InFocus Magazine

I almost got beaned as I rode my bike to work the other morning.  Not by a car, mind you, but by a plum as it fell from a tree lining the road.  Thankfully I was able to avoid the fruit missile, but immediately I had to swerve through the slippery piles of smashed fruit on the road.  As I carefully continued on my way to work I started to wonder… doesn’t anyone want this fruit?  Doesn’t it seem a shame that so much goes to waste?

Turns out there are others who feel the same, and they’ve been actively doing something about it.

Lush Valley (an acronym for Let Us Share the Harvest) Food Action Society is a fruit tree sharing program that has been around since the 1990s.   I had a chance to speak with two of the core members of Lush Valley, President Bunny Shannon and Jean duGal, at their office on Piercy Road.  Being the harvest season, the office was hopping, but they still took time from their busy day to describe their program and how it began.

Lush Valley has its roots in the 1980s, in a program that asked women to ‘think globally but act locally’ on issues surrounding poverty and food.  “And that was before the word local was such a buzz word,” recalls duGal with a laugh.   She remembers attending a lot of meetings where she got frustrated because she wanted to move from talking to doing.   So she and a small group of like-minded individuals started a program called The Good Food Box.  The program was a way to provide healthy fruits and veggies to needy individuals for just $10 per box.

Though it was popular and successful, eventually the rising cost of food made the program impossible to continue.  “The price of food kept going up and the boxes got smaller and smaller,” she says.    But all was not lost, for from that start they instigated the fruit tree program.

“We heard of two women who started a tree fruit sharing program in the Lower Mainland,” says Shannon.  “It seemed like such a great idea we thought we’d give it a try here in the Comox Valley.”

The concept, adds duGal, was one that people readily accepted.  “From the start, people could easily understand the idea of the fruit tree program because everyone can see that there is fruit going to waste.”

The idea is simple—a person with too much fruit calls Lush Valley and asks them to come and pick the fruit.  Volunteers come out, pick the trees, and the fruit pickers get one third of the picked fruit.  The owner gets one third, and the remaining third is for Lush Valley to redistribute or use in their teaching kitchen.

“Everyone benefits from the program,” explains duGal.  Oftentimes the volunteer fruit pickers are underemployed people who appreciate the fruit they receive.  Other needy individuals benefit from the redistributed food they receive from Lush Valley, and the tree owners benefit because they don’t have to stress about the fruit falling off their trees.

“Besides people who are just too busy to pick their fruit, there’s always an aging population who can benefit from our fruit picking service,” says Shannon.  “They feel good about sharing their fruit, and they’re happy to see the fruit not going to waste.”

And don’t forget the bears—most people would rather see fruit pickers in their trees than bears munching on the fruit.

“We have a lot of people from Cumberland calling us to pick fruit from their trees so they can keep the bears out of their yards!” Shannon adds, laughing.

Though Lush Valley is mainly known as a fruit picking and sharing service, it really has grown into much more.  “We’re ultimately about creating food security for people,” says duGal.  “Our goals are to build self-reliance around food because food touches all aspects of our lives.”

And it’s about cooperation, adds Shannon.  “We believe in what we’re doing here because it’s about people getting together and providing for themselves and others.”

In order to enhance food security, Lush Valley has created an interlinked set of inclusive programs that are geared to help all people provide healthy foods for themselves and their families.  From handing out food and prepared meals to helping teach people to prepare their own, Lush Valley is dedicated to helping people go from being dependent to independent.

How have they done all this?  Shannon says it has only been possible because of the volunteers who help run the programs.

“It’s just such a positive place,” she says.  “People have fun volunteering here.”  She tells of the time, just last week, when a group of ladies came in to volunteer in the community kitchen.  Though the women had never met before, within minutes they were working together and laughing like old friends.  “That’s what happens all the time here,” Shannon says.  “I think it’s because everyone knows they’re here to do good things.”

Lush Valley also benefits regularly from donations.  In fact, Lush Valley is open to any type of food donation at any time.  “Just last week we received about 100 pounds of fresh fish,” Shannon says, laughing.  “But we’ll use it—we always do!”

They also regularly receive food from St. Joseph’s Hospital through what is called the Food Recovery Program.  About once a month Lush Valley gets a call telling them that there are surplus meals available.  They pick up the meals and redistribute them to anyone in need.

