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Children North expands programming in northern communities

May 22, 2018 | 12:00 PM

Described as a one-stop shop for families, Children North continues to expand its services to meet the needs of northern communities.

“There were three of us when I started, and that was close to 12 years ago,” Executive Director Daina Lapworth said. “We are up to 18 staff now.”

Starting with their early childhood intervention program, Lapworth said the organization began offering other services as well over the years, including the cognitive disability strategy, family support program, father engagement program and specialized support program. In total, Lapworth said close to 400 people participate in Children North programming in communities including Air Ronge, Deschambault Lake, Grandmother’s Bay, Hall Lake, La Ronge, Pelican Narrows, Pinehouse Lake, Southend, Stanley Mission, Sucker River, and Wollaston Lake.

Children North also launched a Mentor Support Program this month for young people between the ages of 7-17. Lapworth said the new initiative provides one-on-one assistance from a mentor to work on getting back into school, improving life skills and behaviours, and any other needs identified by the families involved. In the coming months, Children North will also start offering speech and language services, Lapworth said. As many as 85 per cent of the clients they serve have some kind of challenge in that area, she noted, emphasizing the importance of early intervention.