As the largest and longest serving women’s organization in Calgary, the YWCA strives to create safe spaces to have difficult conversations; advocates to advance issues that impact women’s equity; and provides programs and services that empower, heal, offer safety and support and build healthy families living in a healthy community.
Some of the work we do isn’t talked about much – some is not always understood beyond our walls. One such area of service is YWCA Safe Visitation Services. If you asked the average person on the street what supervised visitation or monitored-exchange was, they wouldn’t likely have an answer – but we do.
When there are concerns for a child’s safety or well-being, the Visitation Services program at the YWCA ensures that a child can maintain contact with a parent in a safe environment. Children and families in these high-risk situations need well-trained and supportive professional supervised visitation services to ensure the family can remain safely connected.
Children who may have been exposed to family violence, or whose parents may be going through volatile custody situations, fare best when they have the emotional support and ongoing involvement of both parents. Parental involvement fosters positive parent-child relationships and healthy emotional and social development.
If parents can work together to develop healthy ways of communicating, reducing conflict and resolving problems, children can adjust more easily to family crisis. The formation of positive parent-child relationships doesn’t end in childhood; it is a lifelong process.
The month of May is Supervised Visitation Awareness month. At the YWCA, we strive to provide quality time in a safe and secure setting to promote the building of positive parent-child relationships while educating the general public on the need and value of programs like the YWCA Visitation Services.
