Wood Buffalo is close to getting its first Child and Youth Advocacy Centre.
Waypoints is set to renovate their old Unity House downtown so kids who’ve experienced abuse of any kind can access services.
They’re expecting construction to start in the coming weeks and are hoping to have it open sometime this summer.
Community and Corporate Relations Manager Jason Beck tells Mix News these kids will have access to many different kinds of support.
“Whether it’s RCMP, child services, counseling services that we offer – they come to that centre that’s child-friendly.”
Right now, Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, and Lethbridge have facilities up and running. Medicine Hat and Lethbridge are also working on getting their own centres.
Beck says these places make it easier for kids to reach out for help.
“That child doesn’t have to, for example, go to the RCMP centre to give a statement, they come there and everything comes there.”
Meanwhile, the provincial government announced on Friday they will be providing funds to the centre over the next three fiscal years.
They will receive a maximum of $160,200 by 2022-23.
