Chilliwack/Victoria – Indigenous families in over 30 communities throughout the province will benefit from more than 600 new, free licensed child care spaces and expanded Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) programs.
These programs support Indigenous families in becoming stronger and keep children connected to their culture.
The announcement was made by Katrine Conroy, B.C.’s Minister of Children and Family Development, at an “honouring the land ceremony” hosted by the Circle of Indigenous Nations Society in Grand Forks.
The BC AHS (Aboriginal Head Start) programs offer early learning, child care and parenting programs that are available at no cost to families. Programming is being expanded to include more culturally relevant early learning and increase the number of licensed child care spaces.
In Chilliwack, the Mamele’awt Qweesome Housing Society has expanded their AHS programming and built a new AHS centre, offering 25 spaces – eight for infants and toddlers and 17 for children aged three to five years.
In 2016, the Chilliwack, MQHS’s $11-million 80-unit project for low income earners was approved by council.
In 2017, BC Housing announced that it would be providing Mamele’awt Qweesome Housing Society with $10M to build a similar project in Abbotsford. That application is still on hold.
