by PAUL RAYNER

Another increase in staff wages is one indication of the growing health of Prairie Partners Incorporated.

The Boissevain based agency that operates residences and day programs for mentally challenged individuals is advertising for new Community Support Workers, with full time, part time and casual options available. The positions have a newly increased hourly wage – ranging from $11.25 to $12.25 – with pension plan, health benefits and purchasing discounts at the gift shop.

According to executive director Jason Dyck, the rise was based in different factors.

“We always are trying to revise compensation,” Dyck stated. “This spring, minimum wage went up again, so we raised our wages. Most people’s are up by 25 cents an hour, which gets to be $400-500 a year.”

Dyck said this is another rise, several of which have been undertaken since January 2008.

“This is the trend we are wanting to see. It helps us focus on having a good workplace.”
A good part of the reason the higher wages have been available is due to better funding from the Province. Dyck said Prairie Partners has been working with other agencies doing similar work to get wages in the field higher. This has helped tremendously.

“I think there is a willingness with the Provincial government to increase salaries and make more money available to agencies like ours,” Dyck explained.

He added that Prairie Partners is a part of a couple of groups working with the government. One is a cross-Manitoba organization called Abilities Manitoba, while another is the more local Westman Parkland Network.

“They are about making sure we have the support we need to provide the good service our people need.”

At this point, they have a few openings, mostly in the residences as some staff are moving out of the community, and they did not get the usual four or five university students they expected. Dyck said they are still functioning well in their residences and day program as there is a solid base of casual workers filling in admirably.

The employee base has increased over the past two years. When Dyck arrived to take the position in 2007, there were 37 staff members, full or part time. Now, he said, there were 37 positions full time alone.

“We had 53 people on the payroll when I last looked,” he stated. “That is significant stability and increase in employee base. In the last year, we opened seven new full time positions. We’ve been bringing more jobs into the community. We can always use more people, people with a real heart for this work.”

Apart from the recent needs, Dyck said they have been able to gain a level of employee stability the board has been looking for for years. Higher salaries and the funding for those salaries is only part of the reason for this success, Dyck stated,

“We have worked really hard to improve the general morale,” he explained. “We try to empower staff to make the job theirs. We want them to bring their backgrounds and interests into it. Over the last year or two we have been the most stable agency in Western Manitoba if not province wide. We have accomplished a lot in doing that.”

There has also been a little more stability in the boardroom as well. After several years of searches for members, things have been improved recently. They have eight board members now out of a possible nine with a possibility of filling the empty space. Dyck said they try to have a cross section of the community serving on the board, from business people to health care workers to members of the ministerial association, to truly represent the people in the area.

They now have thirty residents in their six homes, with the possibility of more moving in in the future. Dyck says they are looking at a possible seventh residence. They would like to establish one in the RM of Morton.

“We are a rural community and a lot of our people grew up on farms and it is more like home to them.”

A lot of different factors, such as numbers of new residents and community interest would play a role in it being established and when. He feels it is certainly something worth working on.

As well, he said the day program is working well, and there might be some new developments in that and other areas in the fall.

“We’re trying to make changes in direction,” Dyck explained, “but we are moving slowly and exercising caution.”

At any rate, the future looks bright for Prairie Partners.

“It feels great especially to know everyone worked hard on this. Everyone has a vested interest in the success and the morale around the place is good. Province-wide, there are a lot of people looking for homes and people are requesting Boissevain as a place to live, which is really good. There are things the whole community can benefit from.”

“We’re not going to stay in one place,” Dyck added. “We will keep moving forward.”