Following Mari Lawrence's move into the position of executive director of the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC), her former position as Wawokiya coordinator has been filled by Alexa Kowerchuk. 

Wawokiya is a community service focusing on meeting the needs for people who require complex help from more than one resource. 

"They come to me and I build a team for them based on what their needs are," explains Kowerchuk. "Some of the partners are the RCMP, Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, CFS, the School Division, and Southern Health-Santé Sud."

Kowerchuk says she's been with PCRC for nearly two years after having originally started at Rest-A-Bit, the emergency shelter in the city. She then moved over to Reaching Home, a PCRC program to help Portagers with housing.

"It's going good," notes Kowerchuk. "There is a lot to learn, but I'm already somewhat familiar with the agencies here in Portage. I'm lucky because the old coordinator is the new executive director, so she's right there if I need her. She's been helping me a lot."

She says she finds the work very rewarding.

"It's part of the reason why I got involved in social services," continues Kowerchuk. "I wanted to help people. To be in my own community helping people is awesome."

Kowerchuk adds things are beginning to speed up somewhat after a bit of a lull through the summer.
 

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