Support for parents in an age when isolation is often a pitfall

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Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday September 30, 2010
Reproduced with permission.
Photos: Wayne Glowicki

Karen Velthuys was a stay-at-home mom when she first heard of the South Win­nipeg Family Information Centre, and is now its executive director.

Karen Velthuys knows first-hand being a parent isn't easy. It's why she heads an organization that helps families deal with the mental and spiritual taxation that comes with raising a kid.

The 46-year-old mother of one admits at the time her son was born 20 years ago, she was an older mother even by the standards of the day.

So she turned to the South Winnipeg Family Information Centre. "The first time I found them in the community, I was a stay-at-home mom and felt isolated," she said.

"Most of my friends who were parents were all back at work, so I took some courses to find other parents I could relate to."

Ironically enough, Velthuys is now the executive director of the SWFIC -- a position she's held for six years -- and sees parents like her come through her doors every day. "There are so many stresses and demands that families are under nowadays," she said. "We're living in a community where our extended families aren't with us, we're working harder and more than ever, and so there's a danger of us becoming isolated.

"Our agency is one of those places that normalizes what's happening in your family so you're not feeling isolated and unable to reach out," she said. "We work with families needing assistance preventative in nature to continue having success at home. We know kids don't come with manuals. All of a sudden we have this child and it's difficult to know all the phases children go through at any stage of life.''

The organization deals with up to 1,200 parents every year from across the city, offering parent coaching and education classes and youth education like babysitting courses. Many of its clients are referred to the SWFIC by other agencies or the courts. Many register just for the help and advice. This year, the United Way contributed $45,237 to the agency, almost half of its $110,000 budget. It's the only guaranteed funding SWFIC receives, as the amount of grants and donations the agency gets can be unpredictable, Velthuys said.

"(The United Way) keeps us on track as an agency," she said. "People have donated their dollars to the United Way expecting delivery of outcomes, so it keeps us on track to meet our targets and make sure that we're delivering what's expected of us." But the United Way chips in more than cash, Velthuys explains, organizing volunteers for renovations and other help the organization needs.

"These are all the things that if we weren't one of the United Way agencies we wouldn't have access to," Velthuys said. "When you have a $110,000 budget there's just no way."