Founded in 1983, Progress Place works to improve the lives of people living with mental illness. It offers programs and services which provide opportunities for recovery through friendship, employment, education, housing, and recreation. The charity reports that 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a form of mental illness at some point in their life. Additionally, two-thirds of homeless people using urban shelters live with mental illness. Progress Place is a part of the International Center for Clubhouse Development and follows the Clubhouse Model of rehabilitation. Outside of the Clubhouse, Progress Place also runs rehabilitation programs in the community. In F2018, people accessed support services from Progress Place more than 75,000 times both at its Clubhouse and through its range of community programs.

Progress Place’s Clubhouse offers a variety of services and programs focused around employment, education, health and wellness, and social recreation. Progress Place’s Transitional Employment program provides 6 to 9-month long paid work placements in entry-level positions with its 19 business partners. The charity reports that 222 clubhouse members earned $1,097,674 as part of Progress Place’s Employment programs. Progress Place reports that more than 50,000 nutritious meals were served at the clubhouse in F2018. Additionally, 96 members enrolled in education programs with support from Progress Place.

Progress Place’s work in the community includes programs such as Warm Line, Double Recovery, Community Hub, and more. Warm Line offers confidential and anonymous peer support telephone, online chat, and text messaging service for adults living with mental illness. Double Recovery is a 12-Step support program for people living with substance abuse and mental health issues. In F2018, Progress Place provided support in 775 Double Recovery group meetings. Community Hub seeks to engage community members and foster positive relationships. In F2018, the Community Hub had over 8,700 visits and offered 61 different programs with 25 partner agencies.

Progress Place is a ­­­­small charity, with total donations of $224k in F2017. Government funding of $3.0m accounted for 85% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 14% of revenues (excluding investment income) and the charity reports no fundraising costs in F2017. For every dollar donated, 86 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. Funding reserves of $767k can cover three months of annual program costs.

­This charity report is an update that has been sent to Progress Place for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 26, 2019 by Lauren Chin.