Thursday, February 19, 2004

 Contact: Bob Warick
Executive Director
University College of the Fraser Valley
Community Relations and Development
Phone: 604-864-4611
Email: warick@ucfv.ca

A large, figurative umbrella has been opened to help shelter children living in Chilliwack’s downtown core. 

The new family-focussed learning and support centre will be established at Chilliwack Central Elementary Community School as part of Central Gateway for Families, a Chilliwack Community Services pilot project. The project will bring together programming for children from conception to grade six and their parents in the city’s poorest neighbourhood under a central “gateway” or umbrella.   

University College of the Fraser Valley has contributed $50,000 to the project from its Fraser Children and Family Development Fund, which was created with funding from B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development. 

“From an economic point of view, this project is addressing prevention. Prevention is always much more economical than fixing problems afterwards. That’s what this project is all about,” says Donna Gagnon, Program Director for Chilliwack Community Services.  “Our intent is to provide a gateway to success, lifelong learning and full participation in the community.” 

The project was prompted when a whole network of service agencies raised concerns about the number of families struggling with basics like food, health, lack of employment or underemployment and incomplete education in the city’s downtown core. The project brings together about 15 community partners including Chilliwack School District, the University College of the Fraser Valley’s Adult Basic Education Program, Sto:lo Nation Head Start Program and Immigrant Services. 

“Downtown we have a greater proportion of children who come to school not ready to learn because of hunger, health issues and so on,” says Gagnon. “There’s a significant population of children of ESL families; a group of people who have barriers around language and/or culture. That’s what prompted us to focus a project in the downtown core.”  

The family-focussed learning centre at Chilliwack Central Elementary Community School will provide programs for young children and families such as prenatal nutrition, child enrichment, Mother Goose and others geared to promote healthy babies and successful parenting. It will also bring programs such as family literacy, employment skills training and services to immigrant families under a central umbrella to make it easier for families to access them. 

Central Gateway for Families will help parents build healthier relationship within the school, making them feel more comfortable advocating for their children and giving them a greater sense of well-being in their community. Gagnon says many parents don’t feel comfortable going into schools for reasons related to their own childhood experiences. 

Chilliwack Community Services and its partners hope to continue the project beyond March 2005 when the Fraser Children and Family Development Fund expires. The success of the project will be measured and evaluated using feedback from families, teachers and other community members and organizations. 

Central Gateway for Families is one of many community-based, collaborative projects providing aid to children and families in the Fraser Region to receive funding through UCFV’s Fraser Children and Family Development Fund. A total of $1 million has been awarded to projects throughout the region, which spans from Burnaby to Hope. 

The successful projects will pilot more effective approaches to a range of services for children, youth and families, with goals such as reducing the number of children in care, preventing youth from entering the justice system and supporting children and families at risk.  

In partnering with UCFV, the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s goal is to create an investment fund for evidence-based programs that promote the capacity of families and communities to protect children. 

For more information, visit the website at www.ucfv.ca/fraserfund  

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