Even though they mainly run their program through the work of volunteers and donations, they’ve subsisted on a shoestring budget for many years.  “People are always so amazed at what we do with so little,” says Shannon.  “We’ve survived by the seat of our pants most years, but last year things changed when we finally received federal funding and gaming monies.”

Because of the new financial support, Lush Valley is finally able to implement a few of the programs they’ve always wanted to provide.  “I feel like we’re really on a roll,” Shannon says.  “It’s pretty exciting.”

For example, because of the new government grant Lush Valley now has a Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) certified commercial kitchen.  “We call it an incubator kitchen,” says Shannon with a laugh.  That’s because they see the space as a place where people can use the kitchen to start their food-based business.  For example, one woman started out by using the kitchen to make tamales, which she sold at the Farmer’s Market.  Now she owns and runs her own restaurant.

Lush Valley also uses the kitchen to provide workshops on cooking, preserving, budgeting and Food Safe courses.  One example of these is an after school cooking program for at risk children called The Young Cooks Program.  “The kids love being able to come to their cooking class after school,” says duGal.  “They feel special and it’s also a chance for the kids to get together and talk with other kids who share the same problems.”  The 10 to 14-year-olds come to the Lush Valley kitchen once a week to learn about nutrition and how to cook healthy meals.  After they’re finished with their class they’re able to take their creations home to share with their family.

Though the new kitchen is up and running, there are still areas of the building that are going through major renovations.  “We have some big plans for our space as well as for our programs,” says Shannon.  For example, though they don’t know the exact nuts and bolts of the program yet, they hope to provide a group buying service to charity organizations in the future.

“There are many groups that could benefit from such a service,” Shannon says.  “For example, St. Georges Church provides meals most days for homeless and needy people, but they can’t buy food in bulk because they don’t have the space to store it.  They’d save a lot of money if they could buy in bulk.”  In essence, the group buying club would help other like-minded groups shrink their food costs, stretching their funds so they can ultimately do more.

It’s clear Lush Valley believes in the power of partnerships, as they’ve partnered up with other volunteer-run groups that have the same values.  One such example is a group called the Pepper Mill, which works out of Lush Valley’s kitchen to cook and distribute healthy frozen meals at affordable prices to anyone who needs them.   Lush Valley also shares their space with the Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers, with Dawn to Dawn Action on Homelessness, and with Food Not Bombs.  Since these other groups are also working toward the ultimate goal of food security for all, it seems logical to those at Lush Valley that they should work collaboratively.

Lush Valley has big plans for the future, but those plans can only come to fruition if they have help from volunteers.

“We’re always looking for new help,” says duGal.  “And with all these renovations we could really use the help of painters and such.  We’ll never turn anyone away—there is always work to be done.”

And the work always gets done, because, as duGal wisely says, “Food always brings people together.”

Lush Valley is located at 1126 Piercy Road in Courtenay.  Their hours are 10 – 3pm Monday to Thursday.  For more information about Lush Valley call 250-331-0152 or visit www.lushvalley.org.

‘Season Upon Season’ is a cookbook Lush Valley sells to raise funds.  It’s available for $15 at Zocalo’s, Beyond the Kitchen Door and at the Lush Valley office.

I almost got beaned as I rode my bike to work the other morning.  Not by a car, mind you, but by a plum as it fell from a tree lining the road.  Thankfully I was able to avoid the fruit missile, but immediately I had to swerve through the slippery piles of smashed fruit on the road.  As I carefully continued on my way to work I started to wonder… doesn’t anyone want this fruit?  Doesn’t it seem a shame that so much goes to waste?

Turns out there are others who feel the same, and they’ve been actively doing something about it.

Lush Valley (an acronym for Let Us Share the Harvest) Food Action Society is a fruit tree sharing program that has been around since the 1990s.   I had a chance to speak with two of the core members of Lush Valley, President Bunny Shannon and Jean duGal, at their office on Piercy Road.  Being the harvest season, the office was hopping, but they still took time from their busy day to describe their program and how it began.

Lush Valley has its roots in the 1980s, in a program that asked women to ‘think globally but act locally’ on issues surrounding poverty and food.  “And that was before the word local was such a buzz word,” recalls duGal with a laugh.   She remembers attending a lot of meetings where she got frustrated because she wanted to move from talking to doing.   So she and a small group of like-minded individuals started a program called The Good Food Box.  The program was a way to provide healthy fruits and veggies to needy individuals for just $10 per box.

