Introducing to SVP: Richmond Family Place

Discovery Team members: Sohee Kim, Helen Stortini, Vanessa Merrit, Nicole Geyer, Pascal Spothelfer.

We’re thrilled to introduce you to a new Investee: Richmond Family Place! Richmond Family Place’s interactive programs for families focus on mutual aid and peer support to equip families with the tools and resources they need to thrive. Their mission is to ensure that “every child in Richmond reaches their full potential.”

Richmond Family Place (RFP) is an exciting new addition to the SVP community as of November 2023. Their funding is drawn from our Early Years Innovation Fund to help them develop and implement a visionary new prenatal support program. Our Early Years Innovation Fund invests in organizations supporting children under age 6 and their families. We recognize that intervening during this formative time can alter the trajectory of a child’s life and can lead to an estimated 10x social return to society over time. As we explored in our recent Early Years Impact Report, a lack of support for families—lack of resources, difficulty navigating the system, and/or lack of emotional support—can be a major challenge in the Early Years Space. RFP’s comprehensive, trust-based programming addresses this challenge head-on.

Providing Low-Barrier Circles of Support at the Prenatal Stage, with Help from SVP 

RFP’s innovative new Non-Medical Prenatal Support Program aims to provide non-medical circles of support for prenatal families, using a strength-based, attachment-focused approach. They aim to help new families to be equipped for the transition to new parenthood and to build strong relationships with other families in the community and with RFP staff members.

RFP’s forward-thinking approach focuses on a critical demographic: prenatal and Early Years support. Research shows that the greatest productivity of investment comes during the Early Years. This societal return on investment increases sharply when investment is made at the prenatal stage, followed closely by 0 to 3 years old (Heckman & LaFontine 2007).

About Richmond Family Place

RFP’s work is grounded in the belief that “strength-based parenting practices and secure parent-child attachment are fundamental to all aspects of healthy child development; a stronger parent equals a stronger child.”

Richmond Family Place describes their philosophy and work here:

RFP believes that every caregiver is the expert on taking care of their own child. Our role is to build those relationships of trust, to provide resources easily accessible for families, if and when they are ready to ask for help. Our goal is for families to feel welcome, valued, comfortable and respected, so should they enter into a period of vulnerability they know they can approach staff for support, resources and referrals in the community. Once the trusting relationship between RFP’s family support workers, peer support workers and parents is built, they will be comfortable enough to share their challenges, questions and concerns in terms of taking care of their children and any matters that impact family life.

Building trust and serving thousands of children and their families

In 2022-2023, RFP served more than 8,000 children aged 0 to 6, over 8,000 adults, and over 7,000 families through 963 program sessions and 16,000+ individual visits. Their low-barrier programs—available at no cost or a low cost, as drop-in programs—help to build relationships and trust with parents and guardians, many of whom are newcomer families to Canada and feel isolated. As these bonds grow, RFP can provide relevant information and referrals to community services and programs. 

RFP provides interactive programs for parents and children, for families with children from birth to age 6, and siblings up to age 12. Their Their programming umbrella includes the following:

• Play & Learn drop-in programs
• Sing & Play drop-in programs
• Dad & Child Breakfast program
• Family Night Dinner programs
• Parenting programs
• Refugee program: A program for new and current refugee and new immigrant families living in Richmond with children 0-6 years of age
• Special events
• Resources and Referrals and 1:1 support
• Peer support program: 8-10 weeks of training to support parents who wish to give back to the community and in RFP programs; building connections and a sense of community for the people they support both within our programs and in the wider community.

With SVP’s Support, Richmond Family Place Plans To…

Richmond Family Place (RFP) has several goals in place to help them to build capacity in the following categories:

• Social Impact Evaluation
• Human Resources
• Fund Development
• Governance Support
• Strategic Development
• Marketing & Communication

Support from SVP means that RFP will be able to provide more resources for their staff, including professional development, increased staffing, and more.

Learn more about Richmond Family Place and their impact here.

_{*All images sourced from the RFP website.}