MORE THAN 800 ATTEND CBO SUMMITS

Five summits for community-based organizations (CBOs), held in Saskatoon, Regina, North Battleford, Prince Albert and Yorkton over the past two weeks, attracted more than 800 representatives from CBOs across the province.

"Our objective for these summits was to gather together the people who are the heart and soul of our CBOs," Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer said. "They are the front line people who run shelters, group homes, daycares, crisis units and many other services for the people of Saskatchewan."

Using the concept of the "open space conference," in which the participants determine the agenda and items for discussion, a number of ideas were generated. Some examples included:

• The need for a long term funding arrangement for CBOs;
• The creation of a central database for CBO services;
• Strategies to recognize and share best practices among CBOs;
• Recruitment and retention of CBO employees; and
• The need for people with disabilities to be able to earn more income before their benefits are reduced.

The feedback gathered at the summits will be available verbatim online by Oct. 15 at the CBO summit website at www.socialservices.gov.sk.ca/cbosummit.

"By listening to what the participants had to say, we can learn a great deal and create more positive solutions for the challenges facing our CBO sector," Harpauer said. "Our CBOs have a lot of great ideas for ways we can work together to strengthen the delivery of vital services to Saskatchewan people."

-30-

For more information, contact:

Trish Alcorn
Social Services
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0916
Email: trish.alcorn@gov.sk.ca