Children's Cottage - Helping one child at a time

by Ellen Percival and Sherry Kerr

... "The baby just won't stop crying. I can't sleep. My landlord upstairs is beginning to complain. I just want her to stop. I don't know what to do to make her stop." This mom was in tears when she brought her four-month-old daughter to the Children's Cottage. She really needed some time to sleep and regain her perspective. The Child and Family Support worker helped identify some community resources for her to contact and encouraged her to talk to her family doctor about what is happening both with her and her baby.

... Jessie's mom called yesterday afternoon. She was terribly ill and the doctor gave her some antibiotics. When she got home from the doctors yesterday she set the children down to play and was just going to sit for a moment before getting dinner ready. She fell asleep and woke up to a crash. Eighteen-month-old Jessie had climbed up onto the kitchen counter. Mom doesn't have anyone to help her and was scared that she would fall asleep again. When she explained the situation to the Children's Cottage Intake Coordinator arrangements were made to take Jessie and her six-month-old brother to a volunteer day home that provides overnight care.

... The Child Welfare Service has called. The police have found a lost child. He is about two-years-old and won't talk. They have been unable to find out where he lives. He is obviously well-cared for and healthy. They will bring him in to the Crisis Nursery until the police can find the parents and determine if it is safe for him to return home.

These are just three examples of the thousands of calls the Children's Cottage receives each year. Since its opening in 1986, the Children's Cottage has always been a busy place providing timely support for parents experiencing a family crisis and with no other means of financial backing. According to Patty Kilgallon, Executive Director for the Children's Cottage, the mandate of the Cottage is to protect children from harm and neglect, the Cottage offers a crisis nursery, a community respite program and a family liaison for parents who are experiencing difficulties and have no other means of support. The programs are available at no cost to all parents who need assistance during difficult times.

This community aid includes a 12-bed Crisis Nursery, Family Support and a Community Respite Program. Each year, the organization's professional staff and volunteers provide more than 3,600 children from newborn to age eight, with short-term care in a safe environment.

Parents call the Children's Cottage for a variety of reasons including:

feeling stressed and needing a break.
sudden illness or hospitalization.
marital conflict.
feelings of isolation or depression.
housing problems.
fear of harming or neglecting a child.
trouble coping with a newborn.
financial crisis.

Parents who have found support at the Cottage have reported that:

they have more patience with their children's behavior.
they have a decrease in the stress that they feel and they are better able to control their temper.
they feel better able to cope.
they are learning how to parent effectively.
they have increased their support networks.

According to Patty, the Children's Cottage Society is able to provide such meaningful help to families with a model that combines professional staff with dedicated volunteers. More than 8000 hours of volunteer time was contributed in 2003 through 173 Program related volunteers and an additional 100 fundraising and special event volunteers. Such support aimed at making a difference toward the safety of children is truly remarkable.

You can help the Cottage by supporting their sixth annual Radiothon event on Wednesday, December 1 at Bow Valley Square (Centre Court). You can join in on the live action from 7 am to 7 pm. Activities include the Breeze 103.1 live on air, Dan the Man entertaining, along with the bucket raffle featuring unique and exciting items. Please call 517-KIDS (5437) and make a donation or visit www.childenscottage.ab.ca (click here to donate now). Pledge lines are now open.

In every city, there's only a handful of organizations that truly make a difference in the lives of families. In Calgary, one of those special organizations is the Children's Cottage Society. They usually go untrumpeted, day in and day out, night in and night out, quietly doing their work, helping hundreds of families in need. For many families they are the last stop before disaster and the first stop on the way to support and help. Please take a moment and make a pledge, you'll really make a difference in the heart of a child in Calgary.

Ellen Percival and Sherry Kerr are the publishers of Calgary's Child Magazine. Pick up Calgary's Child Magazine free at more than 600 locations in and around the city. For more information, visit www.calgaryschild.com or call them at 241-6066.