OLDS — A grand opening ceremony was held March 2 for the new home of the Olds satellite of the Central Alberta Pregnancy Centre (CAPCC).
An open house was held and a ribbon-cutting ceremony performed with the help of Mayor Judy Dahl and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper.
The organization assists young girls and men regarding pregnancy and related issues. It also helps them learn life skills.
It had been located in the basement of a building off 51st Avenue but relocated to its current location, at 4801 49th Ave in early January.
“We moved in Jan. 4. It was –30. The wind was howling. We had 14 men come from Zion Church to help move us, which was huge. We couldn’t have done it without them,” Olds centre director Holly Earle said during an interview.
The new facility is a big old house. It features a wide veranda out front. The main floor has several client support rooms, a reception area and a kitchen. Offices are located on the upper floor.
The basement has a few bedrooms and a small kitchen. Earle says it could house single moms who need some supervision and perhaps need to learn some life skills. A final decision on what exactly it will be used for will be determined within a year or so she predicts.
The property also features a heated and carpeted garage. At the time of the grand opening it was being used for storage and to house some silent auction items. Down the road, Earle says it might be used for host art classes for moms, or interagency meetings.
She envisions raised gardens being set up in the yard so young moms can learn how to raise some of their own vegetables. It could also serve as a play area for toddlers or just a place for young moms and dads to relax.
Lisa Smith, executive director of the Red Deer-based Central Alberta Pregnancy Care Centre, was among those on hand for the grand opening.
“We are 34 years old this year as an organization. I don’t mind being 34,” she said to some laughter.
Smith said the Olds office is the organization’s first satellite centre, opened in 2014.
“It’s been amazing. The Olds community has just come around us and surrounded us,” she said.
“Thank you for being here and celebrating this day with us. We’re excited to move forward and see how we can continue to support the Olds community and area with the women and men and families that need our help and pregnancy-related resources and all the ways we can support them.”
Dahl noted that she volunteered for the centre earlier.
“I’m so thankful and grateful that you’ve got this in this community, in this satellite community, and that you’re here,” she said.
“All the volunteers are still so eager to serve and take care of clients. And look what you’ve done; it can only grow.”
Cooper congratulated all those involved in transition to and development of the new space.
He took a tour of it and said he was very impressed with how warm and inviting it is for “individuals who are at a really difficult point in their life either before or after pregnancy.”
“As it turns out, parenting is hard," he said, spurring laughter.
“I have some firsthand experience in that area,” he added, noting he has adopted two kids "and so I have a close personal connection to the work that you do in helping those in our community.”
Earle and Dahl noted that New Hope Pentecostal Church minister Tim Bowen is the new men’s mentor. Earle said they haven’t had one for a couple of years.
Earle has been the Olds centre director since last May, replacing former director Cindy Palin who had the post for several years.
During an interview, Earle said her first task when she took on the role was to find more space for the centre.
She said the basement facility was too small. It had space for a small, windowless support room, perhaps eight feet by eight feet.
“We knew that we needed a space that was more accessible, that people could find,” she said. We had moms going up and down stairs, which is not great if you’ve got a stroller or a car seat.”
She paid tribute to Smith and a realtor for helping find the right space and contractor Ron Poffenroth for doing the renovations and minor repairs.
Earle said COVID really hit the organization hard. Several clients stopped coming in for personal one-on-one help.
"I think the whole world is just so fatigued from COVID. We’re so sick of Zoom, we’re so sick of over-the-phone, that our girls just kind of went, ‘this is one more thing that feels harder right now in my life. ‘I’d like to go see my client advocate, but I can’t, so I’m just not going to come,’” Earle said.
At one time, the Olds centre used to have a paid receptionist in addition to the director. Over time that position was dropped and the money allocated elsewhere.
Earle said if client numbers rise high enough, a paid receptionist position might be reinstated.
