Letter: Listening, Learning, and Looking Ahead -With Gratitude

Dear FRP-BC Members, 

I want to start by saying thank you. Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many of you (over 35 agencies so far) with a few more conversations still to come. I’m so grateful to each of you who made time to connect with me, especially during the hectic season of year-end and reporting. Your generosity in sharing your time, experiences, reflections, and keen questions created space for deep learning, curiosity, and on a personal level, has fueled my ongoing hope in the power of people and community during a time of so much uncertainty and heaviness in the world. Thank you.  

We’ve done our best to distill all we’ve heard into key themes and we know they’ll feel familiar. They reflect the daily realities so many of you are navigating and reinforce what we already know: this is not sustainable. We need systems that support rather than strain us. Achieving this will take many of us working collectively and I’m honoured and grateful to be engaged in this work alongside you. 

While we hope the summaries we’re sharing back are useful, we also know they can’t fully capture the nuance, emotion, and care shared in these conversations. This nuance has deepened our understanding of the state of our sector and is guiding how we move forward as a provincial organization. We remain committed to honouring what we’ve heard through meaningful, responsive support in the work ahead. 

If there’s something particular you’re wondering about or just want to connect further, please don’t hesitate to reach out or invite me for a community visit. I’m always happy to connect.  

Thank you again for your time, your trust, your stories, your laughter, your rants, and even your tears. And, most importantly, thank you for all the incredible work you continue to do for families and communities across BC through many highs and lows. Your work, and your communities, are why we’re here. Listening to you has been, and continues to be, a deep privilege. I’m looking forward to building on this momentum together. 

In solidarity, gratitude & care, 

Delanie  
Your Provincial Engagement Lead, FRP-BC