Mark Jones, CEO of the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre, speaks at a ground-breaking event in Red Deer on June 21, 2022. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

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Jun 21, 2022 | 3:15 PM

Ground was broken Tuesday on what will soon be home of the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre (CACAC).

The CACAC will call home the innovative Centre of Excellence, as it’s been dubbed — a 66,566 square foot facility on the grounds of Red Deer Polytechnic. It’ll also be home to the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre and Alberta Health Services, plus others.

Guests included Premier Jason Kenney, who was credited for his cooperation with the CACAC when they pitched for provincial funding, $3.5 million. Also present was Respect Group Inc. co-founder Sheldon Kennedy, and CACAC mastermind Terry Loewen.

According to data shared by Kennedy, whose name was formerly on Calgary’s child advocacy centre: abused children are 26x more likely to experience youth homelessness, drop out 30x more, and are 15x more likely to die by suicide.

Additionally, Kennedy shared, 70 per cent of individuals in treatment/detox have disclosed child abuse.

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“What are some of the biggest issues we have in our communities today? All of the above,” Kennedy remarked. “We need to create this facility to get ahead of it. We know where a lot of it stems from, and we feel if we can get ahead and reach kids earlier, the better chance we have at giving them their life back.”

Mark Jones, CACAC CEO, called the build historic.

A rendering of the new Centre of Excellence at Red Deer Polytechnic. (Supplied)

“Before we celebrate this momentous milestone in our journey, we must first acknowledge this day. June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day – and it is important to our organization that we acknowledge the significance of today as we break ground on Treaty 7 land, the traditional and ancestral territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina and Stoney Nakoda peoples,” said Jones.

“We also recognize the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous peoples, while celebrating the resiliency and strength of Indigenous populations through history. Thank you to Lloyd Desjarlais from Red Deer Polytechnic for leading us through conversations and ensuring we respectfully recognize those impacted. It is with great honour that on such an important day, we are able to build our path to supporting all those impacted by child abuse and mental health.”

Another group going in the facility will be AHS Red Deer Child, Youth, & Family Addiction & Mental Health.

“Alberta Health Services is grateful for the CACAC project. This collaboration will offer many services under one roof for youth experiencing trauma, substance use disorder and mental health concerns,” said Director Amy Klimosko. “Front line teams can consult seamlessly and develop relationships that simply would not exist outside the shared space of the CACAC. The ability to offer multidisciplinary care will support positive outcomes for youth and families and a shared vision for the community.”

According to the CACAC, the Centre of Excellence will strengthen integration for all partners, and reduce long-term impacts of abuse, plus cut back on systemic costs, and save more lives.

“I am pleased to welcome the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre to our beautiful campus overlooking the forest reserve and next to the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre,” said Jim Brinkhurst, Interim RDP President. “We look forward to this collaboration that will serve central Albertans and present tremendous learning and applied research opportunities for students and staff for years to come.”

Constructed by Eagle Builders, the three-storey building should be complete by summer 2023.

Sheldon Kennedy, co-founder of Respect Group Inc. spoke at the CACAC ground-breaking in Red Deer on June 21, 2022. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Also amongst the crowd Tuesday was Rick More, whose daughter Lindsey tragically ended her own life in September 2015.

It was her death, and a string of other youth suicides in Red Deer that year, which planted the seed for a mental health facility to help youth. That seed grew and morphed into something much bigger, which is what the CACAC is and is becoming today, say officials.

“Before her death, Lindsey was trying for her private pilot’s licence. She loved being up in the air. She had one bad day and just couldn’t get through it, but she’s flying high now,” says More, who sits on the CACAC’s board.

“This will be a model that the rest of Canada will take notice of, in terms of how this type of health care should be run. After COVID, depression is even worse. We can’t do the things we’ve done all along. My wife Cindy and I wondered what to do when we first found out Lindsey was suffering. We didn’t know who to call. She suffered so long on her own and when she tried to reach out, it didn’t work. We can’t have that happen to our kids.”

Updates will be shared with the community as construction progresses.

More information is at centralalbertacac.ca.