Reaching out to the Community

There was a tremendous turnout of social service agencies as Jackie Sieppert, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Work, spent a day in Medicine Hat meeting with numerous organizations and community groups. The event included groups such as Medicine Hat Family Services, the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, Alberta Health Services, and Alberta Mental Health. Sieppert calls the visit “a part of the university’s commitment to ensure that we maintain contact with our community partners and alumni, and a celebration of the Faculty’s decade of programming in the region. We have a solid program in southern Alberta and we took away valuable information that will assist us to meet the needs of the social work community in Medicine Hat”.  The meetings were arranged by Robert Wanner, who represents Medicine Hat and area on the University of Calgary Senate. He worked closely with the support of Richard Gregory and staff from the Medicine Hat College. Wanner sees these meetings as an opportunity for to engage directly with university faculty about the current and future needs of Southeast Alberta. Wanner is proud of the work being done in this area, “and for the opportunity to highlight the value of the strong relationship between the university and community in meeting the social work need of its community partners”. The day was highlighted by a noon hour roundtable discussion involving about 20 representatives from the various agencies serving Medicine Hat and area. Sieppert says the luncheon featured a “lively discussion about the challenges faced by these community organizations, and the ways in which the Faculty’s research and educational programs can help meet these evolving needs”. The day culminated with a wine and cheese with students of the current program and some U of C alumni from the area.