Annual Report 2022 – 2023
Words of Welcome
From Our CEO Scott Pepin and Board of Directors Chair Kristy Hook
To Five Counties Friends, Families and Supporters:
Another amazing year has passed at Five Counties Children’s Centre as we help children and youth with physical, development and communication needs. The past year of 2022/23 was notable for many reasons:
- We served more than 6,200 children/youth and their families in Peterborough, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton. Supporting so many kids is a huge credit to our staff and represents the largest number of annual clients we have ever served in our history.
- Five Counties adopted a new Strategic Plan with five key areas of focus. Over the next three years, it will help us better support staff and enhance our ability to deliver quality, timely care.
- We launched new services for families, including the SmartStart Hub and a new Client Information System that’s still in progress.
- Our support for staff included improved compensation and new programs to promote leadership and skills development.
- Continued community support helps us to enrich the independence and quality of life for the kids and families we serve.
One downside remains wait times for treatment, which can be as long as 18-24 months. We are working to reduce wait times and are advocating with other Children’s Treatment Centres for additional provincial funding to help clear backlogs.
If pictures are worth a thousand words, two speak eloquently to what’s transpired this year.
One came in late August 2022, when a young client, Alexa, and her mom Ashley, dropped off a $200 donation for our Building Abilities For Life campaign. These funds go to support high-demand services like speech therapy that benefit hundreds of children like Alexa, and a fundraising initiative for which her family has already generously spoken about and supported.
The other moment was in February 2023 at the Family Day hockey game that Five Counties and the Peterborough Petes partner on each year. Another young client, Scott, and his family were chosen to do the pre-game ceremonial puck drop. Seeing Scott at centre ice was inspiring, especially given our work to help him walk.
American writer and orator Robert Ingersoll once said, “We rise by lifting others.” In that sense, it’s kids like Alexa and Scot that help us reach new heights every day!
Video Message From Our CEO
Video Message From the Chair of Our Board of Directors
Delivering Services. Delivering Results
1Total Visits
Our annual visits by clients/families continued to increase year-over-year in 2022/23.
2Total Referrals to Five Counties
Referrals for services at Five Counties continued to go up in 2022-23.
3Wait Times
Even as Five Counties saw a record number of clients in 2022/23, wait times still went up slightly.
4Complexity of Kids' Needs
The kids/youth served by Five Counties continued to have varied and different levels of care needs.
5Virtual Visits
Virtual visits continued to provide an easier way to reach and connect with kids/clients and their families.
6Kids Receiving Rehab Services in Schools
Providing care to students continued to be the focus of our school-based rehabilitation services in 2022-23.
7Kids/Clients by Age
Age range of the children/youth served by Five Counties in 2022/23
8Kids/Clients Served by Community
Location of kids/clients served by Five Counties in 2022-23.
Record-Setting Year for Clients
In 2022/23, we served the highest annual number of kids/clients in our nearly 50-year history.
Our Staff Make a Difference
Our greatest resource is our dedicated staff. Learn about our new Leadership Program and how it’s helping mentor our future leaders.
Our Stories. Our Successes
Bria's Story
Bria's Story
Bria was born 8 weeks premature, but with the help of “an amazing team at Five Counties,” this young girl is thriving.
David's Story
David's Story
David was born with cerebral palsy and right-side hemiplegia (weakness), but according to his mom, Wendy, “Five Counties has helped increase his strength and mobility, and because of that, he has so much more confidence.”
Read more about what Wendy has to say about the support David gets at Five Counties.
Care That's Close to Home
Care That's Close to Home
Mom Katie is thrilled that care at Five Counties for her daughter Nova is located close to home.
“Five Counties role in our family’s life is significant. Having two boys with a rare genetic condition is scary and leaves you with many questions. Five Counties helps relieve the stress and fear surrounding the diagnosis with their resources, support and reassurance they will be there for us.”
– Five Counties’ Parent
Thank you to all our generous supporters and donors!
‘Children Are at the Heart of all We Do…’
From Our Fund Development Team
To Our Supporters, Volunteers and Donors Who Assist Us in So Many Ways:
We rely on your generosity and donations to better serve the needs of the children and families we serve. As you have before and did again in 2022/23, our generous donors, dedicated staff, inspiring volunteers and caring communities provided us with the means to help our amazing kids.
Demand for our programs and services continues to increase and has exceeded the Centre’s capacity even more so during the pandemic. Funds raised in our communities go a long way to filling the gaps not covered by government funding. Your continued support gives our Centre the ability to respond to urgent needs, and provide exceptional services, treatment and support. What you do for our kids is amazing!
Thank you for believing in our kids. Thanks for your support!