Though it was popular and successful, eventually the rising cost of food made the program impossible to continue.  “The price of food kept going up and the boxes got smaller and smaller,” she says.    But all was not lost, for from that start they instigated the fruit tree program.

“We heard of two women who started a tree fruit sharing program in the Lower Mainland,” says Shannon.  “It seemed like such a great idea we thought we’d give it a try here in the Comox Valley.”

The concept, adds duGal, was one that people readily accepted.  “From the start, people could easily understand the idea of the fruit tree program because everyone can see that there is fruit going to waste.”

The idea is simple—a person with too much fruit calls Lush Valley and asks them to come and pick the fruit.  Volunteers come out, pick the trees, and the fruit pickers get one third of the picked fruit.  The owner gets one third, and the remaining third is for Lush Valley to redistribute or use in their teaching kitchen.

“Everyone benefits from the program,” explains duGal.  Oftentimes the volunteer fruit pickers are underemployed people who appreciate the fruit they receive.  Other needy individuals benefit from the redistributed food they receive from Lush Valley, and the tree owners benefit because they don’t have to stress about the fruit falling off their trees.

“Besides people who are just too busy to pick their fruit, there’s always an aging population who can benefit from our fruit picking service,” says Shannon.  “They feel good about sharing their fruit, and they’re happy to see the fruit not going to waste.”

And don’t forget the bears—most people would rather see fruit pickers in their trees than bears munching on the fruit.

“We have a lot of people from Cumberland calling us to pick fruit from their trees so they can keep the bears out of their yards!” Shannon adds, laughing.

Though Lush Valley is mainly known as a fruit picking and sharing service, it really has grown into much more.  “We’re ultimately about creating food security for people,” says duGal.  “Our goals are to build self-reliance around food because food touches all aspects of our lives.”

And it’s about cooperation, adds Shannon.  “We believe in what we’re doing here because it’s about people getting together and providing for themselves and others.”

In order to enhance food security, Lush Valley has created an interlinked set of inclusive programs that are geared to help all people provide healthy foods for themselves and their families.  From handing out food and prepared meals to helping teach people to prepare their own, Lush Valley is dedicated to helping people go from being dependent to independent.

How have they done all this?  Shannon says it has only been possible because of the volunteers who help run the programs.

“It’s just such a positive place,” she says.  “People have fun volunteering here.”  She tells of the time, just last week, when a group of ladies came in to volunteer in the community kitchen.  Though the women had never met before, within minutes they were working together and laughing like old friends.  “That’s what happens all the time here,” Shannon says.  “I think it’s because everyone knows they’re here to do good things.”

Lush Valley also benefits regularly from donations.  In fact, Lush Valley is open to any type of food donation at any time.  “Just last week we received about 100 pounds of fresh fish,” Shannon says, laughing.  “But we’ll use it—we always do!”

They also regularly receive food from St. Joseph’s Hospital through what is called the Food Recovery Program.  About once a month Lush Valley gets a call telling them that there are surplus meals available.  They pick up the meals and redistribute them to anyone in need.

Even though they mainly run their program through the work of volunteers and donations, they’ve subsisted on a shoestring budget for many years.  “People are always so amazed at what we do with so little,” says Shannon.  “We’ve survived by the seat of our pants most years, but last year things changed when we finally received federal funding and gaming monies.”

Because of the new financial support, Lush Valley is finally able to implement a few of the programs they’ve always wanted to provide.  “I feel like we’re really on a roll,” Shannon says.  “It’s pretty exciting.”

For example, because of the new government grant Lush Valley now has a Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) certified commercial kitchen.  “We call it an incubator kitchen,” says Shannon with a laugh.  That’s because they see the space as a place where people can use the kitchen to start their food-based business.  For example, one woman started out by using the kitchen to make tamales, which she sold at the Farmer’s Market.  Now she owns and runs her own restaurant.

Lush Valley also uses the kitchen to provide workshops on cooking, preserving, budgeting and Food Safe courses.  One example of these is an after school cooking program for at risk children called The Young Cooks Program.  “The kids love being able to come to their cooking class after school,” says duGal.  “They feel special and it’s also a chance for the kids to get together and talk with other kids who share the same problems.”  The 10 to 14-year-olds come to the Lush Valley kitchen once a week to learn about nutrition and how to cook healthy meals.  After they’re finished with their class they’re able to take their creations home to share with their family.

