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By Christi Albers-Manicke, Communications Specialist, Sendero Centre

OP-ED

Letter to the Editor: Providing support among the storm at Red Deer’s Sendero Centre

Mar 21, 2025 | 10:42 AM

It’s a bright, spring Tuesday morning in Red Deer, Alberta—the kind where everything seems okay, and anything feels possible. It’s hard to believe that, on a day so warm and radiant, individuals are beginning a journey none of us would ever choose to experience: confronting sexual trauma.

The doors of the elevator open, revealing the second floor of the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence. On this floor sits the Sendero Centre, formerly known as the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre. Although they changed their name last year, their mission remains the same: to help and support those impacted by sexual trauma.

It’s a difficult subject to talk about. It’s one that silences conversations when you bring it up, but it must be talked about, and those impacted must be supported.

According to a 2020 study by the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS), 29 per cent of men and 24 per cent of boys have experienced some form of sexual abuse in their lifetime. Additionally, 17 per cent of men have experienced sexual assault after the age of 18. In 2021, there were 34,242 police-reported sexual assaults in Canada, with Alberta contributing significantly to these numbers. The rate of sexual assault in Canada increased by 18 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020.

The Sendero Centre is a place where survivors have access to free, no-referral-needed programs and services. In 2024, the centre helped and educated 26,204 individuals through counselling, education, police and court support, supportive reporting, and the Sendero SART Support Team.

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The waiting room already has some clients. There’s a mom with her two kids, both under 10. A middle-aged man in work boots focuses on the TV screen in the quiet waiting area. Behind me shuffles an elderly woman, likely in her 80s, followed by who I assume is her husband.

All of them are clients of the Sendero Centre. Clients here range from toddlers to the elderly—some victimized recently, while others have been carrying their trauma for decades and are finally ready to confront and heal.

They are just six of the dozen in-person clients the Sendero Centre sees on any given day.

The centre operates Monday to Friday and offers a 24-hour support line, where those impacted by sexual trauma can call, text, or webchat for free, 365 days a year. Individuals can speak to trained volunteers for as long and as often as they need. Some calls last three or four hours; some people call three or four times a month.

Elsewhere in the city a Sendero SART Support Team employee walks down a hallway at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. She’s just received a call about a patient needing support in an exam room. Under her arm is a bag of comfort items: a soft blanket, comfy slippers, books, and puzzles to sidetrack the mind and fill time while waiting.

As the world continues outside the hospital walls, the employee focuses on the patient.

The Sendero SART Support Team staff collaborate closely with nurses, who are trained to provide trauma-informed care and medical support tailored to survivors’ needs. The staff member stays with the patient—now a Sendero client—until the exam concludes. Afterward, she provides support while the survivor talks with RCMP and connects them to further resources and experts to navigate complex legal and medical systems.

The SART employee steps outside to clear her head before moving on to another call. The emotions from the last client still heavy but she knows it’s not as heavy for her as it is the client that she just supported. The SART worker takes a deep breath and says one last hopeful wish on the client’s behalf out to the universe before turning and heading to another call.

Back at the agency, laughter echoes from the end of a long hallway. It’s not something you’d expect in a place like this, but there it is—a younger client is in the playroom, acting out a skit with her therapist.

To someone passing by it might not sound like therapy, but play therapy is a powerful tool for children who have experienced sexual trauma. It provides a safe and supportive environment where children can express feelings and experiences through play, which is often more natural for them than verbal communication. This helps them process complex emotions, reduce anxiety, and regain a sense of control. Through activities like drawing, role-playing, or using toys, children can explore their thoughts and feelings at their own pace. Therapists use these interactions to understand the child’s inner world and help them work through trauma in a non-threatening, age-appropriate way. Over time, play therapy fosters resilience, improves self-esteem, and supports emotional healing.

The Sendero Centre conducted 3,400 counselling sessions last year—273 with children and 358 with adults—split among its seven full-time therapists and counsellors. The centre offers child, adult, and play therapy, as well as support groups and occasional conferences, depending on funding and time constraints. Trauma-informed care at Sendero is tailored to each client and circumstance.

A few offices down a Police and Court Support worker wraps up a Supportive Reporting appointment with a client. Supportive Reporting allows survivors to begin the reporting and judicial steps of an incident by meeting RCMP officers at the Sendero Centre in a confidential, non-judgmental setting. After the report, the Police and Court Support worker accompanies clients in court proceedings, helping those nervous about testifying or attending hearings alone. Between appointments, she provides advocacy and answers questions about the judicial system, which can be challenging to navigate.

At the end of the day, the Sendero Education team returns to the office. Earlier, the team of educators visited a local school. In 2024, four educators conducted 760 presentations across 20 different communities, interacting with 23,659 individuals through classes and community sessions. The education team focuses on raising awareness, preventing sexual violence, and promoting healthy relationships for all ages.

All of Sendero’s programs and services are community and government supported, the Centre doesn’t charge a single cent for any of their programs or services. In 2024 the Centre moved into the new Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence — allowing clients the opportunity to get support and heal in a world-class facility but new buildings come with higher rent costs. That combined with funding challenges from the government has led the Centre to seek outside support.

The Sendero Centre hopes the Central Alberta community will step up to give hope to those impacted by sexual trauma. They’ll be hosting fundraisers throughout the spring and summer and are calling for program sponsorships and donations and trying to weather the funding storm that has settled in and around the agency.

Notre Dame High School in Red Deer has stepped up and chose the Sendero Centre as part of their 2025 Grad Service Project and throughout the next few months, various fundraising events and projects will be planned and hosted by teams of graduates.

Regardless of the funding issues, the staff and volunteers at Sendero are committed to their mission. They will be here tomorrow and they day after that, running on finance fumes, supporting, educating and healing the community of Central Alberta.

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Christi Albers-Manicke is a communications specialist at Red Deer’s Sendero Centre (formerly the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The views expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of rdnewsNOW or Pattison Media. Column suggestions and letters to the editor can be sent to news@rdnewsNOW.com.

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