January 2025

Abiona Centre EarlyON Child and Family Centre

The EarlyON Child and Family Centre at the Abiona Centre is based in the vibrant community of Broadview in East Toronto and is a place where children 0-6 and their parents and caregivers can participate in structured programs, receive answers to questions, access information about other community programs, talk to early childhood professionals and network with parents and caregivers in the community.

The Abiona Centre is an infant and early childhood mental health organization with multiple locations in Toronto, supporting pregnant and parenting adolescents aged 13-25. It is the largest Young Parent and Infant Agency in Ontario and has deep roots in its community dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century. The year 2026 will be their 125th Anniversary. In addition to its EarlyON, the Centre offers a wide range of programs to support its mission of creating a better future for vulnerable pregnant and parenting young mothers and their children 0-6.

These programs include a live-in treatment program for young moms, a transitional housing program, employment support program, community housing support, early learning centres, secondary school treatment programs, and maternal infant mental health services. It is also a Hub of the Ujima Project, which helps young parents and their children find the resources and support they need to build the lives they want.

The Abiona EarlyON Child and Family Centre supports families from the surrounding community, which is rich in cultural diversity, with a mix of residential homes, green spaces, and local businesses and a large presence of families and their children. The area has a strong sense of connection and belonging, with people from different backgrounds coming together. Abiona is proud to be a part of supporting this inclusive local environment, offering a welcoming space where families can openly discuss their emotions and experiences of parenthood.

The EarlyON offers a variety of programming, including:
• Parenting programs covering all aspects of pregnancy and early childhood development
• Early learning and literacy programs
• Informal counselling
• Referrals to specialized community agencies where required
• Community cooking programs for clients and community members

These programs look to build stronger family connections, helping families to find a supportive network, and to foster better mental health and emotional resilience by providing a safe space for families to discuss their emotions and experiences.

“We benefit from the community cooking program, where not only do we learn how to prepare healthy meals but also find a sense of community and support. EarlyON has become a crucial part of our weekly routine, offering emotional encouragement as we navigate challenges as new immigrants” – Samira

There is an emphasis on collaboration and local partnerships within the Centre. They focus on early literacy growth through a collaboration with an Early Literacy Specialist from the local library, who provides families with valuable tools and strategies to support literacy at home, health through partnerships with Toronto Public Health which offer programs like Food for Thought, that teach families healthy cooking habits and nutrition, and cultural inclusion, working with diverse organizations to ensure their programs support families from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

The Centre faces some challenges, such as families lacking access to transportation or other barriers that allow them to participate in the programming offered. Also, in serving a diverse community, language or cultural differences can sometimes affect participation. Abiona is looking to address this by expanding its outreach efforts, finding ways to offer transportation assistance or holding programs in multiple locations, offering multilingual services, and working closely with local community groups to ensure their programs are accessible and relevant to all families. They also find that despite the importance of early literacy and health education, some families may not prioritize these areas, which is why they collaborate with libraries and healthcare providers to emphasize the long-term benefits of these programs.

Overall, the Abiona Centre provides support to more than 2,500 moms and babies each year, including families from the surrounding community through the EarlyON Child and Family Centre. Sue Sinclair is the Child and Family Program Supervisor and oversees both the Early Learning Centre at the Humewood Campus and the EarlyON at the Broadview campus. She emphasizes the dedication, commitment, and support of her staff and the importance of building trust and supporting the families and children served at Abiona Centre in every aspect of their life.

Connections Early Years Family Centre

Connections Early Years Family Centre is in Windsor-Essex County, and this year is celebrating 50 years of service. Connections has grown over the last half century from a small community program to a multi-service Early Years Family Centre that offers diverse programming and is widely recognized for the important role it plays in supporting families with young children ages 0-6 within Windsor-Essex.

Connections believes that supporting families builds a stronger, more connected community, which is why all of its programs and services are focused on not only young children but the entire family – helping them to play, grow, and discover together.

Connections services include an EarlyON Centre as well as early intervention services in speech and language, infant hearing, blind-low vision and autism services. These intervention services see over 6,500 families a year, providing strategies for parents to support their child’s development and helping them to navigate the financial and emotional implications of any diagnosis and access any other support they may need.

Connections prides itself on offering innovative and responsive programming for families with children ages 0-6 within its EarlyON Centre. It offers not only a play space with areas for creative materials, STEM activities, and sensory play, but an outdoor learning space, parenting information groups, a dad’s volunteer committee, and dedicated programming for parents of infants 0-18 months.

Connections also offers a Be Back Soon program, which removes barriers for parents and caregivers to support them as they build strong and stable family environments. It offers flexible, short-term unlicensed childcare for young children at no cost, providing qualifying parents or caregivers care for their children for short periods of time so they can attend appointments and access other services. Offering Be Back Soon is a point of pride at Connections, as in 2024 their Board committed to continue the service without dedicated, ongoing funding as they see every day the difference the service makes for the families who use it.

Barb Brown, its Executive Director, expects every staff member at Connections to be committed to mutual respect and kindness as the foundation of all interactions with families. One thing that is obvious when visiting is that every staff member is dedicated to supporting families with whatever they need in the moment.

Connections is based within a historical building, which comes with costly infrastructure issues. The last several years all of Connections fundraising efforts have been focused on maintaining the building and converting its spaces for better use for families and the staff. This year, Connections finished a major fundraising campaign to build a new accessible entryway that allows families to easily get in and out of the building without needing to use stairs. With the completion of this massive project, Connections is focusing its strategy for 2024-2028 inward, looking at building up its governance and operating policies and procedures, creating a sustainable fundraising infrastructure, and responding to the growing question of how technology is impacting service delivery and families.

Connections is deeply ingrained in the local community, providing many opportunities for parents who live within walking distance to visit the Centre, as well as welcoming parents from across the county as they access its services. Windsor-Essex has welcomed a large number of newcomer families in the last few years, and the local area where Connections is based has many economically vulnerable and disadvantaged families. Connections addresses these challenges through its programming and its partnerships. It regularly hosts different speakers at its drop-in play sessions in the EarlyON, and provides spaces for other agencies like the local Multicultural Council to use. It also provides information and warm hand-offs to other agencies across the county for everything from family services to ESL or job training.

 “Windsor has greatly benefitted from [Connections Early Years Family Centre’s] unwavering commitment to promoting the healthy development of families and their young children… the impact [Connections’] has made in nurturing children and helping them reach their full potential is invaluable…” 

– Brian Masse, Member of Parliament Windsor West

In the last 50 years, Connections has built itself into a resilient and respected Centre that supports families in Windsor-Essex with a wide breadth of services and programming. In the next 50 years, it looks forward to addressing new challenges and supporting the healthy development of families as they play, grow, and discover.