Though the new kitchen is up and running, there are still areas of the building that are going through major renovations.  “We have some big plans for our space as well as for our programs,” says Shannon.  For example, though they don’t know the exact nuts and bolts of the program yet, they hope to provide a group buying service to charity organizations in the future.

“There are many groups that could benefit from such a service,” Shannon says.  “For example, St. Georges Church provides meals most days for homeless and needy people, but they can’t buy food in bulk because they don’t have the space to store it.  They’d save a lot of money if they could buy in bulk.”  In essence, the group buying club would help other like-minded groups shrink their food costs, stretching their funds so they can ultimately do more.

It’s clear Lush Valley believes in the power of partnerships, as they’ve partnered up with other volunteer-run groups that have the same values.  One such example is a group called the Pepper Mill, which works out of Lush Valley’s kitchen to cook and distribute healthy frozen meals at affordable prices to anyone who needs them.   Lush Valley also shares their space with the Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers, with Dawn to Dawn Action on Homelessness, and with Food Not Bombs.  Since these other groups are also working toward the ultimate goal of food security for all, it seems logical to those at Lush Valley that they should work collaboratively.

Lush Valley has big plans for the future, but those plans can only come to fruition if they have help from volunteers.

“We’re always looking for new help,” says duGal.  “And with all these renovations we could really use the help of painters and such.  We’ll never turn anyone away—there is always work to be done.”

And the work always gets done, because, as duGal wisely says, “Food always brings people together.”

Lush Valley is located at 1126 Piercy Road in Courtenay.  Their hours are 10 – 3pm Monday to Thursday.  For more information about Lush Valley call 250-331-0152 or visit www.lushvalley.org.

‘Season Upon Season’ is a cookbook Lush Valley sells to raise funds.  It’s available for $15 at Zocalo’s, Beyond the Kitchen Door and at the Lush Valley office.

I almost got beaned as I rode my bike to work the other morning.  Not by a car, mind you, but by a plum as it fell from a tree lining the road.  Thankfully I was able to avoid the fruit missile, but immediately I had to swerve through the slippery piles of smashed fruit on the road.  As I carefully continued on my way to work I started to wonder… doesn’t anyone want this fruit?  Doesn’t it seem a shame that so much goes to waste?

Turns out there are others who feel the same, and they’ve been actively doing something about it.

Lush Valley (an acronym for Let Us Share the Harvest) Food Action Society is a fruit tree sharing program that has been around since the 1990s.   I had a chance to speak with two of the core members of Lush Valley, President Bunny Shannon and Jean duGal, at their office on Piercy Road.  Being the harvest season, the office was hopping, but they still took time from their busy day to describe their program and how it began.

Lush Valley has its roots in the 1980s, in a program that asked women to ‘think globally but act locally’ on issues surrounding poverty and food.  “And that was before the word local was such a buzz word,” recalls duGal with a laugh.   She remembers attending a lot of meetings where she got frustrated because she wanted to move from talking to doing.   So she and a small group of like-minded individuals started a program called The Good Food Box.  The program was a way to provide healthy fruits and veggies to needy individuals for just $10 per box.

Though it was popular and successful, eventually the rising cost of food made the program impossible to continue.  “The price of food kept going up and the boxes got smaller and smaller,” she says.    But all was not lost, for from that start they instigated the fruit tree program.

“We heard of two women who started a tree fruit sharing program in the Lower Mainland,” says Shannon.  “It seemed like such a great idea we thought we’d give it a try here in the Comox Valley.”

The concept, adds duGal, was one that people readily accepted.  “From the start, people could easily understand the idea of the fruit tree program because everyone can see that there is fruit going to waste.”

The idea is simple—a person with too much fruit calls Lush Valley and asks them to come and pick the fruit.  Volunteers come out, pick the trees, and the fruit pickers get one third of the picked fruit.  The owner gets one third, and the remaining third is for Lush Valley to redistribute or use in their teaching kitchen.

“Everyone benefits from the program,” explains duGal.  Oftentimes the volunteer fruit pickers are underemployed people who appreciate the fruit they receive.  Other needy individuals benefit from the redistributed food they receive from Lush Valley, and the tree owners benefit because they don’t have to stress about the fruit falling off their trees.

