Children’s Cottage Society opens new Child and Family Centre in northwest Calgary

The demand for the services offered by the Children's Cottage Society has grown, as families continue to struggle with the growing cost of living.

After 10 years of planning and two years of construction, the Children’s Cottage Society opened its new Child and Family Centre in northwest Calgary on Wednesday.

The non-profit organization provides support services to families, parents and children who are in crisis.

The demand for the services offered by the Children’s Cottage Society has grown, as families continue to struggle with the growing cost of living.

Staff at the Children’s Cottage Society say in the past, they have had long wait-lists and have had to turn people away. But the new facility means they will be able to help even more Calgary families.

The new centre will act as a hub for multiple social service agencies to respond to the needs of parents and children who are in crisis.

“These are hard times for parents,” said Danielle Ladouceur, CEO of the Children’s Cottage Society.

“It’s difficult to raise a family and when the economic circumstances are difficult as well, that puts a lot of pressure on families. We are all about free services. We also help families explore options to become more financially stable, better able to make use of their resources, better able to connect to supports that are available in the community to help them be financially stable, make sure that their basic needs are met and that they have hope for the future.”

The new 35,000-square-foot centre in the Montgomery neighbourhood will allow the organization to expand its services to an additional 3,000 children and families each year.