Viva Vitality: Home Visitation Services available for families

By Medicine Hat News on January 26, 2018.

Families are often busy and raising children can sometimes be challenging. Parents might feel overwhelmed by busy schedules, feeling they are not spending enough time with their children and wondering if their children are doing OK. Throughout all of South Zone in Alberta we have several Home Visitation/Support Programs that might be able to assist.

Home Visitation Programs offer services to families and children in the comfort of your own home. The common goals of these programs are to focus on family strengths, build supportive relationships, promote positive parent-child relationships, improve parent knowledge and skills, foster healthy child development and connect families to community supports as needed. Trained Family Support Workers will work with your family in the home to identify what type of information, support and resources your family would like. Home Visits often start during pregnancy and continue throughout the first years of a child’s life. The programs are free and confidential.

Some programs available in Medicine Hat, Brooks, Bow Island, Oyen and surrounding areas are:

Best Babies: A prenatal nutrition program offering valuable support to make healthy choices during pregnancy, which continues to support until baby is nine months old. Best Babies offers nutrition education and counselling, home visits and groups, prenatal information and referral to prenatal classes, information about physical activity, alcohol, smoking, drugs, dental care, breastfeeding and referral to other community supports. For more information call 403-526-7473.

Building Blocks: A program for families with children from 0-6 years old, promoting health and social development. Building Blocks offers regular home visits, assessment of child growth and development, parenting information, parent support, feeding and nutritional information, budgeting information, connection to community services and parenting groups.

For more information call 403-526-7473.

Some programs available in Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, Crowsnest Pass, Taber, Milk River, Raymond and surrounding areas are:

Families First: A support program for families who need help with parenting and are experiencing life challenges. Families First offers information on baby care and child development, assessment of child growth and development, goal planning and problem solving and enhancing community relationships and connections. For more information call 403-388-6351.

Parents as Teachers: An innovative program providing information, support and encouragement to parents to help their children develop optimally during crucial early years of life. Parents as Teachers serves southwestern Alberta. For more information call 403-320-5983.

Better Beginnings: Offers non-judgmental support and information on healthy lifestyle choices for pregnant and parenting women and women at risk for delivering a low birth-weight baby. The program runs from pregnancy until baby is six months old. Better Beginnings offers drop-in clinics (not home visitation) during pregnancy. For more information call 403-388-6661