“Every child is intelligent” is the motto of a newcomer mom who is now able to help other families in Oakville.
In 1980, two young mothers, Jill Snidal and Anne Day, stepped up to address a gap in early childhood support and launched Oakville Parent-Child Centre’s (OPCC) first program called “Mothers are People Too” in a church basement.
Today, over 250 families participate at multiple centres across Oakville. With support from United Way Halton and Hamilton and Halton Region, through EarlyON and community partners, children receive play-based learning and their parents are given tools to better support them.
United Way funding currently supports the OPCC‘s Welcome Home program, which provides expertise for newcomer parents who are raising children in a new environment.
“The idea of Welcome Home is to create community, in the way that grandma’s kitchen table builds family and neighbour connections,” says Nadia Headley, the new Executive Director.
As a 7-year “New Canadian” herself, Nadia can relate. Exposed to EarlyON in Toronto, after studies in educational theory from the top down, she knew she wanted to work at the delivery point, where the family would be at the centre.
“Different aged children experience the integration into Canada differently,” she points out.
Change can disrupt a child’s development, and OPCC helps children develop self-regulation, self-awareness while encouraging self-discovery.
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