The End of An Era

 

After 45 years of service to the Capital Regional District of Victoria (CRD), the Victoria Family Services (VFS) has closed its doors. VFS ran programs and services dedicated to assisting those in need. Known largely for its social service programs, in 2011 the Stan Hagen Learning Centre was created, thanks to a generous donation by the Hagen family. From that point on it became better known as The Stan Hagen Centre.

The decision to close VFS was not an easy one, but it was a necessary one. Over the years, the needs of the surrounding communities have changed and grown and our ability to serve a larger geographic area effectively was not being realized. In addition, the VFS was one of the only Salvation Army facilities in Canada that did not operate a corps.

Last year, we began the process of re-distributing operations of VFS to three of the Ministry Units across the CRD: The Victoria Citadel, Highpoint Community Church, and Connection Point Church and Resource Centre. These Ministry Units now offer Community Family Services programming. By doing this, we were able to grow our social service footprint and we are now able to serve people where they’re at, in real-time, in their communities. The move has been well received by these communities and all three Ministry Units enjoyed their first Christmas offering CFS programs.