Community Social Development

Due to COVID-19, The Roots of Empathy program is not able to operate as it typically would. The Grande Prairie Family Education Society has created a new program called The Empathy Project. This program will be available in person and online, and will allow families, children and youth to participate in different activities to encourage empathy.

With so many barriers already to hurdle, the current Covid-19 pandemic is a major stressor and trigger for crisis and anxiety. During these uncertain times Catholic Family Services has been able to continue to provide counselling services to the public. They are dedicated to providing affordable counselling to families, individuals, couples, youth and children. Catholic Family Services is also able to provide the "Youth Mental Health in School" initiative. This allows them t...o supply additional resources to our schools, students, parents, and teachers to cope with the anticipated influx of student mental health concerns and to come up with innovative ways to deliver services. Catholic Family Services Society of Grande Prairie is doing a great job and we are very thankful for their hard work!

The City of Grande Prairie’s Mandatory Face Coverings (Masks) Bylaw C-1426 trigger point has been reached, meaning that face coverings and masks in indoor space...s are now required within the City as of October 26, 2020. The bylaw is in effect for indoor, enclosed or substantially enclosed public places. It was triggered by a combined total active case number of over 100 within the City and County. The City of Grande Prairie thanks all residents for their diligence, understanding, and cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using face coverings or masks is an additional layer of protection against the spread of COVID-19 and will help protect the health of the public and the economy. The full media release is available here: https://bit.ly/35zGJND Details on the bylaw can be found here: https://bit.ly/3dZwWUR

The Home Alone Program is back and has adapted to provide in person training with COVID restrictions in place! Virtual training for this program will also be coming soon, which will allow more children to participate and learn to stay home alone safety. Thank yo Grande Prairie & Area Safe Communities

Throughout spring and summer, the staff at Cool Aid Society have spent hours connecting with their regular participants in the after school program. Kudos to Cool Aid Society for taking the time to care for the mental well-being of the youth in our community.

The staff at Camp Heal A Heart continue to provide support. They maintained regular contact with children going through the grief journey in our community. Since the camp could not be held this summer, resource packages were distributed to kids in our community while providing a virtual connection. Thank you for all that you do for the community Grande Prairie & District Grief Support Association

Are you experiencing a housing crisis? Check out the image below for information on who to call for assistance:

Friends, it's been 5 years since we first opened some borrowed doors to our drop in program. Oct 7th at 8am we will open the doors to Grande Prairie's new PERMA...NENT Daytime Programming space! The SLC will be the mainfloor tenants of the Street Outreach Centre located at 10012 97A Street, across from Rotary House. No ribbon cutting or fan fare just yet. I've been told this is a "supple..." er "soft opening." As we added finishing touches today there were alot of mixed emotions; thankfulness for the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie for funding the purchase of the building; comfort knowing the sustainability of the space is managed by the City of Grande Prairie; joy for the life changing encounters with love that will be had; and sorrow for all our friends and family who have passed before this day came. Street involved individuals and agency staff are welcome to visit starting tomorrow. Please mask up and follow physical distancing protocols. As of Oct 10th, only folks without other shelter options will be able to access, due to COVID19 prevention strategies. So many others words should be said, but we tired.

We are proud to take part in the second round of funding of the Government of Canada's Emergency Community Support Fund, alongside Community Foundations of Cana...da, the Canadian Red Cross and United Way Centraide Canada. Together we are working to flow even more support to organizations making a difference in our community. If you’re a charity or qualified donee serving populations made vulnerable by the pandemic, visit our website to find out more about the Emergency Community Support Fund and apply starting today. Applications are open until 30 Oct. #COVID19. #ECSFund http://ow.ly/AaR350BJPNx United Way Alberta Northwest See more

Starting this Sunday, October 4 our accessible transit service is resuming Sunday hours. For full details including a schedule and application form, visit this page: https://bit.ly/30tb3YN.

Today, representatives from City Council attended a Fire Ceremony and Tea Dance to honour the survivors and families impacted by residential schools. We joined... the community in recognizing that Every Child Matters, and participate in the unveiling of a commemorative plaque and bench. We encourage you to visit the plaque and bench located at 103 Street and 99 Avenue, near Bear Creek, and to learn more about the importance of Orange Shirt Day here: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/about-us.html

Today is Orange Shirt Day. Watch the video below to learn what Orange Shirt Day means to the community of Grande Prairie. Thank yu Orange Shirt Day Grande Prairie for putting together this educational video! At 1:30pm, Orange Shirt Day Grande Prairie will be hosting a fire ceremony and Tea Dance Drummers to honour those impacted by Residential Schools, where they will be unveiling a new plaque and bench. Visit their Facebook page for directions on location in Muskoseepi Park.

Throughout COVID response dedicated volunteers continued to deliver meals. Volunteers also made cloth masks for clients and volunteers. A shout out to the staff at Grande Prairie Seniors Outreach for making the Meals on Wheels program a success!

The Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta made over 150 connections to community groups since April. They were able to check in on the well-being of group, assess their needs and inform them of funding opportunities. Thank you to Community Foundation for all their work to help our community during this unexpected time! Here is a list of the groups the Community Foundation has granted to:... -Art Gallery of Grande Prairie -County of Grande Prairie -Elder's Caring Shelter Society of Grande Prairie -Fairview Fine Arts Society -Frontier College -Grande Prairie & District Catholic Schools Education Foundation -Grande Prairie and District Grief Support Association -Grande Prairie and Area Safe Communities Committee -Grande Prairie Family Education Society -Grande Prairie Friendship Centre -Grande Prairie Hospice Palliative Care Society -Grande Prairie Live Theatre Society -Grande Prairie Public Library -Grande Prairie Youth Emergency Shelter -Gursikh Missionary Society -MD of Greenview -MD of Spirit River -Northreach Society -Odyssey House -Peace Regional Outreach Student and Daycare Support Society -Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta Society -Salvation Army Grande Prairie -Society for Support to Pregnant and Parenting Teens -St. John's United Anglican Church Manning -Suicide Prevention Resource Centre -The Canadian National Institute for the Blind -The Kidney Foundation of Canada -The Oasis Fellowship of Grande Prairie -Town of Fox Creek -Valleyview Victims Assistance Association -Wapiti Community Dorm Society See more

GPYESS - Sunrise House has ramped up their Family Support program to keep youth at home versus the shelter. Over the past few months they have provided virtual support to 20 families. Kudos to the team at Sunrise House for all their hard work!!