New locations found for SSCS child care
Programs were threatened by September closure of old community centre
Whistler Question
Megan Grittani-Livingston
August 7, 2008

WHISTLER – A solution has been found to help the children and families avoid being displaced after the imminent closure of Pemberton’s old community centre had threatened to leave the Sea to Sky Community Services Society’s (SSCS) child care programs homeless.

When the SSCS received notice it would have to leave the old community centre before its new child care facility on Aster Street is ready, parents were concerned they would lose the quality care offered by the SSCS Pemberton Meadows Child Care services. But Tami Overbeck, SSCS manager of early childhood development services, said representatives from the Village of Pemberton (VOP) and School District 48 subsequently worked with the SSCS to find rooms and buildings to house the daycare, preschool and kinder programs.

“We’re really fortunate that the school board and the Village worked really hard with us to come to a conclusion,” Overbeck said.

The SSCS can stay in the old community centre until Sept. 15. After that, the services will be housed in three different locations around Pemberton.

… Eight children in the Little Deers Daycare program will go to a house the SSCS owns on Fraser Road. Because of zoning restrictions, that facility can’t take any more children, Overbeck said.

The children in the Cottontails program, for preschoolers ages three to five, will move into the new community centre, using the room set aside for the centre’s after-school program. The SSCS staff and kids will be in the room in the mornings, Overbeck said, and the other program will use it in the afternoons.

A parent herself, Overbeck said she felt strongly that the spaces for the kids had to be preserved during the transition out of the old community centre. She said she had been “very concerned” about the situation.

“The last thing you want to do is have parents not have the care they need. You need to make it as easy as possible,” Overbeck said.

…The new building won’t be ready until late 2009, Suzie Soman, SSCS director of early child development services, told The Question in early July, but Mayor Jordan Sturdy said the old community centre has to close in September because the VOP can’t afford the $60,000 annual expense for the building’s heat and lighting alone.

The SSCS had been told it would have to leave the facility in July, prompting the letter writing campaign. The writers felt strongly that the SSCS child care programs should remain open without interruption.

“The children love their daycare and the women who look after them love all the children — and now there is potential of complete disruption in all of their lives,” Barb and Bob Mares wrote to local lawmakers.

SSCS staff are grateful for the parental support, Overbeck said, because it makes them feel their work does matter to the community. Overbeck added that she hopes concerned parents will stay active as the municipal elections approach, to elect representatives who support child care programs.

“If they’re interested in getting involved, now is the time,” she said….