The Minister of Children and Family Development was in Nelson on Thursday as she visited the region this week.
"I'm up touring the Kootenays and visiting with my MCFD offices and staff. I'm talking with them about their work, challenges, opportunities and some of the great things they have been able to accomplish up in the Kootenays," said Stephanie Cadieux.
The minister’s Nelson stop included a requested tour of Cicada Place, offering a transitional housing program for at-risk youth on Lake Street.
Cadieux’s request to tour of the supportive housing project comes from a desire to learn from the model established in Nelson in 1999. At that time it was considered a “risky venture.” In the past 15 years, there have been many success stories as youth find respect in the home and in turn respect back. The MLA for Surrey Cloverdale called it a “well kept secret.”
The home for young people ages 16 to 22-years-old offers “housing with connection” for a minimum of 10 youth.
Cadieux arrived in the Kootenays Tuesday and toured Trail, Castlegar and Nelson before leaving Thursday afternoon.