“Besides people who are just too busy to pick their fruit, there’s always an aging population who can benefit from our fruit picking service,” says Shannon.  “They feel good about sharing their fruit, and they’re happy to see the fruit not going to waste.”

And don’t forget the bears—most people would rather see fruit pickers in their trees than bears munching on the fruit.

“We have a lot of people from Cumberland calling us to pick fruit from their trees so they can keep the bears out of their yards!” Shannon adds, laughing.

Though Lush Valley is mainly known as a fruit picking and sharing service, it really has grown into much more.  “We’re ultimately about creating food security for people,” says duGal.  “Our goals are to build self-reliance around food because food touches all aspects of our lives.”

And it’s about cooperation, adds Shannon.  “We believe in what we’re doing here because it’s about people getting together and providing for themselves and others.”

In order to enhance food security, Lush Valley has created an interlinked set of inclusive programs that are geared to help all people provide healthy foods for themselves and their families.  From handing out food and prepared meals to helping teach people to prepare their own, Lush Valley is dedicated to helping people go from being dependent to independent.

How have they done all this?  Shannon says it has only been possible because of the volunteers who help run the programs.

“It’s just such a positive place,” she says.  “People have fun volunteering here.”  She tells of the time, just last week, when a group of ladies came in to volunteer in the community kitchen.  Though the women had never met before, within minutes they were working together and laughing like old friends.  “That’s what happens all the time here,” Shannon says.  “I think it’s because everyone knows they’re here to do good things.”

Lush Valley also benefits regularly from donations.  In fact, Lush Valley is open to any type of food donation at any time.  “Just last week we received about 100 pounds of fresh fish,” Shannon says, laughing.  “But we’ll use it—we always do!”

They also regularly receive food from St. Joseph’s Hospital through what is called the Food Recovery Program.  About once a month Lush Valley gets a call telling them that there are surplus meals available.  They pick up the meals and redistribute them to anyone in need.

Even though they mainly run their program through the work of volunteers and donations, they’ve subsisted on a shoestring budget for many years.  “People are always so amazed at what we do with so little,” says Shannon.  “We’ve survived by the seat of our pants most years, but last year things changed when we finally received federal funding and gaming monies.”

Because of the new financial support, Lush Valley is finally able to implement a few of the programs they’ve always wanted to provide.  “I feel like we’re really on a roll,” Shannon says.  “It’s pretty exciting.”

For example, because of the new government grant Lush Valley now has a Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) certified commercial kitchen.  “We call it an incubator kitchen,” says Shannon with a laugh.  That’s because they see the space as a place where people can use the kitchen to start their food-based business.  For example, one woman started out by using the kitchen to make tamales, which she sold at the Farmer’s Market.  Now she owns and runs her own restaurant.

Lush Valley also uses the kitchen to provide workshops on cooking, preserving, budgeting and Food Safe courses.  One example of these is an after school cooking program for at risk children called The Young Cooks Program.  “The kids love being able to come to their cooking class after school,” says duGal.  “They feel special and it’s also a chance for the kids to get together and talk with other kids who share the same problems.”  The 10 to 14-year-olds come to the Lush Valley kitchen once a week to learn about nutrition and how to cook healthy meals.  After they’re finished with their class they’re able to take their creations home to share with their family.

Though the new kitchen is up and running, there are still areas of the building that are going through major renovations.  “We have some big plans for our space as well as for our programs,” says Shannon.  For example, though they don’t know the exact nuts and bolts of the program yet, they hope to provide a group buying service to charity organizations in the future.

“There are many groups that could benefit from such a service,” Shannon says.  “For example, St. Georges Church provides meals most days for homeless and needy people, but they can’t buy food in bulk because they don’t have the space to store it.  They’d save a lot of money if they could buy in bulk.”  In essence, the group buying club would help other like-minded groups shrink their food costs, stretching their funds so they can ultimately do more.

It’s clear Lush Valley believes in the power of partnerships, as they’ve partnered up with other volunteer-run groups that have the same values.  One such example is a group called the Pepper Mill, which works out of Lush Valley’s kitchen to cook and distribute healthy frozen meals at affordable prices to anyone who needs them.   Lush Valley also shares their space with the Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers, with Dawn to Dawn Action on Homelessness, and with Food Not Bombs.  Since these other groups are also working toward the ultimate goal of food security for all, it seems logical to those at Lush Valley that they should work collaboratively.

