Centre aims to make a difference

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Making a difference in the community of Cranberry Portage is what the Child/Family Resource Centre is all about.

Executive Director Wendy Trylinski said the centre's programs and services are open to everyone in the community.

Trylinski added before funding from Health and Welfare Canada was approved through the Community Action Program for Children, the committee researched the community of approximately 860 people to see if the need existed and if they would be eligible for the grant.

"We found a high number of single adolescent moms and children at high risk-high risk meaning low-income families," she said.

It is for this reason the resource centre has targeted the age group of newborn-6 years.

Working together with the community, the resource centre can help address the needs of the children and families.

"We've had a really good response for some of the programs and we're starting to see a lot of people just dropping in from the community," Trylinski said.

Some of the offerings include a muffin and juice program three days a week.

"Kids can drop in during the morning and have juice and a muffin before starting school. This way we know they are starting the day with something in their stomach," she said.

At present the program has an average of 13 kids dropping in regularly.

For little eight-year-old Barry Chaboyer, it sure hit the spot.

"This is my first time here and I like it. I want to come back again," he said with a grin from ear to ear.

Other popular programs offered are Positive Indian Parenting and Nobody's Perfect.

"Right now, we have 10 people enrolled in the Positive Indian Parenting and 10 more in the Nobody's Perfect. And that is without advertising. That tells me there is a need for parenting skills here."

Margaret Church facilitates the parenting programs, which have been a huge success. Because many Aboriginal parents have lost touch with their Native cultures over the generations, the parents in her group are very excited about the program.

"The 10 parents in the Positive Indian Parenting program now are thirsty for information about their culture," Church said.

The course is not designed to make them better parents, but rather to offer choices to the parents on raising children.

"One evening consisted of a grandparent night and we had eight grandparents come out. It was really good because we had storytelling with both the parents and grandparents telling traditional stories," Church said.

It's those kinds of alternatives that the program is trying of offer the parents.

Cindy Head is one parent in the Positive Indian Parenting program. Being in the program and learning more about the traditions and her identity as an Aboriginal woman is helping a lot with parenting skills.

"Me and my partner have a cradle board for our baby and we're learning how the cradle board teaches the child control and patience. Also understanding some of the traditional values of Aboriginal people is helping me understand my children," Head said.

In April, Trylinski said they've had 74 kids come into the muffin and juice program and another 40 used the lending library.

Trylinski wasn't really surprised by the number of people using the centre, but she's surprised the number is growing.

"We were expecting a small group, but now that is growing. It's good to see people dropping in, not only on the specific times for borrowing, but just dropping in and borrowing on the spur of the moment," she said.

Now, two full months into its operation, the Child/Family Resource Centre is making a difference in some of the lives of the residents of Cranberry Portage.

"We're pretty happy with the way things are going. People are using the centre," Trylinski said.

Trylinski said now that this part of the Resource Centre is up and running, they plan to move into other activities for the community this summer.