Wood’s Homes opens new mental-health facility for at-risk children and youth

Wood’s Homes is celebrating the grand opening of Cottage E, a new state-of-the-art mental-health facility designed to support at-risk children and youth.

Wood’s Homes CEO Bjorn Johansson says it’s the first stage of an expansion that is overdue.

“Since COVID, we’ve seen an increase in demand for mental services in almost all of our programs, and that is true for the live-in treatment programs as well. This building increases capacity by 10 beds, and phase C of our buildings in Bowness will increase capacity by another eight beds,” said Johansson.

“So, that’s an exciting thing. We have significant waitlists. Many of our families say it’s like winning a lottery to get this type of service.”

Wednesday’s event was the first in a series of openings for five therapeutic buildings aimed at providing comprehensive care.

Located in Parkdale, the $8-million Cottage E is built to therapeutic architectural standards, emphasizing the importance of environment in the healing process.

The facility will offer live-in services tailored to children and young people with complex emotional and behavioural needs.

“This is from the ground up. Everything that you see here is focused on healing, so the architecture, the lighting, the technology, the space itself,” said Johansson.

“It’s designed to be more than a shelter—it’s a place for healing and growth.”

The services at Cottage E will encompass a broad spectrum of support, including behavioural assistance, clinical care, education, family support, recreation, health services and opportunities for cultural engagement.

Counsellor Krista West says the standard of care for child and youth mental health has changed over the last decade, and the new building is a big step in moving toward that new standard.

“The vision of 24-hour care or live-in treatment has shifted so much over the last 10 years, really researching how we support brains and healing through creative, flexible spaces, but also our approach to care is focused now on dignity,” said West.

“These kids have fallen on a hard time. So how do we provide dignified care that allows them to feel cared about, seen, heard and in charge of their experience as much as they can be based on their circumstances?”

Wood’s Homes has been helping children and youth in need since it was founded as an orphanage in 1914.

Today, the organization’s mission is to address recovery, mental health and family trauma.

The agency operates more than 40 programs across five locations in the province, serving more than 20,000 children, youth and families annually.