about us​

​THE XOLHEMET SOCIETY WAS FORMED IN 1988 BY OUR FOUNDER AND ONE OF OUR ORIGINAL BOARD MEMBERS WILMA MUSSEL, WHO STARTED A COMMITTEE TO FORM A TRANSITION HOUSE. THE XOLHEMET SOCIETY TRANSITION HOUSE WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED WITH OUR FIRST FACILITY IN 1991 IN THE COMMUNITY OF CHILLIWACK AND HAS BEEN A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS HELPING HUNDREDS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN ANNUALLY FROM ALL ACROSS BRITISH COLUMBIA WITH SAFE SHELTER AND SUPPORT SERVICES WHEN leaving interpersonal violence. OUR SECOND STAGE HOUSING PROGRAM AND FACILITY OPENED IN 1996 AND FROM THERE THE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN BUILT INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY WITH MULTIPLE SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS THAT WE RUN IN OUR COMMUNITY INCLUDING OUR HOMELESS PREVENTION PROGRAM, OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMMING AND OUR NO COST COUNsELING SERVICES. IN 2019 WE CHANGED OUR NAME TO "WILMA'S TRANSITION SOCIETY" AFTER OUR founder and original board member, WILMA who SAT ON THE BOARD OF THE XOLHEMET SOCIETY FOR 21 YEARS. 

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Diversity and inclusivity statement

​Wilma’s Transition Society recognizes that under the Canadian Human Rights Act, it is against the law to discriminate on the basis of race, colour, age, national or ethnic origin, religion, marital status, family status, disability, sexual orientation, sex, pregnancy, child-birth and a pardoned criminal conviction. As such, Wilma’s Transition Society ensures that our services and programs are accessible to individuals and that our agency will not practice or engage in unlawful discrimination on the basis of culture, spiritual beliefs, gender identity, social condition, physical ability and any prohibited ground of discrimination covered by the Canadian Human Rights Act as listed above. Wilma’s Transition Society will provide services that are sensitive and responsive to the diverse needs of the individuals it serves and promote cross-cultural understanding and respect for diversity among clients and staff.

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​​WE RECOGNIZE THAT LgbTQ2S+ PERSONS FACE A HIGH RISK OF DISCRIMINATION AND ABUSE DUE TO THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY AND/OR GENDER EXPRESSION. WE RECOGNIZE TRANSGENDER, intersex and GENDER VARIANT INDIVIDUALS FACE THE HIGHEST RISK OF EXPERIENCING DISCRIMINATION, ABUSE and barriers AMONG LGBTQ2S+ COMMUNITIES. Due to this marginalization, wilma's transition society welcomes all trans, two spirit, intersex and gender diverse people and their children.



​meet the team

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meet kathleen - kathleen is the executive director here at wilma's. she has been with the society SINCE 2009 starting as a volunteer to later be hired on as a relief/support worker and in 2013 became the ed. she grew up in the vancouver area, landing in chilliwack about 20 years ago. she decided to continue her education once starting at the society going on to receive her degree in sociology and then continued where she now holds her masters in clinical psychology. on her off days you can find kathleen hanging out with her husband, kids and many grand babies.


meet ellen - ellen has been with the society SINCE 2012 as our office and finance manager. ellen was actually born in chilliwack but her family moved away to downtown vancouver when she was very young. after meeting her husband in her early 20's she then spent many years living on vancouver island and made her way back to chilliwack just over 15 years ago. you can find ellen on her off time hanging out with her dog, kids and husband and traveling as her husbands job takes him to some pretty amazing spots that she gets to enjoy with him! 



​meet erin - erin has been with the society SINCE 2011 starting in high school as a child care worker. she was then hired on as a relief worker and started her post secondary education to later become a support worker here at wilma's. erin started with her Dipoma in social services at UFV to later move to the university of manitoba online to complete her bachelors in social work. erin was born in surrey but has lived most of her life in chilliwack and can be found on her days off hanging out with her family, her dog and enojoying a nice restaurant!
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​meet christine - christine has been with wilma's SINCE 2010 first as a support worker and for the past 2 years as our outreach/homeless prevention worker. born in abbotsford, christine's family then moved to pentiction when she was very young where she grew up living those amazing okanagan summers. she returned to the fraser valley and landed in chilliwack in 2007 where she went on to recieve her diploma in social services from ufv. you can find christine on her time off exploring the outdoors with her family and on those beautiful days, at the beach or by any body of water. 


meet jayme - jayme has been with the society SINCE 2016 as our event and fundraising coordinator. born on vancouver island, jayme's family then moved to chilliwack when she was in middle school. she moved to alberta when she was just out of high school but realized within a year that chilliwack was home. she has been here ever since and after returning attended ufv for hospitality and event planning and applied business technology. you can find jayme on her days off exploring with her dog, hanging out with friends and enjoying some shopping and hitting a good restaurant!