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Driven By Community

Annual Report 2024/25

Message from our CEO and Board President

To our community:

Surrey Place is shaped by the people around us—our clients, families, caregivers, staff, and partners. Our work is powered by the trust, insights, and shared purpose of those we serve and work alongside. This past year affirmed what we’ve long known: when we follow the lead of our community, care becomes more inclusive, more responsive, and more impactful.

This past year, we found new ways to meet people where they are and respond to the evolving needs of those we serve. From transforming how and when our services are delivered, to expanding outreach and creating new supports, we continue to challenge old models and design care that reflects real lives.

Whether through expanded behavioural supports for families, our Community Pantry addressing food insecurity with dignity, or the co-creation of harm reduction services for adults with developmental disabilities, we have worked to remove barriers, open more pathways to care and create more possibilities. We are also building systems that make accessing support easier. Through partnerships across sectors, we modernized referral pathways that serve thousands across the province. We expanded our reach through mobile clinical teams, bringing care closer to where people live and how they live.

At the heart of this work is our deep commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. We’ve created spaces for honest dialogue through EDIA training and community-led events. We also listened to families and caregivers share their journeys in their own words through a new podcast: The Exceptional Caregivers Life.

None of this would be possible without the courage of our clients, the trust of their families, the dedication of our staff, and the generosity of our partners and donors. Together, we are helping people push past the limits the world often places on those with diagnoses and celebrating what becomes possible when we do.

As we move into the next year of our 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, our focus remains clear: to build the conditions for people to thrive today and into the future through continued sustainability of our organization and new opportunities for growth.

Sincerely,

Dr. Terri Hewitt, Ph.D., C. Psych.
Chief Executive Officer

Carolyn Acker, C.M., R.N., M.A., D.SC. H.C. Board President

Our Impact

13,551
 Unique Clients + Caregivers* per year, including DSO-Toronto Region clients
**excludes infant hearing screening**

0-5 years old
40.69%

6-17 years old
33.73%

18+ years old
25.58%

Unique Clients Served by Location

2,803
Toronto

2,594
Scarborough

2,198
North York

2,103
Etobicoke

Our Programs

26,060
Infants screened through the Infant Hearing Program

143
Children supported through the Blind Low Vision Program

121
Clients accessed FASD Clinic services

380
Online wellness events hosted

Our Partnerships

30
Cross-sector partnerships supporting integrated service delivery

46
Services for Partners and Organizations contracts completed and fully paid, each with a unique timeline

$5,458,811
Total funds raised through grants, sponsorships, partnerships, etc.

Our Staff

539
Staff employed at Surrey Place

445
Staff completed trained in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) fundamentals

387
Staff completed anti-Black racism training

122
Staff completed anti-ableism training

Client Story

It is great to be able to count on the food we receive from the Surrey Place pantry. It is a very welcome help for families who need support at this time. I think you should continue with this wonderful initiative.

— Community Pantry Visitor

Since launching in November 2024, our Community Pantry has provided essential support to over 190 visitors, including clients, caregivers, and staff. In just a few months, monthly visits rose from 8 in January to over 60 in April, as word of the pantry’s respectful and low-barrier model spread through our community. Behind each visit is a reflection of real need and a reminder that access to food, dignity, and compassion makes a meaningful difference.

Strategic Plan Achievements

Our Financials

Funding Sources

Provincial government 73%

Municipal government 1%

Fee for service & grant revenue 22%

Other revenue 3%

DOWNLOAD FINANCIAL REPORT

3 Year Expenditure Trend ($’000)

2022-23$95,872

2023-24$93,917

2024-25$98,555

Meet Our Donors & Funders

Your Impact in Action: A’s Story

At just five years old, “A” was diagnosed with permanent hearing loss. Thanks to the Surrey Place Client Needs Fund, they received hearing aids and an iPad to support their communication while their family learns sign language. These tools have become more than just aids — they are opening up a world of connection, confidence, and self-expression.

During their hearing aid fitting, the clinician repeatedly signed the word happy — a small gesture that spoke volumes. It captured a profound truth: your generosity brings more than equipment or technology — it brings joy, dignity, and opportunity to children like “A.”

This section reflects donations and funders for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

Board of Directors 2024/25

President

CAROLYN ACKER, C.M., R.N., M.A., D.SC. H.C.

Management Consultant Carolyn Acker & Associates

Vice President

MICHAEL ROOKE, BBA, CPA, CA, LPA

Partner Tinkham LLP

Directors

FERN GONCALVES, M.ED., CHRL

Senior HR Advisor, Employee Engagement, Organizational Development, Strategic Advisor

ASHAN M. FERNANDO

Former City of Toronto Councillor Candidate, Hospitality/hotel management professional

BAABA FORSON, B.A. (HONS.), LL.B.

