Centre for abused children to open in Chilliwack September 18

A new centre for children who are victims of child abuse is opening up in Chilliwack in mid-September. The new Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (CYAC) grand opening will take place on September 18. 

The Chilliwack CYAC will be located in the existing Chilliwack Community Services building, the Paramount Building, 100 - 46187 Yale Rd. Chilliwack Community Services Society is a registered charitable society in BC that provides a wide range of services for families, children, seniors, and newcomers. 

“We currently have two interview rooms that the RCMP have been using for quite some time, successfully, and they’ve been interviewing children and youth, and vulnerable witnesses,” said Jennifer Campbell, advocacy coordinator with Chilliwack Community Services. “We are in the midst of hiring for a child and youth advocate and a part-time therapist that will also be attached to the centre.” 

At present, Campbell said, it isn’t clear how many children the new CYAC will be able to serve with two part-time staffers. That will become clearer once the centre opens and starts receiving referrals.

“We currently only have funding for a part-time advocate and a part-time therapist, so it’ll depend on how many referrals we get, and what we’re able to process at that time,” Campbell said. “It’s new to us, and we haven’t been processing any referrals.” 

Campbell added that most of the centre’s funding comes from the Department of Justice and civil forfeiture grants. Any future expansion will depend on funding. 

According to Brooke McLardy, executive director of the BC Network for Child and Youth Advocacy Centres Society, CYACs are a one-stop shop for children experiencing abuse. The centres aim to provide all the services a child would need in one place to help them navigate the various support systems available, which may be too much for one person to navigate on their own. 

“So, support with the criminal justice system, the child protection system, with health, mental health, any system that they would have to deal with as they go on their healing journey or their justice journey. The multidisciplinary team at the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre will help them navigate all of that in a one-stop shop for the child. All the services are coming to them, instead of the child having to go out and figure out who they need to talk to, or the family having to navigate that.” 

The centres typically serve children up to the age of 19, although occasionally they will provide support services for young adults who experienced abuse as children. 

“Typically, we see them right up to their 19th birthday. That being said, we’re very flexible,” McLardy said. “If we have a young adult who is particularly vulnerable and would benefit from coming to the centre, we generally will open that service up to them. If we have a child, let’s say who came to us when they were 17, and we’re still working with them when they turn 19, they stay with us until they stop using the service.” 

The CYACs are non-profit organizations that rely on donations for funding, but also receive some funding from the federal and provincial governments.