When she opened the doors to Fresh Steps Ability House at the beginning of September, Janis Joseph saw her long-term dream become a reality. The home, a safe haven for families with children undergoing behavioural challenges, has been Joseph’s vision for the community since her early years as a behavioural consultant. Over the course of her career, she has seen a growing need for such a resource and already in the past month, has been meeting the needs of local families.
Originally designed as a place for children and youth to learn valuable life skills like cooking, baking and various trades, Joseph said there has been an offshoot for parents.
“As it is evolving, I have found out that it is also a house for parents where they can feel safe and express their everyday frustrations of parenting in a non-judgmental environment,” she said.
“That opens up communication between parents to bring up topics they think might only happen in their own homes.”
She said the goal is to have parents understand they are not alone in their struggles.
“I want to empower families to ask for help when they need it and to use that help that they receive to build strong families,” Joseph said.
“I want people to know that I don’t have all the answers but by talking about it together we can find resources for families and answer questions more easily.”
She does that by starting with parent consultations.
“We sit down and talk about what challenges they are facing with their kids,” Joseph said. “From there I build an individual behaviour plan. I want parents to understand it is a family plan, not just for the child. It is a lifestyle change that families have to adjust to.”
For example, when preparing a plan for a child with high anxiety, Joseph would incorporate various strategies to take place in the community. Her goal is to have the child feel safe and comfortable in all situations.
This is where the Ability House comes in. Joseph provides hands-on training for each child’s area of interest, as well as field trips to put those skills to work in real life.
“All children might not excel at academics, so we are finding the gift in all kids and running with it,” she said. “These skills will follow them after graduation and they will be able to carry them elsewhere and hopefully be able to live independently.”
Melissa Turner, the house manager, has been along from the project’s inception and is the first point of contact for parents, children and guests.
Joseph said the house has been a labour of love. After some elbow grease, painting and minor renovations, it has been updated for function and design.
The wheelchair accessible building is fully equipped with a full kitchen, two bathrooms, a conference room and basement. There are toys and learning tools readily available for children with sensory issues and yoga is offered to provide physical activity and mental focus. Eventually an after-school program will be added.
An open house was held on Halloween day and drew a steady stream of people to the new family resource centre.
Ability House is located next to Pot Luck Ceramics at 4457 Gertrude Street.
