Servants Anonymous Society (SAS) of Surrey, and Community Living Campbellford/Brighton of Campbellford, ON, shared the $20,000 William H. Donner Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services, the award for the highest-performing agency overall.
SAS also won the Award for Excellence in the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse, which came with a $5,000 prize.
Altogether 591 agencies from across Canada took part in this year’s competition. This was the first time the award has been given to a Surrey charity, and only the second time in 14 years that a B.C. agency has won.
SAS maintains two safe houses for homeless women, who are often sexually exploited and may also struggle with addictions or other problems. The agency also operates a full-time, five-days-a-week school to provide academic and personal education that helps women rescued from life on the streets to re-integrate into society.
Some of its graduates have gone from homelessness to owning their own homes as a result of the training and support they received. In the ten years it has been operating, SAS has helped more than 400 women escape from exploitation and homelessness.
SAS needs financial support to help maintain and expand their aid to homeless women. For more information, contact SAS at 604-590-2304 or online at http://sasurrey.ca/