鈥淐ome in, we鈥檙e awesome.鈥�

Tim Gibson, executive director of the Shuswap Children鈥檚 Association (SCA), laughs as he describes the words on the rug at the entrance to the organization鈥檚 facilities on Shuswap Street in Salmon Arm.

He is clearly proud and appreciative of the staff he works with, their stated goal to 鈥渉elp children and their families to play, grow and thrive.鈥� SCA, which is a non-profit serving kids from birth to age 19, provides family-centred programs, services and resources focusing on children鈥檚 developmental and support needs.

As several staff members gather around a table, having agreed to talk about their services, some themes emerge.

From food to clothing to housing, it鈥檚 getting more difficult for many families in the Shuswap to make ends meet. And there are disparities.

While one child might have an overripe mushy banana for a snack, another might have a five-course selection in their lunch bag. While one might not have adequate winter clothing for playing outside, another might have two pairs of snow pants, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. One family shares one pair of boots between three family members. Families struggling economically appear to be in the majority.

Food prices are making healthy food choices more unattainable.

Those schools and daycares able to provide snacks or meals can make a big difference in a child鈥檚 day.

Read more:

鈥淲hat I hear with our play group is that families have to pick and choose when they come into town because gas is a big issue,鈥� said Christine Ondang, with Child Care Resource & Referral, referring to people who live farther from Salmon Arm, even Canoe. 鈥淎nd even with programming, rec centre swimming costs money, Junglemania costs money, just a lot of things they want to do but they don鈥檛 have the money to do. Free programming is really important.鈥�

SCA offers more than a dozen programs and services for a variety of ages, several of them free, serving an area which includes Sorrento to Revelstoke, Enderby, Blind Bay, Sicamous and Malakwa.

Tracey Morland with the Loft, Project Affinity and Respite Care coordinator, said staff have provided extra supports in order for a child to participate in two programs in one day so their parent doesn鈥檛 have to make two trips into Salmon Arm. 鈥淲e are adjusting to try to make things work.鈥�

Gibson explains there is no funding provided for food, clothing or gas, so people are referred to organizations like the food banks for food, or the Shuswap Family Centre and the SAFE Society鈥檚 Hub for clothing.

He explained not all families receive funding for developmental delays or support needs their child may be experiencing.

鈥淚f they have a diagnosis, they can use funding for programs, depending on the diagnosis. But not all diagnoses come with funding. But they can鈥檛 use it for gas, they can鈥檛 use it for food. They can鈥檛 use it for living expenses, just therapy services. So it鈥檚 only for certain diagnoses,鈥� Gibson said.

鈥淎utism comes with individualized funding they can use for therapy services. And some materials, depending on what it is. That鈥檚 it. But some diagnoses don鈥檛 come with funding. So now you have a child in a family who has some challenges, but that family doesn鈥檛 get any financial support. Like FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorders) or Down syndrome. There鈥檚 no individualized funding, or funding, for that.鈥�

Read more:

Rachel Richardson, with Supported Child Development, said referrals to programs are up and money is definitely tighter for families than it once was.

鈥淭he price of everything is going up.鈥�

Morland added: 鈥淣obody鈥檚 getting off scot free. Everyone鈥檚 affected.鈥�

The isolation of the pandemic has also been hard, particularly on teens鈥� mental health, Tracey Morland said.

鈥淎nd they鈥檝e missed out on some developmental milestones too. The 14 year olds haven鈥檛 had work experiences or summer jobs. This stuff adds up鈥︹��

The association created the FLY program, Friends & Leisure Youth program, for kids eight to 18 because the Loft program has such a long wait list that kids won鈥檛 get in it. FLY helps kids work on social skills, learn new activities, get out in the community and stay active.

Young people who have support needs don鈥檛 necessarily get to participate in community sports, Gibson pointed out.

Angelina Hartwig with FLY noted: 鈥淭hey really need these opportunities to make new friends and find a place they belong, a safe place they can try new things and feel like they鈥檙e part of our community.鈥�

Brad Shields with Supported Child Development emphasized the importance of social connection.

鈥淲ith Covid coming in we get so used to being at home, and with the cost of things it鈥檚 a lot cheaper to stay home. To offer a program that鈥檚 free, gets them out and about, fresh air, meet new friends, the social part of it, it鈥檚 more important now than before.鈥�

Read more:

Making programs cost less is what SCA is working on. Because it has bills to pay, it has to generate funding to support such programs.

Here鈥檚 where the public comes in.

SCA is constantly doing fundraisers as it鈥檚 a charity, so it can take donations and provide donations receipts.

鈥淲e have a monthly donor campaign coming out now. Monthly donations help us provide services and programs to the community,鈥� said Gibson.

Currently the association is selling campfire sticks to raise money for FLY. It鈥檚 also doing a 鈥榮ponsor a camper鈥� campaign as it鈥檚 holding a weekend camp for kids with support needs in September. It puts on film festivals and a number of community events such as Story Time in the Park, a partnership with the library. Once again it plans to hold a Summer Bash in Blackburn Park with about 600 people expected.

鈥淚t is a free event for families, so any kind of donation to the agency helps all this programming we do,鈥� said Ondang.

She also points out that an Early Years Fair is set for May 10 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the rec centre in Salmon Arm, which will include many agencies that provide early years services.

SCA sells Askew鈥檚 cards at cost to the public and then gets a seven per cent reimbursement from Askew鈥檚.

鈥淎ll the donations, all the fundraising, all the grants we write 鈥� it鈥檚 all about community building and providing services to the community,鈥� Gibson emphasized.

The association is located at 240 Shuswap St. NE, phone number 250-833-0164.

Like the families they support, staff also feel the stress of the current situation.

鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling the pinch to provide the services and we鈥檝e got some things in-house to help everyone to cope with the magnitude of the work we鈥檙e dealing with on a daily basis,鈥� said Gibson.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the struggles that we see of our families we support and these kids we support. It also weighs on us,鈥� added Shields. 鈥淲e just want to offer solutions to fix it. It鈥檚 not always as easy as it sounds.鈥�

Emphasized Ondang: 鈥淲e care about the families we work with so much.鈥�

鈥⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌�

Kim Sinclair, executive director of Aspiral Youth Partners Association, sees issues similar to those experienced by SCA.

The mandate of his organization is to work with young people to find supports and resources to build success in their lives.

A lot of the work they do is connected with the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development, he said, working with young people who are struggling for a variety of reasons: family circumstances, trauma, mental health issues and more.

鈥淥ur job is to work with them to help them find a stable connection in home, community and school as possible.鈥�

Some good news, he said, is that the B.C. government plans to enact legislation that will support young people better, beyond the adult-youth agreement, with more financial and other support when they turn 19 and age out of eligibility.

Housing can be a big issue for people, much moreso than in the past.

But it鈥檚 not the biggest concern.

鈥淭he biggest one we鈥檙e struggling with right now is mental health.鈥�

Sinclair said the association鈥檚 work is always about making connections, building relationships, helping people look at what they want and what strategies are going to help them to get there.

Asked what the most important message he鈥檇 like to convey to the public is, he replied:

鈥淟ook around to the people that are within your sphere and connect. To re-establish those personal relationships and be there to support people鈥� 鈥楬ey how you doing, you want to go for a coffee, you want to go for a walk?鈥� It鈥檚 those human-to- human connections that are really the heartbeat of our mental well-being.鈥�

鈥⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌�

This is the third story in a bi-weekly series on poverty, its effects and the services available. It is in conjunction with a campaign by the City of Salmon Arm and its Social Impact Advisory Committee to address poverty and help ensure residents know where to find resources.

Read more:

Read more: