05/13/2026
An Executive Director at a residential addiction recovery program in Ontario told us something that stuck with us.
Each month, he submits progress reports on his residents to drug treatment court. Judges, lawyers, parole officers -- who are all waiting on these documents.
To produce them, he hired two contractors. Their only job was to gather data from multiple systems and piece reports together. It still took two people. It still took five days worth of work.
And after all that, he still had to review and edit every single progress report himself before it went to the court.
"It takes us days to produce something that should take minutes."
Here's what made it harder: one of his counselors struggled with written English. Key insight was there. The heart was there. But every note needed significant editing before it can be added in each resident's court-ready progress report.
This is the part of community care nobody talks about.
The people running these programs aren't burning out because they don't have enough systems. They are burning out because those "multiple systems" around them were never built for them.
Spreadsheets. Disconnected tools. Paper-based notes. Living memory. Manual data pulls. Hours spent formatting reports instead of supporting residents.
Meanwhile, the residents keep coming. The court dates don't move. And the funders keep asking "show us your impact."
This is what the sector looks like from the inside.
To all Executive Directors out there, how many of you can relate? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. 👇
