The Province has provided $500,000 to help more mothers with vulnerabilities take charge of their lives through funding provided to the Comox Child Development Association for its important ‘Pathways to Healing Partnership’ program.

“Through the funding we are providing, women and families who have faced challenges will have the support they need to change their lives and address difficult circumstances,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “This program is an excellent opportunity for families in the Comox Valley to work with a person-centred care team to address issues and receive help to access resources in the community.”

“We can’t underestimate how important this program is and how big an impact it has had on the 54 families who have benefited from its services since it launched in April 2016,” said Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox, who attended the event on behalf of Dix. “Pathways to Healing Partnership staff provide unique, trauma-based help for women in the crucial perinatal period, connecting them to services that keep families healthier together.”

The funding will allow the Comox Child Development Association to continue to offer the program for families in the Comox Valley. Pathways to Healing Partnership focuses on helping people who have experienced difficulties like poverty, homelessness, physical health and mental health and substance use challenges, abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence.

The program is delivered by a specialized team made up of master’s-level clinicians trained in Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, an evidence-based therapeutic model that includes basic stabilization, assessment and therapeutic planning. The program recognizes the crucial importance of early life attachment experiences, and that children who develop in adversity may face later functional difficulties, such as caregiver attachment challenges, poor impulse control, aggression, emotional reactivity, sensory processing issues, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, attentional difficulties and difficulty at school or in daycare. 

The program provides attachment coaching for pregnant moms with vulnerabilities, builds parenting skills for responding to children with extreme or challenging behaviour, supports families to navigate between various agencies to find stable housing, and works with foster parents and other providers in the community to incorporate trauma-informed practice into their work.

The Comox Child Development Association is a non-profit society that has served children and youth with special needs since 1974. The association’s work has been supported by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction and the Ministry of Children and Family Development, as well as other community partners. The programs and services are designed to not only enrich the lives of the people accessing them, but also to contribute to a stronger Comox Valley that welcomes and includes everyone who lives there.

Quotes:

Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development —

“For 45 years, the Comox Valley Child Development Association has been a pioneer in helping children and parents who need support by offering services within their own community. With a philosophy of ‘every child belongs,’ its programs have made a profound difference for families, giving kids with diverse abilities the chance to participate fully in child care settings.”

Shane Simpson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction —

“Our government’s approach to reducing poverty is to address it from every angle possible. Helping at-risk mothers prepare for childbirth and cope with the stress of being a new parent is about making sure resources and supports are available to people when and where they need them. The Pathways to Healing Partnership gives new mothers in the Comox Valley a place to feel supported so they can care for their families and give them a better chance to thrive in the future.”

Jan Ference, director, Pathways to Healing Partnership —

“Pathways to Healing Partnership is an innovative, evidence-based program working with families who have experienced excessive stress and/or trauma. Our positive outcomes have come from seeing every client as resilient, believing every parent has the right to attach to their child, and that the brain can heal. All of our work has been grounded in Dr. Bruce Perry’s research and model. We had the freedom to work based on where the client was at by reducing stress, offering unconditional respect and support until there was a window of opportunity to start the healing process. We learned from our clients where the bigger systems needed support to better understand trauma and how it impacts the brain. We are grateful for the support we have received from the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island, and now from the Ministry of Health.” 

Learn More:

Visit the Comox Child Development Association: https://www.cvcda.ca/about/