CFKA Announces $808,000 grant to FACSFLA

Funded by The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul Community Impact Fund

On April 19, CFKA was thrilled to announce a $808,000 grant to Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington (FACSFLA) for their innovative program ‘A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre’ serving families with young children in the Kingston & Area.

Created in consultation with the community it would serve, the Centre opened its doors in October, 2022, supported through seed funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). Offering families better service coordination and navigation has created a ‘one door knock’ for services, including childcare, and helps reduce barriers to accessing services, ultimately preventing escalation of need. The Centre is an inviting, welcoming place where families feel comfortable walking through the door, confident that their culture and life experience are valued and respected.

Amanda Colacicco, Executive Director, Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington shared, “I can say that the positive impact of the centre can be felt in each interaction. FACSFLA offers our sincere gratitude to The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul for casting a vision to mobilize community-built solutions and for this incredibly meaningful investment, alongside the support of CFKA and all our community partners in realizing this multi-year expansion. The sustainability and growth of A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre supports the collective vision we all share for the resilience and well-being of children, young people and families in our communities”.

“The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul came to CFKA with a vision: prevent and mitigate the lifelong impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and build resiliency in children and families. They also presented us with a mission:  invest in high-impact, local initiatives that will support transformative, sustainable, systems-level change.  Our funding of ‘A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre  answers that call with an innovative, collaborative, and a genuinely community-built solution”, says Stacy G Kelly, Executive Director, CFKA.

Since opening, the Centre has demonstrated strong success through the number of families that attend, the referrals received, and strong partnership with 14 community organizations. Funding from the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul Community Impact Fund will build on this strong foundation, helping to introduce more early relational programming, expanding the model to reach more families, and ultimately developing a collaborative, efficient system with a focus on primary prevention, early intervention and support.

Sister Sandra Shannon, General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul shared “ Our Legacy donation to CFKA, called the ‘Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul Community Impact Fund’, was meant to help those who have been affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences and to relieve Isolation and loneliness among senior.  We are very pleased that CFKA has given to Family and Children Services of Frontenac and Addington a grant from these monies which in turn will support the innovative program, A Great Start for Families Kahwa:tsire Ronwatiyenawά:se Centre.  It is our hope that it will help families heal and thrive  which otherwise might have experienced difficulties.”