LIIDLLI KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Residents are still getting used to the change but officials with the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority are touting the benefits of a recent move.

Pierre Morais, a mental health and addictions officer with Dehcho Health and Social Services, says clients prefer the division's new location in the Stanley Isaiah Wellness Centre. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

In early February, the nine staff members from the social services and mental health division of the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority moved from their offices in the Fort Simpson Health Centre to the Stanley Isaiah Wellness Centre.

The move more than tripled the space for the division, which had run out of room at the health centre, said Connie McNab, the manager of social services and mental health with the authority.

"It was pretty crammed," she said about the former office space.

Home Care, which had been based in the centre since May 2009, was moved into the vacated spot in the health centre.

This benefits both divisions because Home Care is a better fit with health and the personal support workers need to interact with the doctors and nurses, McNab said. Additionally, clients who want to access social services or mental health are now more comfortable because they no longer have to go through the main lobby of the health centre to reach the division, thus increasing privacy, she said.

Having the social workers and mental health counsellors in the Stanley Isaiah Wellness Centre is also a better use of space, said McNab. Both wings of the building are now being used instead of just the one wing that Home Care needed.

Along with the larger space, the division has also gotten other perks as a result of the relocation including a boardroom, a family room and larger offices.

Pierre Morais, a mental health and addictions officer, said he's been getting positive feedback about the new location.

"Clients have been reporting they like the space," he said.

People have found the centre to be more private and welcoming, Morais said.

The division held an open house on March 18 at the Stanley Isaiah Wellness Centre to show off the new space and help inform the community about the move. Some residents are still surprised to find out the divisions have moved, said McNab.

"Like any change it will take time for everybody to get used to it," she said.

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