back to the community, Sedley explains. People in the program have gone on to get regular employment, and that’s an important part of the program.
“If there is potential for regular or new employment, that is something we would like to see.”
One of the programs that SIGN provided for a long time has been the Trustee Program. About 70 people are in the program, on income assistance and referred through the Ministry of Social Services, with the goal of helping them get back on track, explains Sedley. Things like budget counselling and skills training are used to help them get skills they can apply to their life in the future. There is also a private trustee service, currently used by twenty individuals, which provides the same service for a monthly fee. While some people, due to their individual needs, have to be in the program on a long term basis, Sedley says that the goal is independence.
“Our goal is always to give people the skills they need so they can do it on their own.”
The community support has been the main drive that has kept SIGN working, Sedley explains, and that is why the anniversary year is going to be focused on giving back, and supporting community initiatives through the year. This December saw several different programs which were part of this community initiative. One was the new pyjama drive, conducted with Brown’s Social House. Part of a program begun by a six year old who wanted all kids to receive new pyjamas. The goal for the program was 4,000 pairs across the prairie provinces, with just under 400 pairs collected so far. The goal has been to get to as many kids who need them, Sedley explains, and they’ve gone through several organizations to ensure the clothes get to kids who need them. There’s also a competitive food drive between the two SIGN buildings, with staff collecting food for individuals. Last year that raised 2,300 lbs, and Sedley says they hope to top it this year, with proceeds going in a split between Salvation Army and Soup Haven. The goal, again, is to get it to as many people as possible. A third initiative is a Christmas gift tree, with staff buying toys for all of the 220 kids on the tree. Those kids are in SIGN programs, Sedley says, and they want to give them something.
For 2015, SIGN plans on continuing that trend, and working on multiple projects through the year as they come up. He says it’s a natural response to the support that SIGN has received from the community since it began. Some ideas being examined are giving employees time in the working day to volunteer, as well as doing a group project such as working on a Habitat for Humanity build.
“It’s looking at this whole year, twelve months of giving back.”
