Our story
It began with one woman who couldn’t look away.
Steady Path Society grew out of more than a decade of quiet, unpaid help: a phone that rang at all hours, a door that was always open. We’re registered as a BC nonprofit society as of May 2026; our charity number, for tax receipts on donations, is still on its way.
From Cordelia
When I came into Canada, it was difficult for me. I cannot forget the parts that I threaded when I came in. And people are in that part right now and need help.
So I helped. One family, then another, around my shifts, late at night, whenever someone called. There was no schedule and no fee. If you needed me, I was there.
“All fingers are not equal. Because people don’t have money does not mean that they should not be helped. That’s my kind of personality.”
The name came to me while I was showering. I heardSteady Path. The colours came another day, while I was driving: orange and cream, dropped quietly into my spirit. I didn’t design them. They were given.
I truly want to help, so that when I’m finally leaving this earth, I know I’ve done something. That is what this is.
Cordelia Aiwize
Founder, Steady Path Society
Why this keeps going
It’s still one family at a time.
Steady Path was never a plan. It was a decade of answered phones. But a decade of answered phones is still a mission, whether or not anyone wrote it down. So here it is, written down.
We walk alongside newcomer families raising a child/children with a disability: through the paperwork, the diagnoses, the systems nobody explained to them. Not instead of them. Beside them. A family should never have to figure this out with no one in their corner, and as long as Steady Path exists, they won’t have to.
A British Columbia where a newcomer family raising a child/children with special needs knows who to call before the system asks them to figure it out alone. That’s what we’re working toward.
Compassion
We listen before we advise.
Dignity
No family here is a case file.
Belonging
You’re family the day you call.
Hope
Slow progress still counts as progress.
Partnership
We walk beside you. We don’t take over.
Who you’re working with
Why you can trust me with your family.
Before I was a nurse, I was a dentist in Nigeria. Then my own child was diagnosed, and I was in a new country with questions no one could answer. That is what moved me into psychiatric nursing.
I learned the system from the inside, the hard way, so you would not have to. Today I work with immigrant families raising children with special needs, and I keep an eye on the siblings who carry it quietly.
My background
- Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN), Provincial Health Services Authority
- BSc, Psychiatric Nursing
- BDS, Bachelor of Dental Surgery
- MHPM, Master's in Health Planning and Management
- CDAA, Canadian Dental Assistant Anaesthesia
- CDA Ortho, Canadian Dental Assistant in Orthodontics
Before Canada, I served as Commissioner for Commerce and Industry and Commissioner for Health, where I led community and public-health programs.
One thing I want you to know: Steady Path is my heart’s work, not my job. When we sit together, you’re not meeting me as a nurse or in any professional role. You’re meeting a mother who has walked this road. This is warmth and company for the journey, not clinical care.
What we carry
The meaning behind the name.
If you’re still deciding whether to call, our free guides are a good place to start.
A steady path
Not a rescue, not a handout. A steady hand beside you as you find your own way forward.
The feeling of home
A house is walls. A home is belonging. Every family who reaches us should feel: this is home, this is family.
Orange & cream
Warmth and welcome. The colours were given before the logo was ever drawn, and they’ve guided everything since.
Our promise
You will never be turned away.
Whatever your situation, whatever you can or can’t pay, there is a place for you on the steady path.