Report of visit to 'Telecare, Canada'

June 21st. - June 25th. 2000

Introduction:

The LifeLine International Board had decided at their meeting Nov. -99 to meet at the Telecare National Convention in Oct. - 2000. However my understanding was that Telecare were asking for some assistance in focusing their structures and service provision. On the basis of this and considering that Telecare's representative to the International Board had resigned and a new nominee had not been elected I felt that 'quality time' should be spent with representatives of Telecare. This would not be possible at their Convention in Oct. when all energy and focus would be on the content of the Conference.

I therefore proposed that I should undertake an earlier visit to Canada and that our International Board Chairman, Rev. Rudyard Harrison, would attend the Oct. Conference allowing him to follow up on progress made. This was agreed and the following trip was arranged.

Monday 19th. June - Tuesday 20th. June :

I flew out of Johannesburg in the evening of Mon. arrived Brussels Tues. morning caught a connecting flight to JFK, New York and a further flight to Toronto arriving at 20h00 Tues. Evening.

Wednesday 21st. June:

I spent the morning with the National Director, Mary Hardeman. We identified concerns that Mary has:

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• Defining her role and the role of the National Board.
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• Clarifying expectations from Centres, National Board, National Office and International Office.
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• Fundraising.
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• Issues of Accreditation, Membership, Training and Responsibilities.

I also spent time meeting the staff of the 'Frugal Bear' second hand shop and was very impressed at the dedication and high quality of management of this project. It is not an easy task to maintain this project but the shop is very well organised and the staff are developing their own skills through their involvement. The idea with this shop is that it should partially fund the National Office that is housed in the basement of the shop.

In the afternoon Mary took me to visit their Counselling Centres at Stratford and Woodstock:

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• I spent time with the counsellors on duty at both of these centres which gave me the opportunity to share experiences and hear first hand some of the issues that are concerning the members of these centres.
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• In Woodstock I also met with Frank Smith who has a long history of involvement with Telecare and many concerns as to the changes that have taken place over the years in the organisation. I did not attempt to address these as I knew they would be better raised at the general meeting / workshop planned for the coming weekend.
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• In the evening I had supper out with Mary that gave us the opportunity to discuss personal issues and concerns.

Thursday 22nd. June:

I spent the morning at the National Office discussing the planned meeting / workshop to be held in Orillia the following day and Sat. We worked out a programme of introduction and content. 2 main issues were identified:

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• Feed back to all Centres on Statistics.
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• My workshop to facilitate open discussion and a 'way forward' for Telecare, Canada.

In the afternoon Mary, Dan Hyland (National Treas.) and I drove up to Orillia giving us the opportunity to include a National Board Member in some of the discussions and thinking that Mary and I had shared.

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• One particular concern was the lack of constructive support for Mary as National Director from the National Board. While recognising her position, expectations had not been clearly defined which was contributing to a sense of 'overload and stress' for Mary.

I was able to share similar experiences in other National Structures and to look at ways of dealing with this problem, remembering that National Board Members also feel confused and inadequate when goals and responsibilities are not defined.

Friday 23rd. - Saturday 24th. June:

[See attached report that has been prepared by Claire Hardie (National Board Member) as well as the participant feed back to the workshops.]

My Aims with the Workshops:

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• To establish expectations.
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• To bring the group together enabling open and honest discussion.
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• To establish trust with each other and with me as the facilitator.
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• To allow the group the opportunity to experience the value of recognising and accepting 'different perspectives'.
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• To identify the necessity for management of clinical and operational issues in Telecare and possible structures.
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• To establish an identity for Telecare and to look at their role in individual communities, in Canada and in the world.
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• To allow participants to voice their concerns and ideas
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• To facilitate the identifying of Telecare Strengths and Weaknesses
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• To facilitate the identifying of perceived Threats and how to turn them into workable Opportunities with a Plan.

My Feelings at the end of the 2 days:

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• Humility at the incredible experience of working with so many dedicated and motivated people who at heart really want to work constructively for Telecare but are frustrated and demotivated by not being heard and lost without clear structures and management.
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• Satisfaction that the group had worked well together from the initial stage of anger, hurt and frustration to an atmosphere of goodwill and understanding. Also that many difficult issues had been aired.

Conclusion:

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• Claire Hardie would prepare a report on behalf of the National Board. I would then add my report and circulate this to all the International Board Members, National Directors and to the Telecare National Chairman.
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• The meeting / workshop also agreed that the Telecare National Board Members would take responsibility to follow through on the 'opportunities' that had been identified and that a follow up report would be given to the LifeLine International Board Chairman in October.

Sunday 24th. June:

In the morning a National Board Meeting was held which I was invited to attend together with the nominee to the LifeLine International Board, John Hardie. This was a good opportunity for me to meet and talk with John as well as to reassure the Board of my continued support for their work in following through on the STRAT Plan that had been established over the past few days.

In the afternoon I traveled back to Ingersoll with Mary and Dan giving me the opportunity to discuss the outcome of the past few days and to clarify any points that needed further discussion.

Monday 25th. June:

Took a hire car from Ingersoll and drove down to Harrisburg, P.A., USA via the Niagara Falls. I had suggested that Mary Hardeman accompany me on this trip as she had been feeling rather isolated in Canada and needed to have a sit down talk with Al Kemery, National Exec. Director, CONTACT USA. We arrived at the National Office in the late afternnon having spent a few hors at the Niagara Falls.

Special Thanks To:

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• Telecare Canada for their warmth and enthusiasm.
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• The National Board.
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• Mary Hardeman for hosting, housing me and introducing me to Tim Horton's doughnuts and lunches.
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• Brenda, Kerri, Donna and Liz at 'Frugal Bear' for their dedication and welcome.
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• Dorothy Masson for opening her home to me and treating me to cranberry juice, blueberries, 'Pot Luck Lunch' and my first experience of seeing a chipmunk.
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• Alex & Muriel Sinclair for making their home in Orillia available in their absence.
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• To Telecare Orillia members for their hard work in arranging all the practical details of venue, tea breaks and lunches for the 2 days of meetings.

Sue Thönell
Exec. Director LifeLine International 2000.07.19