For a family to have a positive start in life, its members have to be prepared for their future and the best way to accomplish this is with a solid foundation of support and access to needed resources, said a release from Sunrise Health Region.
The Family Resource Centre, located in the Crowstand Centre in Kamsack, is based on providing a comprehensive range of programs aimed at enhancing child and family well-being and supporting healthy child development, it said. Its grand opening was celebrated during a program on Friday afternoon.
           The Centre opened its doors on October 1, 2015 and has had a positive impact on the community ever since, it said. A multitude of programs and services are offered as a way in which to support families and children in the Kamsack area.
           “The Family Resource Centre is so much more than just a place to visit,” said Andrea Verigin, an early years program facilitator at the Centre. “We work hard to provide a non-judgmental, unbiased atmosphere for anyone who enters our doors. It is a safe place to take part in a number of planned activities or simply stop by to talk and get information that he or she might not otherwise have access to.
“We look to fill the gaps helping them to be stronger as young, growing families,” Verigin said.
Sunrise Health Region operates the Resource Centre in partnership with the Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours (SIGN), as well as the KidsFirst Program and the Town of Kamsack, the release said. Many community-based organizations also work with the Centre to provide needed resources. The Centre allows families expecting a child or with children to the age of five to participate in a variety of programs, free of charge.
The Resource Centre is focused on providing a central location where families can access a variety of educational supports and connections with other families, it said.
After introducing Elder Frances Bird, who said an opening prayer, Sandy Tokaruk, the emcee of the program, said that in the year since the Centre opened, “we are not only doing excellent work for families here in Kamsack but have also branched out to Norquay and Pelly as well as to the Keeseekoose Cote and The Key First Nations.
“In the future we would like to see that wonderful work expand to Canora, Sturgis, Endeavour and Preeceville as well,” Tokaruk said, adding that the wonderful work being accomplished is a reality for many reasons, first of which is the on-site staff that make the daily difference for families, and she introduced Andrea Verigin and Megan Peters, the early years program facilitators who “create a welcoming and caring atmosphere for all who enter.”
“With approximately 40 families registered to use the facility at any given time, it can definitely be a very busy and full place,” she said. “This past October, 71 adults and 106 children came through the doors of the Centre. That is absolutely incredible.”
“The Kamsack Family Resource Centre offers a warm environment where families are welcome,” said Greg Ottenbreit, minister responsible for rural and remote health. “The Centre provides parents with useful skills and information to get their children off to a healthy start.
           “Congratulations to all the project partners for helping give our youngest residents better beginnings and better futures,” he said. “Here parents and caregivers learn how to build a positive foundation for their children and their family.
           “Supporting families and their children is not an individual undertaking, but rather requires the commitment of the entire community,” he said. “The Kamsack Family Resource Centre is a great example of community collaboration.
           “I commend you for your vision and hard work and extend a sincere thank you for helping to give our youngest residents better beginnings and better futures.”
           “Everyone deserves the best chance at a healthy start in life,” said Suann Laurent, president and CEO of Sunrise Health Region. “Collaboration with many partners ensures a safe, welcoming place like this can be a reality.
“We are working to invest in area families for future success in a proactive manner by providing a nurturing, caring atmosphere where all families feel supported,” Laurent said. “The changes we can be a part of today have a direct reflection on the health of our families and communities in the years to come.
“An environment such as this understands that all families need and deserve a special place to meet, to share and just to learn from one another,” she said. “This serves to not only make their families stronger but also ends up making their local communities stronger as well.
“Respect for any and all family units that walk through these doors is the reason that the Family Resource Centre is such a keystone in providing much needed services here in Kamsack and area.”
Laurent said that the advisory committee that governs the Centre focuses on three main goals: to develop health and social outcomes focused on ongoing programming; to facilitate connection with First Nation communities, with an emphasis on maternal mental health, and to increase community connections.
“The Centre works hard to understand and remove barriers to participation that some families may have,” she said, adding that it lives up to its name in providing a place that has information to all family members.
“Good health is not simply our physical health. It is an amalgamation of our physical, mental and social well-being that is the best predictor of overall health. Health for everyone includes addressing the entire being including education, early childhood development, nutrition and the environment as a whole. Health care starts before a child is even born and understanding that we have the ability to provide a nurturing, caring atmosphere where all families feel supported is the … way to understand the changes we can be a part of today that will have a direct reflection on the health of our families and communities in the years to come.”
Speaking on behalf of SIGN (Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours), Andrew Sedley, the executive director, thanked the Centre’s staff for the work they are doing and said there needs to be strong partnerships and community initiatives for success. He said he looks forward to working with the staff for years to come.
“To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world,” he said, reminding everyone that the youth are the future leaders who can depend on the work done here.
Lois Okrainec, the program manager for the KidsFirst Program, said that she had been part of the development of the Yorkton Family Resource Centre three years ago and is glad to see the ministry fund the Centre in Kamsack.
Working in early childhood is not work but an honour, Okrainec said. Investment in early childhood is most cost effective and working with these partners has been a dream.
Chantel Kitchen, a regular visitor to the Centre, explained the value of it to her as a mother and said that one can feel lonely and isolated in a small community and the Centre allowed her to get out of the house and be somewhere that babies and toddlers are welcome.
Kitchen said she was pleased with the Centre’s programming and feels better about her maternity leave because of the existence of the Centre.
Don Rae, chair of the Sunrise Health Region board, said that the Centre is a perfect example of the Region’s vision of working together for healthy people in healthy communities.
“The world around us is changing at warp speed but it is still the basic human fundamental needs that must be met so that our society can move forward,” Rae said. The Kamsack Family Resource Centre is an excellent example of the fact that many can work together towards a common purpose to make change that is real, that is purposeful and that is lasting.
“This is a wonderful facility that is needed in many of our communities but here you have more than four walls: you have people that care and make a difference for others,” he said. “Community support is vital to all that we do. It is a priority of ours today and going forward to continue with strong relationships that benefit all community members.
“Collaboration is key to understanding that working together makes a difference that none of us could accomplish on our own.”
After a closing prayer said by Bird, a “ribbon” created of links of paper and stretched across an open door to the Centre was cut by Emmett and Kacee Kitchen. Cake and beverages were served to conclude the program.
