Humboldt Early Years Family Resource Centre presented information to Humboldt City Council at the March regular meeting. At that time, the organization indicated that it was on the lookout for a new home, and that the Horizon School Division would become the sole administrator for HEYFRC and its programming.
Since its inception and opening in March of 2022, the Resource Centre has been a partnership between the Horizon School Division as operating agency and Partners Family Services as the staffing agency. Now, all services will be undertaken by the Division as the sole accountable partner.
“One of the early initiatives that came out from the government at the time was that the accountable partner would have a staffing partner,” explains Director of Education for the Horizon School Division Kevin Garinger. “We certainly very much value the work with Partners.”
Garinger says now there are new initiatives in early learning coming on stream in the Division. Horizon School Division will soon be deploying a mobile early learning unit that can take educators and resources to communities. There will be expanding programs at HEYFRC in the coming months, as well as new initiatives in the schools themselves. These developments helped trigger the decision to oversee all aspects of these programs, including HEYFRC.
“It just made sense to bring all those pieces together and operate them under one umbrella, including the staffing component.” Garinger says. “Partners has been an important part of the system for a number of years, so now they’ll continue to be part of the management team as well understand it, but now we’ll (Horizon School Division) will look after operations right from the staffing through to other aspects of operations.”
Garinger emphasized the important role Partners has played in the establishment of the Centre and he reiterated the appreciation he and the Division feels for those efforts.
The expansions are also part of the reason HEYFRC is looking for a new physical location. Garinger expressed appreciation for the current landlord, a local enterprise, but the move was, to an extent, foreseen.
“We’ve certainly valued the lease agreement for that space. It’s a partnership with a local company in town and we wouldn’t have been able to operate HEYFRC without that space. We now are in a place though that we know some things have shifted, and the current space barely meets our minimum requirements. So, we’ve begun the process of actively looking for a new space.”
Another consideration has been the construction of a new fast-food restaurant directly adjacent to the current facility on Highway 5.
“One of the things that’s exciting for our community is having a new Burger King,” Garinger states. “At the same time, it’s led to some other pieces that we need to work through and that is the parking and the space we need for a family resource centre of that nature. The Centre is utilized by families from Ituna all the way to Wakaw. We knew we’d have to look for another space at some point.”
Increased traffic flow through the entrance that services both the drive-thru and HEYFRC has increased substantially since the restaurant's opening.
Garinger says there are no hard and fast plans concerning a new location for the centre. The Division has explored several existing facilities, but he admits that, if need be, the Horizon Division could explore a facility on its own property.
“Initially, it would be wonderful to begin with something that’s already in the community, but as we know, it’s difficult to find space for any type of programming; even housing we know is a challenge. So, we are actively seeking opportunities that provide 5000 plus square feet. There are other opportunities we could engage in if we have more space.”
The current lease is in place until October 2026, Garinger says, so that provides a buffer in locating HEYFRC a new home.