Building Space for Families

"Can we open a daycare?" The question was asked in an offhanded way at a Healthy Pictou County meeting two years ago. Daycare wait lists were growing, families were struggling to find spaces, and access to childcare was becoming a recurring topic in conversations about life and work in Pictou County. 

"We kept hearing from families and employers that childcare was one of the biggest challenges people were facing," says Nicole LeBlanc, Project Navigator for Healthy Pictou County, which works to recruit and retain physicians in the rural community.

But the more the organization talked about it, the less far-fetched the idea seemed. What beganas an offhand comment became a serious discussion about whether Healthy Pictou County could help create more childcare spaces.

“We saw an opportunity to help,” says Nicole. “Our organization always looks at what’s the barrier and what's the workback for a solution. This was a direct response to a challenge we kept seeing.”

Healthy Pictou County began conversations with community partners about what it would take to open a daycare. The project brought together the YMCA, which operates the daycare, the Pictou County Wellness Centre Building Authority, which provided the site, and government partners that helped make it possible.

Our organization always looks at what's the barrier and what's the workback for a solution.

- Nicole LeBlanc, Project Navigator, Healthy Pictou County

Healthy Pictou County also approached The Sobey Foundation, which has supported the organization's efforts to recruit and retain physicians in Pictou County. “They've been so open about asking what are your barriers and how can we support you in addressing those direct barriers?” Nicole says. “They jumped right in with us to be a willing partner on this, which is huge.”

The group chose a modular unit, which meant working from a blank slate with the developer. Although there are modular classrooms, a daycare unit is unique. “It had its challenges,” says Nicole. “But it's very interesting to be one of the first in that space and to be able to bring that to life.”

The two-year project to build the daycare was a community effort. On hand to officially open the centre were, from left, Chad McDavid, Chief Operating Officer, Pictou County Wellness Centre; Danny MacGillivray, MLA Pictou Centre; Marc Essiambre, Board Chair, YMCA of Pictou County; Tara Gallant, General Manager, Childcare YMCA of Pictou County; Darren Stroud, Mayor Town of Stellarton and representative for the Pictou County Wellness Centre Building Authority Inc.; Murray Hill, Chair Citizens for a Healthy Pictou County; and Graham MacNeil, Project Manager.

The unit had to meet detailed requirements, including how much natural light entered the space.Working through those regulations took time, but it also created a plan that could be used again.“We were starting from scratch, but this is a really innovative way to add some capacity to other spaces. If we were to do it again, we have a plan now.”

Opened in May, the YMCA Healthy Pictou County Early Years Centre has 20 spaces – eight infant spaces and 12 toddler spaces – which were filled immediately. “This by no means fixes the problem,” said Nicole, referring to the lengthy childcare waitlist in the community. “But it’s a start.”

The daycare became a shared project, with organizations across Pictou County working toward the same goal. “It took a lot of community partners. It was just a really great way for everybody to come together for a common purpose," says Nicole. "Having a willing partner like The Sobey Foundation meant that we could focus on getting that built and getting it open.”