New Eagle Heart Centre to help more families
Expansion will triple organization’s capacity to host visitation services
The Eagle Heart Centre faces a long wait-list of families wanting to use its visitation services, but now a new building triple the size will help them meet the needs of more families.
“There’s so many of our children right now that are not in their home environments, and families are working their way to reconnecting and getting their families back together as a unit and in a healthy environment,” said Linda Anderson, the centre’s president.
“The list of clients that are in this predicament is quite long and so, you know, we try to accommodate what we can, but you can only do so much with what you have, so this will definitely open up the possibility of a whole lot more visitations.”
Through its partnership with the Ministry of Social Services, Eagle Heart Centre (formerly the Aboriginal Family Service Centre) provides a visitation program to reconnect — in a homelike environment — parents and their children who have been removed from them. This gives them the opportunity to do family activities like cooking, or playing outside together, in a comfortable setting.
In its current building, only four visitations can be accommodated at once. Now they have bought and are renovating a new six-suite building that could house up to 12 visitations at once, Anderson said.
Melody Arbour, the family enrichment co-ordinator, said she gets excited every time she walks into the new building and sees the renovations moving forward. By working closely with the families, Arbour knows how big an impact getting together in a homelike space can have on them.
“You get to cook with your family again, make those full meals, sit at a table ... lay on the couches, play on the floors, have the toys, read books and all of that,” she said.
“It’s that feeling of safety, that feeling of warmth, that feeling of being welcome and comfort. That I think is that feeling of home.”
Most family visits only last a few hours, but Anderson said being in a home environment for even that short amount of time instead of an institution helps families heal.
“It’s just healthier. It helps them feel more comfortable and relaxed and be able to interact properly,” she said.
While Anderson believes the funding needed to cover the renovations is in place, she said the centre is looking to raise an additional $10,000 to cover the cost of furnishing all the suites with tables, chairs, couches and cookware.
The building, located at 2910 5th Ave., is set to open in mid-june. Those interested in donating can call the Eagle Heart Centre or visit its Gofundme page.
The list of clients … is quite long and so, you know, we try to accommodate what we can, but you can only do so much with what you have.