Eight-bed residence for youths who have been through trauma to open soon in North Bay
It’s been a long time coming, but officials with Children’s Aid Society North Bay and Parry Sound say it’s almost time for Arbour House to begin operating.
The former Near North Youth Centre will see eight youths between the ages of 12 and 18 who have experienced trauma move in this fall.
The individuals will stay for 60 to 90 days and will receive services to help work through the trauma they’ve experienced.
"The youth that we work with have experienced some really traumatic experiences throughout their lives," said Gisele Hebert, executive director of Children’s Aid Society North Bay and Parry Sound.
"We really do want to serve them differently. Our motto is all roads lead home, and I think the focus is returning youth to their home community."
The Arbour House is a pilot project and Hebert told CTV News it’s the only one of its kind in northern Ontario.
"On average over the last five years, we have been uprooting 85 children and youth and placing them out of community," said Hebert.
"Some youth require some residential care and we really want to keep them close to home. They shouldn’t have to leave their families and connections in order to be served."
The provincial government is providing $1.5 million to help get the Arbour House through its first year of operations.
"It’s to really help with a local approach,” said Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli. "The whole idea is to give our local youth this continuity of being able to remain in their home community, close to families."
The young people will have access to a full classroom, a music room and an exercise facility.
"They will be pursuing their education. We have Indigenous cultural activities, we have physical activities, art, we have horseback riding therapy,” said Hebert.
"We want to provide them with as much of a productive environment (as we can) while they’re here."
Sixteen people will be hired to staff The Arbour House, including a clinical supervisor, coordinators and child and youth workers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.