our story
Alisa’s Wish Child and Youth Advocacy Centre is a community response that facilitates a compassionate, coordinated approach to the prevention, identification, prosecution, and treatment of abuse involving children and youth.
who is alisa?
Alisa is one child abuse survivor whose name represents the many child and youth victims in our community. Her wish? That all young people in Ridge Meadows receive the best support possible during the worst time of their lives.
Before our Centre became a reality, Ridge Meadows children like Alisa --who experienced or witnessed abuse--typically ended up at the police station. Victims and their families had to navigate their way through a maze of disconnected support services in addition to the nightmare of the abuse itself. They were shuffled around from office to office, from building to building, from police officers and doctors to social workers, counsellors and victim services workers.
There had to be a better way.
our multi-disciplinary team of Community Partners providing services
Ministry of Children and Family Development
Community-Based Victim Services
Act 2 Child and Family Services
Cythera Transition House Society
School District 42 Safe and Caring Schools
Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General, Community Safety & Crime Prevention
We continue to build capacity on site and are fortunate to continue to operate to current day as a result of the funding afforded by the Department of Justice Ottawa and the Province of BC Civil Forfeiture grants; as well as donations from private donors, local businesses and interested citizens.
Our hopes for the future include further co-location of services, expansion of volunteer corps for awareness-raising of the Centre, developing collaborative trauma-informed medical examination and treatment within the local community, and expanding public education and information services to the surrounding communities.