The Sturgis/Preeceville/Endeavour Child Action Plan Committee (CAP), which operates the Family Resource Centre, met April 13 to examine the future of the Family Resource Centre as a result of a long-term funding relationship with the Sunrise Health Region coming to an end.
The CAP committee reviewed the impact that the loss of $30,000 a year from the Sunrise Health Region as of March 31 will have on the program. The funding had provided the wages for the Family Resource Centre co-ordinator, who currently is Karolyn Kosheluk. The CAP Committee has some funds to continue providing wages for the co-ordinator for the next couple of months.
The CAP Committee acknowledged that the co-ordinator is essential in providing any and all programming. The CAP Committee also expressed the strong desire to continue a long term relationship with Kosheluk as the Family Resource Centre Co-ordinator. The CAP Committee values the extensive programming that has been done over the past 20 years of the Centre’s existence and appreciates the evolving nature of programming in response to community needs. The Family Resource Centre has always worked with and found many community partners in providing important initiatives.
The programming that has been provided in the last few years included several areas of work.
In the field of nutrition for healthy children and families, work was done to support the Breakfast Cafe program in the Preeceville School; the hot lunch program in the Sturgis Composite High School; the Sturgis Elementary School Nutrition Program and the Filling the Gap emergency hamper and Christmas hamper program provided in association with the Preeceville and District Ministerial Association.
In the past, leadership classes were offered for Grade 6 students in the Preeceville, Sturgis and Canora Schools. And there was a junior leadership class offered for grades 3 and 4 students in the same three locations.
Pre-school programming has become a major focus of the Ministry of Health and is a concern for this particular area, including Norquay and Pelly. As a result, the Family Resource Centre has shifted emphasis and offered many programs in the last one or two years: IMPACT, Pre-K Story Hour, “Come Grow With Me” program for parents with pre-schoolers, Mocktails (a program to help pregnant women be aware of the dangers of alcohol for their unborn child), as well as reaching out to parents with resources through a strong presence at the trades shows in Norquay and Preeceville where hundreds of parents were offered information on programs to support them and their children.
There have been programs in the communities that reach out to all ages and that seek to build bridges between ages within a community. There have been senior and teen opportunities to learn together, including seniors teaching dance to teens and teens offering support to seniors learning about computers. Triple P Parenting sessions have been offered. Family activity contests were widely supported, encouraging families of every size and shape to spend quality time together. The Summer Fun Program has been geared towards children aged five to 12 in Preeceville and Sturgis. A Mental Health First Aid Course/Workshop was offered in 2015 and help has also been available for individuals needing assistance to find resources.
Facing the financial challenges, the CAP Committee discussed how to decide upon the base salary for the Family Resource Centre Co-ordinator so that current planned programming would continue.
The CAP Committee also discussed efforts to secure future funding for the continued existence of the Family Resource Centre and its programming beyond the next two months for the communities of Endeavour, Preeceville, Sturgis, Norquay and Pelly, which the Centre is now serving. The CAP Committee has applied for additional funding but this funding is not guaranteed. Therefore the committee decided to approach local municipal governments, the school division, community organizations and individuals to provide financial support for the continuation of this unique, successful, 20-year-old outreach program. It was acknowledged that even with potential short term grants, the Family Resource Centre will need ongoing financial help from the communities it serves in order to maintain its evolving programming.
The CAP Committee decided to move forward in its plans to be a strong support entity to the local communities. In May, the committee will review the needs of children and families in the region as identified through a significant health study completed last year, as well as reviewing the priorities of the Ministry of Health based on the “Four Pillars” policy. The goal for the June meeting will be goal setting and organizing a planning meeting with input invited from the local communities.
The CAP Committee meeting began on a discouraging note but concluded with a determination to see the work of the Family Resource Centre continue and grow. A hopeful sign for the committee was the gift of a new computer and Smart TV that was provided by South East Region Inter-Sectoral Committee and the Regional Kids First Committee, to replace the Sunrise Health Region’s Office equipment to which the Family Resource Centre will no longer have access.
The committee’s traditional mandate and vision has been to develop programming for all segments of the local populations including: children, youth, families and the broader community. It is hoped that with the plans being made and the support of many in the community who would offer financial support the Family Resource Centre would continue serving the area for many years to come.
