A new advocacy centre in Saint John will support children and youth affected by sexual violence.
Kit’s Place is a state-of-the-art child and youth advocacy centre that will be operated by Family Plus.
The not-for-profit mental health service provider has been helping individuals, couples, children and families since 1929.
Sharon Amirault, CEO of Family Plus, said the centre is designed to be a one-stop model which offers services in a child-friendly and safe environment.
“Instead of going to six different places when this horrendous act has been done, we will create a warm, welcoming centre where a child can come and have every service come to them,” Amirault said in a phone interview.
Those services include providing a statement to the police, meeting a nurse practitioner for medical follow-up, ongoing therapy, and any meetings a child or youth and their caregivers will need to have.
Amirault said there are many child and youth advocacy centres across the country but this is only the second one in New Brunswick.
She said a 2019 study determined there was a need for one in Greater Saint John and Family Plus was chosen as the organization to lead the project.
“There is at least one case [of sexual violence involving children or youth] a day reported in our province, so this is an issue that is big and it’s something that we believe shouldn’t be happening to the most vulnerable citizens of our province and our region,” said Amirault.
Katina Feegos, clinical manager at Family Plus, said the name for Kit’s Place was chosen for a couple of reasons.
Kit is another term for a baby fox, and red foxes are indigenous to New Brunswick.
“The word kit represents a family of foxes. We felt that Kit’s Place and naming it by just that term is exactly what we are doing,” said Feegos.
“We recognize that children cannot recover and heal from such a trauma as sexual violence without a community wrapping around that child and that family. We see this as a group effort.”
Amirault said as they were researching the name, they were told that kits are resilient, adaptable and smart-witted and that foxes really embrace family.
“That’s what Family Plus and Kit’s Place will be all about,” she said.
Kit’s Place will open this fall in the new Family Plus location in Lancaster Mall. It will provide support to children, youth and their families from Sussex to St. Stephen.
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