A safe-haven in North Central
by Jeanette Stewart
the Carillon

North Central Family Centre creates hope
–––

The North Central Family Centre is a haven for inner city children, families and adults. In a community widely known for its problems with unemployment, crime and poverty, this centre is a shining light, offering upwards of 45 programs structured for youth, families and seniors, all of which are aimed at promoting positive and healthy changes for the community.

Though the exterior of the building is uninviting, with peeling paint and only a sign to distinguish itself from the other buildings on the block, what awaits inside starkly contrasts the oppressive atmosphere of the rest of the neighborhood.

The inside of the centre bustles with activity. Children are playing games, doing activities or sitting at the row of computers. Someone is banging on the piano and several people are milling about aimlessly, talking and laughing with their friends. The volunteers are all eager to meet with me, and although my first instinct is apprehension, I am immediately put at ease. The atmosphere is one of safety, and I get the sense that everyone there also feels that way.

Office manager Brad Deacon says at the centre, what they do is “proactive, trying to get down to the root cause, as in preventing some kids from developing a crisis.” Their aim is to provide this sort of “safe” atmosphere, where people can come to get away from their problems, and to develop life skills or even to just make friends.

Ivan Amichand, another facilitator at the centre, says, “Many of the kids who come to the centre may come from dysfunctional families, where the centre acts as the only family environment.” Deacon says that the reason they are here is to “be that one stable place they can go to, whether they have a good home life or not.”

The centre facilitates almost 150 regular visitors on a daily basis. Out of this number about 75 to 100 of these visitors are kids. Many of them come after school and stay until closing, participating in several of the programs offered during this time.

Leanne Klyne, one of the centre’s participants, says that her favorite part of coming to the centre is to be with her friends. She began coming to the centre because many other people she knew liked the centre and she wanted to see what was going on. She found that she really enjoyed the programs and has learned a lot.

B.J. Wolfe is one of the centre’s young volunteers. He says that he has been coming to the centre all his life. One of his favorite parts of coming to the centre is “just working here, and having fun with the other kids.” He says that he comes “to learn about respect, manners,” as well as “just having fun.”

One of the main problems the centre faces is locating enough funding to run the programs. Deacon feels that “sometimes you get so caught up in having to find money, find grants, do fundraising, and you are so busy doing that you can’t deliver your programs.” This is a problem the organization counteracts by holding numerous fundraisers throughout the year. As Amichand puts it, “you name it, we’re there.” Activities like hot dog sales, car washes and benefit concerts and suppers all contribute to keeping the centre running.

One of the primary goals for the centre right now is to create some sort of self-sufficiency in order to further their ability to assist the community. Amichand says that “the need is so enormous out there, that ideally what we’d like the centre to do to respond to the community is [remain] open 24 hours, seven days a week, and in terms of a second phase, perhaps having a shelter.”

Amichand says, “For those who are familiar with this community, there is a lot of street activity, a lot of alcohol and drugs, a lot of fire setting.” Twenty-five per cent of city money goes to enforcement in this area.

“There are a tremendous amount of city services that are being devoted to this community,” he adds. He feels the centre is successful in providing an environment that not only administers to the problems at hand, but looks for ways to combat them. By continually increasing programs and services, he says that “[they] can impact the community in a positive way.”