Impact Report 2024
No Wrong Door
Building a Connected Community Where All People Thrive
We present to you our 2024 Impact Report, celebrating our first year as Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health! We are proud of the amazing accomplishments of the past year, and positive impact on our community.
A Message From Tracy
Ensuring Any Step Towards Wellbeing Is the Right Step
This past year has been truly remarkable. By dreaming big and combining our strengths, we have demonstrated that 1 + 1 + 1 can indeed be greater than 3. The first year of our journey as Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health has been a period of reimagining and growth, made possible by the unwavering support of this community. This impact report celebrates that Camino is more than the sum of its parts. Take a look at how we’ve redefined the way our services are delivered, illustrated through our Unification Strategic Plan below. Thank you for helping open doors that are leading to brighter futures. Together we are building a connected community where all people thrive.
A Message From Our Board Chair
What a year it has been! Unification, in many ways, offered us a fresh start, a chance to look at everything through fresh eyes and to invite our employees and community to do the same. It’s important that people can find us through any door. Enter anywhere through Camino’s many programs and services, and we will help you find what you need on your path to wellbeing. Our community is strong and growing fast. We’ll continue building an even stronger and more equitable community where there is no wrong door for those seeking their own fresh start. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
24,468 Total Participants Served
17,607 Unique Participants Served
The difference between Total Participants and Unique Participants highlights that almost 7,000 people accessed multiple Camino services, reflecting the comprehensive support we provide. Just like 1+1+1 can be greater than 3, each service adds up to create a greater impact on our community’s wellbeing. Those 7,000 additional engagements with Camino demonstrates the wide range of our services and the deep connection and trust we build with those we serve as we walk with them on their personal wellbeing journeys.
Innovation and Commitment to Growth
Ensuring Any Door Is the Right Door
In the past year as part of our commitment to provide even better service to our community, our agency has embraced a “No Wrong Door” approach. This approach ensures program participants can seamlessly access services, regardless of their initial point of contact. Even though we have more programs and services than we did before, the process for participants is much simpler. They connect with one person who walks with them on their wellbeing journey. Each Wayfinding team member is well-versed in our diverse programs and community resources. Clients can feel at ease knowing any first step is the right step.
Before
After
Magic, Connection, and a Gift to Last a Lifetime
When Doors Lead to Unexpected Places
“It was an amazing experience that I will keep with me for a long time.”
The Lullaby Project saw three talented local song writers and musicians collaborate with our program participants – expectant parents, and parents of young children – to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies. The beauty of this project lies not only in the over a dozen lullabies produced but also in the process. They’ve created tangible expressions of their love, delight and hope for the next generation to cherish.
When There Is No Wrong Door, The First Step Is the Right Step
“I just knew you were always there.”
Brian decided to take a step towards better mental health and it all started with one call to Camino. He was connected with one of our Wayfinding team members who suggested he attend a Quick Response counselling session. Taking this advice, Brian soon began attending walk-in counselling weekly. These sessions became his lifeline, helping him get through the “hard days”. Knowing that support was there and having someone to walk alongside him opened the door for improved wellbeing.
Community Partnerships Help Ensure There Is No Wrong Door
"After tutoring, I feel relief of understanding what I couldn’t understand before.”
What began as a region-wide tutoring pilot program to offer more accessible support and help close the learning gap exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved significantly into an effective and stable model for student engagement. The pilot project helped 292 students in 2022, and in 2023, together we served 508 students. A remarkable 74% growth!
81,000 Hours of Service
Opening Doors With Meaningful Youth Engagement
At Camino, we believe in the power of young people. That’s why we are weaving Youth Engagement practices into everything we do. Youth help shape our programs through active participation and by sharing their thoughts about our organizational processes. By making sure every door is open to youth involvement, we build a stronger, more inclusive community. Their insights and participation help us grow and improve every day, and it helps them grow as strong leaders in our community.
The Path to Wellbeing Is Unique to Each of Us
Struggling to meet basic needs takes a toll on wellbeing and mental health. Things such as housing, groceries, or access to recreational activities are things many of us take for granted, but for some, these are daily challenges. The Camino Cares Fund, made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors, was created not only to meet immediate needs that impact overall wellbeing, but also to help recipients celebrate what is important to them. It helps alleviate some of the stress of life’s challenges, so they can focus on their wellbeing journey.
With Gratitude to Our Supporters Who Help Us Open Doors Every Day
This past year, we’ve worked hard to create a system where there is no wrong door to open in pursuit of improved wellbeing. Any door to the wide variety of Camino supports and services is the right door, ensuring everyone can find the help they need. That welcoming door is made possible by our amazing donors. Your compassionate support through more than 1,500 gifts has connected people to essential resources for brighter futures. Thank you for the trust you place in Camino – together, we truly are creating a connected community where all people thrive.
Our deepest gratitude to all of our generous supporters including:
Hundreds of individuals donors who provided over 1,500 gifts
Lyle S. Hallman Foundation
United Way Waterloo Region Communities
Sun Life Financial
The Fairmount Foundation
Len and Helen Georgiou Foundation
RBC Foundation
Ontario Trillium Foundation
Corporate Donations
Fundraising Events
The Land That Enables Our Work
Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health acknowledges that our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Chonnonton, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our offices are situated on the Haldimand Tract which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. We recognize that 950,000 acres of this land was promised by Treaty in 1784 to Six Nations, and we acknowledge that only 48,000 acres is in the rightful care of Six Nations. We endeavour to be accountable to this reality in ways that go beyond an apology or acknowledgement. We strive to continue to learn the truth, support calls to action, and aim to be aware of the intricate and complicated ways that we are connected to all living beings as well as to the land. We promise to do our part to protect this land and learn the impacts on our Indigenous community members as we continue to walk the path of reconciliation.
Our Commitment to Equity
As we continue to be responsive to the changing needs of our communities, we acknowledge the historical and present-day violence, and systemic barriers that harm members of Waterloo Region. We must ask ourselves not if we are complicit, but how.
Building equity takes time, intentional commitment, and behavioural change. It is an ongoing process, and we start by recognizing the racism, systemic oppression, and discrimination faced by Indigenous people, Black people, Asian communities, racialized people, ethnic or linguistic groups, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, unhoused people, people with mental illness, and people with physical, intellectual and non-apparent disabilities.
Our work is strengthened in collaboration with others. We have a lot of work to do and will continue to listen, learn, and take action to ensure that everyone at Camino experiences true equity, connection, and belonging.