Lush Valley has big plans for the future, but those plans can only come to fruition if they have help from volunteers.

“We’re always looking for new help,” says duGal.  “And with all these renovations we could really use the help of painters and such.  We’ll never turn anyone away—there is always work to be done.”

And the work always gets done, because, as duGal wisely says, “Food always brings people together.”

Lush Valley is located at 1126 Piercy Road in Courtenay.  Their hours are 10 – 3pm Monday to Thursday.  For more information about Lush Valley call 250-331-0152 or visit www.lushvalley.org.

‘Season Upon Season’ is a cookbook Lush Valley sells to raise funds.  It’s available for $15 at Zocalo’s, Beyond the Kitchen Door and at the Lush Valley office.

The Teddies ‘n’ Toddlers Daycare is a lot like any other daycare in the Comox Valley. It’s got the usual accouterments of a facility geared to infants, toddlers and young children.  There are indoor and outdoor toys, play areas, nap spaces, cubbyholes and coat pegs not much higher than an adult’s knee, and toilets and sinks that barely make it off the ground.  There is a recliner tucked in a quiet corner that can be used to quiet a distressed child or breastfeed.

The thing that makes this daycare different is it’s located on the grounds of G.P Vanier Secondary School, and its primary clients are teen parents.

“We are a young parent’s program,” says Cathy Bathos, program coordinator for the daycare.  “We exist to serve the needs of young parents in the Comox Valley.”  And in doing so, they are making a difference in the lives of teen parents and their children.

The facility got its start in the early 1990s when community members started a grassroots effort to give teen parents a place to go.

“It took a combination of young parents saying we needed this, and then the work of a dedicated group of people,” says Bathos.

One of those people was Jane Adams.  She was the head of public nursing at the time, and she took it upon herself to spearhead the effort.  Adams approached community members and teachers, and got the support necessary to launch the program.  Another was Penny Robinson, a member of the Comox Valley Children’s Daycare Society, who helped oversee the development of the young parents program.

The daycare opened its doors in 1993, with an official launch in the fall of that year. Fifteen young parents—mostly moms—enrolled in the program with their children.  The launch was a school affair.  The Construction class built the portable that housed the daycare, the high school newspaper The Breezeway gave news coverage to the opening and the issues facing young parents, and the daycare held an open house to familiarize students and teachers with the program.

From the start, the daycare was conceived as a one-stop shop for young parents, with the goal of helping them graduate from high school.  They had access to childcare, parenting programs, a public health nurse, outreach support, and teacher/counselors able to help them with class choices and scheduling.  It didn’t matter if that parent needed information on immunization, had a question about their baby’s development, needed help finding housing, or were looking for a ride to the food bank—they got the help they needed.

“The school piece is the corner stone,” says Bathos. “But to make that flow, they need the rest of the supports.”

The program still operates on the principle of a single-point of access.  “When a young parent comes into our program, they’re paired up with a caregiver,” explains Bathos, noting that this is the person who will provide care to their child while they are in class, and is a constant point of contact during their time in the program.  “They build a relationship, and once they have that relationship and trust with their caregiver, it’s like a home away from home for them.”

Another important part of the program is acknowledging that these are teen parents, and helping participants to be both teens and parents at the same time.

“We never forget that they’re teens,” says Bathos.  “Yes they’re young parents and yes they have responsibilities, but they are also teenagers.  They still need to be a teen and experience the social things of being a teen.

“I work really closely with each young parent, meeting their needs where they’re at,” she adds.

The approach seems to work.  The Teddies ‘n Toddlers daycare program has graduated 107 young parents since 1993.  Just as importantly, “We lose very few from the program because it’s a safe, trusting environment and non-judgmental and they need that,” says Penny Robinson, who joined the staff as a care provider in 1994.

That’s not to say young parents joining the program have an easy time of it.  “There is always all of that judgment for young parents,” says Bathos.  “That is the biggest battle.”

Indeed, raising the subject of teen sex, pregnancy and parenting in conversation is one way to start a heated discussion with just about anyone.  There are those who simply believe teenagers should not be having sex, let alone parent a child that is the result of that decision.  Then there are those who decry the state of sex education in our schools and communities.  Finally, there are those concerned that putting teen parents in schools will encourage other teens to become parents.

