Wolseley Family Place
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Located in Winnipeg's West Broadway neighbourhood, Wolseley Family Place is a resource centre that takes a holistic approach to family health. The centre operates from the basement of the old nursing residence at Misericordia Health Centre. Wolseley Family Place was co-sponsored by the Misericordia Health Centre and Villa Rosa but is in the process of becoming incorporated as a separate entity.

In addition to CAPC, Wolseley received funding from the provincial and regional governments.

"Multiple funding allows us the flexibility to try a whole bunch of different things", says Sharon Taylor, the program director at Wolseley Family Place. "We're trying to be as broad as possible."

Wolseley Family Place has achieved remarkable success in community development and developing partnerships. Taylor says their partnerships with organizations like schools, stores, athletic facilities and art institutes allow them to offer a wide range of activities to the families.

"A true partnership is one where we both have something to gain from one another", Taylor says, citing as an example their partnership with the Mulvey school next door. The school offers access to computers and provides two teachers for computer classes; the centre supplies the participants (many of whom have never touched a computer before) and a snack

Child development activities include child care for children zero to six and a drop-in playtime each day. There are classes in Mother Goose (a literacy program based on nursery rhymes), storytelling times, infant massage and other educational parenting classes throughout the week.

Participants can also get support and information on: shaken baby syndrome, FAS/FAE, breastfeeding, addiction, nutrition and healthy eating, children, health, safety, first aid and CPR training. A doctor works at the centre once a month to provide check-ups and answer questions.

"We have an outreach worker who goes out into the community to reach extremely isolated women and their children, and provides some early childhood support for them."

The centre also offers pre- and post-natal classes for expectant and new mothers and refers expectant mothers to Winnipeg's CPNP project, Healthy Start for Mom and Me.

Family preservation refers to things like coping with stress and relationships and activities offered involve advice and discussion about stress, crisis prevention and coping skills. A popular family activity is the Mother's group, a weekly discussion group where women "come together, mother the mothers", as Taylor describes it. The group helps to ease tension and stress among all family members. If Mom feels better, she takes that good mood home with her.

Life skills learned at Wolseley Family Place include cooking, a garden club where women and children can learn to grow their own fruits and vegetables (and their mom can learn to preserve them in cooking class) and a community store where women can sell handicrafts they have made in art classes at the centre. There are also literacy activities to increase and upgrade women's reading skills.

Cultural awareness is an important component of activities at Wolseley Family Place, since a large percentage of the participants are Aboriginal. Storytelling circles for mothers and children to pass on stories and cultural ideas are held at the centre on a regular basis. There are activity days where beading workshops are held and traditional Aboriginal crafts are made. There have been quilting bees and feasts of traditional foods such as caribou.

The centre has also planned activities around events such as the Elimination of Racial Discrimination day every March.

"We tie in cultural awareness and eliminating racism whenever possible", says Taylor.

Family support meets the most basic needs of the families who use the centre. West Broadway, according to Taylor, is one of Winnipeg's poorest areas. The centre provides emergency food supplies for those who might need them, free laundry, access to telephones and a clothing depot.

Through a policy of hiring as many participants as possible to work at the centre, Wolseley Family Place promotes women's self-confidence and develops their work skills. By giving them real work experience, Taylor says, the centre helps them prepare for jobs in the larger community.

"We hire as many participants as we possibly can. One woman who worked in our child care was told she was unemployable because of a disability. We hired her and after that she got two jobs" Taylor says.

Parents want to be the best parents they can be, all they need is confidence, encouragement and support. How fortunate for the women and children of West Broadway that there is Wolseley Family Place.