Nancy Parker is pictured centre in a red ribbon skirt, with Daniel Lussier from Réseau Compassion Network on the far right, along with other project stakeholders.
On March 21st, a sod turning ceremony was held at Marymound to mark the official start of construction of the Prairie Tides Live-In Healing Home. The building and its programming will provide a safe, healing space for youth who have experienced complex trauma and adversity, and fills an important need in Manitoba.
Currently, youth who require intensive supports for mental health, addictions, complex trauma, high-risk behaviours and neurodevelopmental challenges are sent to programs out of province, removing them from the support of their families and friends. “There are great programs in places like Saskatchewan and Utah,” shares Nancy Parker, Executive Director of Marymound. “But that also means that family can’t be as involved, or it might mean undue financial hardship. There’s very little service available locally, and many advocates have been pushing for a program like this for years.”
In fact, Parker can trace the idea of Marymound creating a healing space all the way back to 2014. “When Tina Fontaine was murdered at the age of 15, there were more calls for better supports for youth in Manitoba,” continues Parker. “We planned to reuse a building on our site but that was cost prohibitive. We went back to the drawing board several times and did lots of community consultation. Finally breaking ground on the new building is very, very rewarding.”
Prairie Tides, slated to open in early 2026, will have 10 beds for youth, plus communal spaces, and a room for families to stay. “We know that parents and families of these youth want to be involved and that there are better outcomes when they are,” explains Parker. “We’ve designed a family suite that can be adapted for different needs. This will help rural families especially come to stay near their loved ones at low cost, and be able to participate in team meetings and visit together.”
Prairie Tides will centre the healing experiences of youth on their preferences, as is the model of care at Marymound. “We do an assessment when kids arrive, and we can identify, say, 20 ways of helping them,” Parker shares. “The youth gets to choose what works for them. Maybe it’s holistic health, like snowshoeing in the winter. Maybe it’s cultural, like dancing or cooking. Then of course there will be a mix of other therapeutic interventions available, like individual or group therapy.”
The Prairie Tides Live-In Healing Home will surround youth and their families with the supports and tools needed to live happier, healthier lives together. Parent partners, a resource person dedicated to family members, will be provided to support families as they navigate their children’s challenges, and to help make sure their voices, as well as those of their child, are lifted up.
Marymound, which offers a broad range of programming and services to support youth, already has a school for students. Parker sees parallels between what the school is trying to achieve and Prairie Tide’s goals. “Our school principal, Rhett, always says that the purpose of Marymound School is to make kids love school again,” she says. “These are young people who are not having much fun, so we want to balance building a toolkit for them to thrive with the chance to simply enjoy themselves. This new program will be about helping kids love life again.”