There are those key organizations in a city which over the years become integral to the quality of life enjoyed by those living in the community.
In Yorkton one of those foundational organizations is most certainly Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours, or SIGN for short.
It was half a century ago that SIGN was first imagined.
“Back in 1968, a group of Yorkton clergy decided to form a new type of organization in our community, an organization that would assist people with their social needs and their needs for assistance in areas that were not readily available at that time. They took on an initiative that was truly ahead of its time,” explained Jerome Niezgoda chair of the SIGN Board of Directors at the most recent regular meeting of Yorkton Council.
“Its purpose was to reach the community in a way that was beyond what individual churches could do. They recognized there was a need to promote co-operation among churches, service clubs, and other organizations throughout the community, businesses and interested individuals.”
Niezgoda said no one could have foreseen the growth and longevity that would follow for the organization, and in that he is most certainly accurate.
“Today, SIGN provides more than two dozen important community and social services to children and adults in Yorkton and east-central Saskatchewan,” he said.
But it’s not the number that is important in terms of SIGN today, or at any point in its history. It’s greatest strength has always been in recognizing community needs, those services we need to make our community better or all, and once a shortfall has been recognized, moving to meet that need.
As a result in recent years, SIGN has been “instrumental in starting a free walk-in mental health counselling program, which in the provincial budget this spring was recognized by the government as worthy not only of funding for the existing locations, but which will be expanded to many more communities,” said Niezgoda.
“SIGN’s programs today deal with a wide range of topics as we assist youth, families and adults. We operate programs to teach life skills to youth, before and after school programs at four schools, an adolescent group home, and a childcare and early learning facility.”
SIGN has been such an integral part of the community in terms of providing services across such a wide range of areas it is now hard to imagine our community without them.
So it is not surprising that Yorkton Council was unanimous in declaring Good Neighbours Week for the week of May 5 to 11 in the city. It is an opportunity to mark decades of dedication and hard work that SIGN has carried out to make Yorkton a city of good neighbours.
