Granny’s House cares for kids of at-risk parents

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This article was published 29/01/2020 (2070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Instead of being stuck with no one to help when they need a short break from their kids, at-risk parents in the North End can now take them to Granny’s House.

Families Minister Heather Stefanson visited the modest two-storey home in North Point Douglas that’s a $400,000 pilot project aimed at keeping children out of the child welfare system. Granny’s House — or Kookum’s House — provides short-term, out-of-home respite for parents for a few hours for things like grocery shopping or doctor’s appointments.

“This will allow at-risk parents with limited family supports and other challenges to access community-based care for their children when they need it,” Stefanson said at a press conference at Granny’s House Wednesday. The idea for the house came from Indigenous grandmothers she met after taking on her portfolio just over a year ago, she said.

“The number of children in care has more than doubled over the last decade,” said Stefanson, and the vast majority are from Indigenous families. Children in care are more likely to drop out of school and end up in the criminal justice system and things needed to change, she said.

“That’s why we’re looking at community-driven initiatives like this to keep our children out of the child welfare system and with their families,” said Stefanson. “Our government believes the best way to ensure positive outcomes for children is to keep families together. We recognize that raising children requires the community to come together to support parents and families.”

The house is being run by Gwekaanimad, a partnership of five North End organizations. Blue Thunderbird Family Care Inc. will operate Granny’s House. Staff will be hired from the community and include a full-time granny (housemother) and several aunties (support workers) to help provide care for the children, as well as a case manager who will work with community partners and help connect families to other needed resources.

The home is owned by Manitoba Housing, and is not for overnight stays, said Josie Hill, executive director of Blue Thunderbird. She said she’s been advocating for a place like Granny’s House for 35 years but regulations, liability concerns and bureaucracy prevented it from happening.

“We could use a Kookum’s House every 10 blocks,” said Dilly Knoll, executive director of the Andrews Street Family Centre. She knows single-parent moms and dads with several children and no nearby family they can rely on to help out.

“This will be an amazing place for our children and good things will happen and they will be loved and cared for like they haven’t been in the system,” said elder May Louise Campbell, a member of the Grandmothers Council.

“We know what’s best for our families, for our children,” she said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca