Working towards an alternative to residents having to leave their community to find suitable support

Introducing Doris Hovorka, the treasurer of the South East Community Services Co-operative (SECSC). Doris is one of the founding members of the SECSC board when it was formed back in 2020, and she brings with her tremendous dedication and value. Prior to joining the SECSC, she dedicated over 20 years as member and eight years as vice-chairperson of the East Borderland Community Housing (EBCH), which has been working tirelessly to provide housing options for seniors and other residents. As a representative of EBCH, Doris worked with her counterparts at Piney Regional Chamber of Commerce and Rural Municipality of Piney to form a co-operative known today as the South East Community Services Co-operative. This strong connection across the three organizations made it an obvious transition for Doris to join the SECSC board and help further their goal of an assisted living housing project within the region.

Doris believes the assisted living housing project is important for the region on three fronts:
1. to address the lack of assisted living housing for seniors and vulnerable populations in the region;
2. to reduce the number of people forced to leave their home and area to find suitable living support; and
3. to reduce or eliminate family member travel time to visit their loved ones.

Doris has been an avid volunteer for most of her life and during her career in the school system. Two notable roles also held by Doris include chairperson of the Sprague & District Historical Museum since 2012 and chairperson of the Sprague Community Center for over 15 years. She is the recipient of a Manitoba Volunteer Award, the Lieutenant Governor’s Vice-Regal Volunteer Award and the Queen’s Jubilee Award.

When asked why someone should become a member of the SECSC, Doris emphasized that “the co-op represents the most valuable and positive approach for the public to achieve its goals for another seniors housing option in the region.” She made it evident that you can learn as you go and that past board experience is not a requirement at all, rather, “it’s a learning experience that is very rewarding”.