Letter from AWAC's Executive Director, Connie Abe ahead of our next AGM

AWAC - 2026 AGM Executive Director's Report

As we reflect on another year at AWAC, I am reminded that our work is about much more than providing a bed, a meal or a service. It is about meeting people where they are, building relationships, creating opportunities for change and ensuring that people have somewhere to turn when they are ready to take their next step.

Over the past year, AWAC has continued to grow and evolve in response to the changing needs of our community. Across our emergency shelter, outreach services, supportive and recovery-focused housing, youth supports and community-based programs, our staff walk alongside individuals experiencing homelessness, addiction, poverty, trauma and other complex challenges.

One of the things I am most proud of is the continued development of AWAC’s housing continuum. We recognize that there is no single solution to homelessness and that people do not all move forward in the same way or at the same pace. Our goal is not simply to move someone through a program or into housing. It is to provide the level of housing and support that meets them where they are, while creating opportunities for stability, recovery, growth and greater independence.

This year also marked the introduction of AWAC’s Hospital & Community Care Navigator (HCC) Program. The HCC Program was developed to help bridge the gap between health care, homelessness services, housing and community supports. For individuals experiencing homelessness or significant instability, navigating health and social service systems can be incredibly difficult, particularly during a health crisis or following discharge from hospital. The HCC Navigator provides hands-on support, advocacy, coordination, transportation and connection to community resources so that individuals do not have to navigate these systems alone.

Since its introduction, we have already seen the importance of this work. HCC has allowed AWAC to respond earlier, strengthen connections between hospital and community services, advocate for individuals with complex needs and create warmer transitions into housing, treatment, health care and other supports. It is an important example of what can happen when organizations and systems work collaboratively around the needs of the individual.

Our work with youth has also continued to grow through the Willow Program, recognizing the importance of early intervention and providing young people with safe, responsive and meaningful support before homelessness and instability become entrenched.

None of this work happens in isolation.

Every day, I see the commitment of AWAC staff who continue to show up in difficult circumstances, build relationships with people who may have lost trust in systems, celebrate small victories and continue believing in people even when progress is not linear. I am incredibly grateful for their dedication.

I am equally grateful to our Board of Directors, funders, community partners, donors, volunteers, businesses and members of the community who continue to support our work.

There are still significant challenges ahead. Homelessness, the toxic drug crisis, housing affordability, mental health, poverty and the increasing complexity of need continue to place tremendous pressure on individuals, families, service providers and our community as a whole.

As AWAC moves into another year, we remain committed to strengthening our continuum of care, building meaningful partnerships, advocating for the people we serve and developing solutions that recognize something fundamental: people should not have to fit into programs; programs should be responsive to where people are in their lives.

Most importantly, we will continue to believe that change is possible.

Sometimes progress is getting into housing. Sometimes it is entering treatment, reconnecting with family, obtaining identification, attending a medical appointment, finding employment or simply trusting someone enough to ask for help. Each of those moments matters.

On behalf of AWAC, thank you to everyone who has walked alongside us this past year. Your support allows us to continue meeting people where they are and, when they are ready, walking with them toward what comes next.

With heartfelt thanks, Connie Abe, Executive Director.

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