“That’s not the whole picture,” says Bathos.  Access to birth control, family origins, self-esteem and the desire to have a family of one’s own all play a role in teen pregnancy and the decision of teens to parent.  “If you talk to those that have had a tumultuous upbringing, having a baby has almost been a positive thing in their lives and they want to succeed for their family and their child.”

And that’s where the young parent’s program comes in.  “I think it’s important because we’re going to have young parents regardless, and the ability for them to complete their Grade 12 and move onto other things is really important,” says Bathos. “It’s a pretty rough road without that education behind it.

“It makes a huge difference in the outcome for young parents,” she adds.  “The research shows getting your education is such an important part of that.  Getting your Grade 12 is such a milestone for teenagers.  Once that happens, it opens up so many opportunities for them.”

Robinson agrees.  “I look back and see young parents as public health nurses, as early childhood educators, and as residential care workers,” says Robinson.  “They are productive members of society and they might not have had that chance otherwise.”

Current and past program participants certainly agree.  “It’s a second chance,” says Justina, a Grade 12 student in her second year of the program and mother to two-year-old Jonny.

“It’s helping me shape my future.  It’s given me time to figure out what I want to do, and how to create a positive environment for me so I can create a positive environment for him,” she says, adding that her plans are to become a registered nurse, with a specialization in emergency care.

Fellow Grade 12 student Alanna, mother to two-year-old Avery, agrees.  “If this daycare wasn’t here I wouldn’t be finishing high school,” she says simply.  “The stuff that you learn by trial and error, you can learn here without the error.  And if something goes wrong, I know there are other options.”

“I would feel pretty lousy if I had a baby and wasn’t doing something to better our lives,” adds Olivia, also in Grade 12 and mother to one-year-old Kato.

These are all statements Jenny Deters understands.  Deters is one of Teddies ‘n Toddlers first young parents, and the second to graduate from the program in 1995.

“It meant graduation and the chance to give my child a better life,” says Deters.  “Without a high school diploma I couldn’t have done anything.”

“I don’t know if I could have appreciated it at the time—teenagers don’t appreciate much,” she says.  “The fact I could still breastfeed my child and still go to school. The opportunity to amalgamate—I didn’t have to drop my son off at daycare and then get myself to school.  I didn’t have a drivers licence.  I didn’t have money.”

For Deters and her son, the program worked.  Deters is a successful professional and co-operator of Rattan Plus with her husband Todd.  Her son, Forrest, is a second-year scholarship student at McGill University and succeeding in every way.

“It all ripples down,” she says.  “I was able to get a better life for myself and for Forrest and maybe for his kids.”

While the program has proven to be a success, it doesn’t always turn out so well.  “Not everyone is successful coming out of the program,” says Deters.  “But look at it this way—when a teenager has a child and comes to this program, that child is being monitored. And the teenager is being taught to cook and manage their finances.

“A lot of people put their heads in the sand and think their kid is not going to have sex, they’re not going to drink,” continues Deters.  “You have to educate your kids and hope for the best.  Statistically, someone’s kid is going to get pregnant.”

It’s that perspective that Deters has recently brought to the Today ‘n’ Tomorrow Learning Society, the Board that now oversees the Teddies ‘n Toddlers daycare program, and its expansion program Little Friends for children ages three to five.  Little Friends allows young parents with children aged three and older to continue to have their children cared for on site.

“Before the Little Friends program, we had to get an exemption, or they had to leave,” says Bathos.  “And we’ve had several young parents that have decided to go on to post-secondary education and still need childcare come back because of the support and trust we’ve developed.”

This raises an important point about the daycare.  Teen pregnancy rates have been dropping for several years, and the young parent program is funded entirely by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.  The young parents themselves receive daycare subsidies.  In order to be financially viable, the decision was made a few years ago to open the program up to the wider community.

“Young parents have the priority,” says Bathos.  “The only criteria is they have to be attending school in School District 71.”  However, adding community has added diversity to the program, and created the opportunity to raise funds to improve both programs for young parents and community parents alike.  And that’s a message Deter wants to get out as a Board member.

“This program has gone all these years without asking for community support,” says Deters.  “It’s time to create community awareness.  This is another program unique to our community that nobody knows they need until the need it.  This is a chance for me to use my contacts and raise awareness about this much-needed program in our community.”  ¦

 

For more information about the  Today ‘n’ Tomorrow Learning society, the young parents’ program or community daycare space, call 250-338-8445 or email toddlers@telus.net