Tomorrow is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Prevention and Support Day in B.C. and several community events are taking place in Vancouver to help raise awareness about the disorder and the struggles that families living with FASD go through every day.

Minister of Children and Family Development Mary McNeil is attending a community event hosted by the YWCA Crabtree Corner in collaboration with the BC Liquor Distribution Board. The event takes place on Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside Crabtree Corner at 533 East Hastings St.

Children and their families can drop by the Crabtree Corner to participate in the "Think of Me" program to raise public awareness about the impacts of FASD. Children are encouraged to bring their creativity as they decorate paper bags with prevention messages and images. The decorated bags will be returned to the liquor stores and handed out with customer purchases.

Throughout the year, community organizations such as the YWCA Crabtree Corner run Key Worker and Parent Support Programs, which provide direct support to families raising children and youth with FASD. Key workers offer family-centred support services to meet the needs of individual families. Services include providing information, educational workshops, parenting support programs, suggesting strategies or life skills, linking to family services and advocacy.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development developed Key Worker and Parent Support Programs in 2006 for families of children and youth with FASD. Thousands of children and their families have accessed services provided by 52 contracted agencies across the province.

Quick Facts:

• FASD is an umbrella term that describes the range of effects that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical, mental, behavioural and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications.
• Health Canada estimates approximately nine in every 1,000 infants are born with FASD.
• B.C. is considered a world leader in the field of FASD prevention, diagnosis, assessment, intervention and support.
• In March 2008, B.C. released a 10-year provincial plan called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Building on Strengths (2008-2018). The plan establishes a guide to provincial, regional and community efforts to address FASD.

Learn More:

The YWCA Crabtree Corner provides programs and services for families who need them the most. Located in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's most impoverished neighbourhoods, Crabtree Corner helps women and their families improve the quality of their lives.

For more information on the YWCA Crabtree Corner, go to: www.ywcavan.org/content/Crabtree_Corner/258

Contact:

Cindy Rose
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1639