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Next steps for New View Society in Port Coquitlam

Tiffany Melius is the new executive director of the Port Coquitlam-based agency that supports people with mental health concerns
New View
Tiffany Melius, New View Society executive director, outside the clubhouse in Port Coquitlam. In August, Melius the took over the reins of the Port Coquitlam-based organization that serves people with mental health concerns.

Tiffany Melius likes a challenge so it’s no surprise she has taken over the job of executive director of the New View Society, which is responsible for housing, recreation and support programs for people with mental health concerns.

When Melius isn’t at her job with New View, she is climbing boulders and winning bouldering competitions, a sports interest she picked up as a girl growing up in Brisbane, Australia.

“I like the challenge of it, the physical test of strength,” she said, noting that the technical aspect of bouldering, where you try to make an ascent quickly in 12 moves with very few grips and handholds, is a mental as well as a physical challenge. “We call it solving a boulder problem.”

The same grit and determination, as well as team-building skills learned while training as a leadership coach, and an interest in the social services brings the management professional to Port Coquitlam.

Melius, who previously worked at the United Way of the Lower Mainland, oversees staff who run the program’s housing, community and clubhouse programs. She walked into a well-oiled machine, she says, headed by Darrell Roemer, who acted in the executive director position after the tragic death in May of Jill Calder, who had helmed the organization for 16 years.

“They are big shoes to fill and I’m not even going to try to fill them,” said Melius.

New View also faces some challenges ahead. The organization is trying to fundraise for peer support workers who would connect with others coping with mental illness in the community and get them involved in recreational programs as well as provide education and support.

“What we don’t have is a lot of discretionary funding,” said Melius, who is hoping to hear that the organization is successful in obtaining money from the Aviva Community Fund.

The organization, which provides supportive housing for people with mental illness in six buildings, may need to upgrade some of its older apartments and Melius said there may also be opportunities to work with partners to find ways to provide even more affordable housing.

A strategic plan, now in the works, more fundraising and the development of community alliances are all on Melius’ plate.

And she praised the New View staff, saying, “I feel totally supported to succeed.”