The new Lloydminster Men’s Shelter CEO, Allan Bartolcic, is looking toward a collaborative future as he reflects on his time so far with the shelter.
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Bartolcic’s roots are in Saskatchewan; he explained that he was born in the province’s capital of Regina.
“Was there during my formative years of my life,” he said. “I ended up growing up in the local East Side of Vancouver, so I grew up not far from Hastings and Main, but closer to Commercial Drive and First.”
“(I) spent the majority of my life and my career in Alberta,” Bartolcic said. “I have absolutely always loved Alberta.”
Prior to arriving in the Border City, he was working for a non-profit in British Columbia when the opportunity to head the men’s shelter came up.
Bartolcic said working with the board of directors has been good, noting he received a mandate for the direction of the shelter for the next four years.
“Make it your own and create your operational plan moving forward,” he said of the direction received from the board.
His initial work at the shelter has been community-focused.
“For me, it’s having those conversations, getting to know people, speaking to the community and understanding where we are before we can find a specific solution for Lloyd,” Bartolcic said. “People want to be engaged and trying to find a solution collaboratively moving forward.”
He noted the importance of listening and understanding the position of the shelter.
“What I’m doing is listening, learning and feeling where we are and talking to members of the community, our community partners, our government partners, our city partners,” he said. “Right now, it’s a lot of information gathering.”
He explained communication is a priority and his goal is to be more communicative with the community and partners.
“Letting our community know at this shelter,” he said, noting shelter success stories could be told through social media. “I think what we’re not doing enough is providing those anecdotes and letting people know within the community, we’re here for this reason, look at some of these success stories.”
According to Bartolcic, transitional housing is crucial to the shelter’s mission.
“The transitional side of things, the transitional housing, is so important that I want to learn more about that before collectively (we) find out the best solution before moving forward,” he said.
Reflecting on his time so far with the shelter, he said it’s been good.
“It’s like drinking through a fire hose, but it’s great,” he said. “The more information, the better—the much more effective way that I can make decisions.”
Something he’ll be focusing on is how to use the current shelter location more effectively.
“We can find ways, especially downstairs here, by which we can use the space more efficiently and more effectively,” Bartolcic said.
Next up for the shelter is the Sept. 27 Running for Shelter fundraiser.
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