Crown Counsel, Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario Public Service

KEMI ODUWOLE LL B, LL M, M. CIARB

Managing Partner Kindrivlaw Professional Corporation (practicing as Topmarké Attorneys, LLP)

MICHAEL RICHARDSON, HBA

CEO & Co-Owner Eclipsys Solutions Inc.

FRANK ANDERSON, FCPA,
CPA

Retired Accountant

VICKI BALES, M.ED., PH.D.

Retired President, Vicki Bales Consulting Inc. Consulting in Community Health and Human Services

By 2 months

Has your baby had their hearing screened? YES NO

By 6 months

Does the child?

Startle in response to loud noises? YES NO
Turn to where a sound is coming from? YES NO
Make different cries for different needs (hungry, tired)? YES NO
Watch your face as you talk? YES NO
Smile/laugh in response to your smiles and laughs? YES NO
Imitate coughs or other sounds such as ah, eh, buh YES NO

By 9 months

Does the child?

Respond to their name? YES NO
Respond to the telephone ringing or a knock at the door? YES NO
Understand being told no? YES NO
Get what they want through using gestures (reaching to be picked up)? YES NO
Play social games with you (Peek-a-Boo)? YES NO
Enjoy being around people? YES NO
Babble and repeat sounds such as babababa or duhduhduh? YES NO

By 12 months

Does the child?

Follow simple one-step directions (sit down)? YES NO
Look across the room to a toy when adult points at it? YES NO
Consistently use three to five words? YES NO
Use gestures to communicate (waves hi/bye, shakes head for no)? YES NO
Get your attention using sounds, gestures and pointing while looking at your eyes? YES NO
Bring you toys to show you? YES NO
Perform for social attention and praise? YES NO
Combine lots of sounds together as though talking (abada baduh abee)? YES NO
Show an interest in simple picture books? YES NO

By 18 months

Does the child?

Understand the meaning of in and out, off and on? YES NO
Point to more than 2 body parts when asked? YES NO
Use at least 20 words consistently? YES NO
Respond with words or gestures to simple questions (Where's teddy? What's that?)? YES NO
Demonstrate some pretend play with toys (gives teddy bear a drink, pretends a bowl is a hat)? YES NO
Make at least four different consonant sounds (p ,b, m, n, d, g, w, h)? YES NO
Enjoy being read to and sharing simple books with you? YES NO
Point to pictures using one finger? YES NO

By 2 years

Does the child?

Follow two-step directions (Go find your teddy bear and show it to Grandma.)? YES NO
Use 100 to 150 words? YES NO
Use at least two pronouns (you, me, mine)? YES NO
Consistently combine two to four words in short phrases (Daddy hat. Truck go down.)? YES NO
Enjoy being around other children? YES NO
Begin to offer toys to other children and imitate other children's actions and words? YES NO
Use words that are understood by others 50 to 60 per cent of the time? YES NO
Form words or sounds easily and without effort? YES NO
Hold books the right way up and turn the pages? YES NO
Read to stuffed animals or toys? YES NO
Scribble with crayons? YES NO

By 30 months

Does the child?

Understand the concepts of size (big/little) and quantity (a little/a lot, more)? YES NO
Use some adult grammar (two cookies, bird flying, I jumped)? YES NO
Use over 350 words? YES NO
Use action words such as run, spill, fall? YES NO
Participate in some turn-taking activities with peers, using both words and toys? YES NO
Demonstrate concern when another child is hurt or sad? YES NO
Combine several actions in play (puts blocks in the train and drives the train, drops the blocks off.)? YES NO
Put sounds at the beginning of most words? YES NO
Use words with two or more syllables or beats (ba-na-na, com-pu-ter, a-pple)? YES NO
Recognize familiar logos and signs involving print (Stop sign)? YES NO
Remember and understand familiar stories? YES NO

By 3 years

Does the child?

Understand who, what, where and why questions? YES NO
Create long sentences using five to eight words? YES NO
Talk about past events (trip to grandparents house, day at child care)? YES NO
Tell simple stories? YES NO
Show affection for favourite playmates? YES NO
Engage in multi-step pretend play (pretending to cook a meal, repair a car)? YES NO
Talk in a way that most people outside of the family understand what she/he is saying most of the time? YES NO
Have an understanding of the function of print (menus, lists, signs)? YES NO
Show interest in, and awareness of, rhyming words? YES NO
Read to stuffed animals or toys? YES NO
Scribble with crayons? YES NO

By 4 years

Does the child?

Follow directions involving three or more steps (First get some paper, then draw a picture and give it to Mommy)? YES NO
Use adult type grammar? YES NO
Tell stories with a beginning, middle and end? YES NO
Talk to try and solve problems with adults and with other children? YES NO
Show increasingly complex imaginary play? YES NO
Talk in a way that is understood by strangers almost all the time? YES NO
Generate simple rhymes (cat-bat)? YES NO
Match some letters with their sounds (letter b says buh, letter t says tuh)? YES NO