Tri-Cities Program
Services of the Tri-Cities East Neighbourhood Centre
Focus:
Westcoast Family Resources Society-Tri-Cities is a parent education and support resource for families with children from birth to twelve years of age. The areas that the program covers are Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody. Services are free of charge and referrals come from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). Self-referral is accepted for our Special Project groups such as Mother Goose, You Make the Difference, Make the Connection and the Budget Gourmet.
Goals:
We strive to promote the safety and well-being of all children and families. Through our programs we hope to reduce isolation in the community and make the family unit stronger. One way we help to do this is by connecting families to resources such specialized counselling, Food banks and financial supports, recreational and play based programs, other parenting type programs and support groups in their community. Our program focuses on helping families become more independent and self-sustaining. We help parents learn more about what it means to be a parent, learn coping skills and come to know about the ages and stages of their children. Through providing in-home support to families we help promote physical, emotional and social development of parents and children.
Programs:
1.Outreach
The Outreach Program offers home and community visits by a Family Counsellor who helps with parenting skills and discusses family goals with parents. They learn how to build on existing strengths and increase the skills they have as they focus on their needs and the needs of their children. Through introductions to other resources in the community, parents learn to create connections between family and community. While in the program, families are monitored through an Integrated Case Management process. Involvement is generally for six to nine months in length and the concerns originating from the MCFD referral are more significantly impacting the children than are the other referrals to our Family Counsellors.
2. Family Development Response
The Family Counsellor initially visits the family home with an MCFD Social Work and offers to provide intensive, short-term skill building in order to avoid a child protection investigation. Again, existing family strengths and connections to the community are enhanced. This plan will help the family meet its own needs and create lasting ties with other community services. A thorough reporting system (the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale) assesses the families’ skills at both the beginning and end of service (generally 3 months) and determines whether further services are required.
3. Support Facilitation
The Support Facilitation referrals are generally those which require some immediate action, in areas such as securing housing, applying for financial assistance, connecting to agencies which provide food, clothing or household items, and to assist families in establishing relationships with the community. Service is short term (three months or under). This program also requires a referral from a Social Worker.
4. Access Support Visitation
Access Support Workers supervise and assist with transportation of when they have visits with their parents. Most of the children involved are residing in alternate situations. Access Support Workers regularly report back to the referring Social Worker on those visits, focusing on the strengths observed. Visits may take place at a variety of locations in the community.
Program Director − Tanya Valois
Address: 2062 Manning Avenue
Port Coquitlam BC V3B 1L6
Phone: 604-944-2500
Fax: 604-944-2507
Email: tri.cities@westcoastfamily.org
Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday – 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Community Groups and Workshops in the Tri-Cities
Mother Goose
The Mother Goose Program is a group experience for parents and their babies and young children which focuses on the pleasure and power of using rhymes, songs and stories together. Parents gain skills and confidence which can enable them to give their children healthy early experiences with language and communication. Not only is the bond between parent and child strengthened, the parents/caregivers create a “community” and mutual support within the group with the other adults and children.
Playful Possibilities
This program is a series of play workshops for parents and their children under age 5. Here, adults learn about the importance of play and get information on their child’s development and on how to promote and continue healthy play habits at home and in the community through enhancing their skills of interactive play. The 6 week series includes 1) Crafts and Messy Play 2) Dress Up and Dramatic Play 3) Books, Rhymes, Stories and Puppet Play 4) Games 5) Building and Construction and 6) Sounds, Music and Songs. Each workshop is interactive and hands-on with your child. Parents and children must pre-register.
Budget Gourmet
6-8 families come together at various locations in the community to plan, budget, prepare and eat agreed upon menus. Attention is given to financially challenged families and much of the program is designed around cooking on a limited budget and utilizing groceries received from local Food Banks. The program encourages parents to stretch their dollars and their creativity while at the same time reducing isolation and building friendships. Parents bring home meals on a weekly basis to share with their families.
You Make the Difference
This unique program supports parents of children 0-6 who learn to foster and enrich their child’s early language, social and literacy development during everyday interactions. Attachment and attunement are fundamental to the program. It uses the “3-A Way” of interacting with young children; Allow, Adapt, and Add. For those parents who have limited communication skills or who may feel isolated and have limited social networks, You Make the Difference helps connect with other families and resources in their community.
Strong Kids
Strong Kids is a Middle Childhood initiative aimed at teaching social and emotional competency in children aged 6-12. Children have the opportunity to learn and practice the skills of conflict resolution, dealing appropriately with difficult feelings, or sharing their feelings with others, for example. Written exercises, art projects, games and problem solving are some of the ways in which this program engages the children on a weekly basis. (Note: Strong Kids is run in individual classrooms. Program Staff coordinates with select schools within School District #43)
Jan Waldbillig - Community Development Coordinator (Community Groups and Workshops)
For Mother Goose and Nobody’s Perfect registration:
Please email special.projects@westcoastfamily.org and include which program you want, your name, and your child's name, age, phone number and email address.