Moose Jaw Families for Change (MJFFC) will open a barrier-free community Inclusion Garden this spring in partnership with Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, which has given MJFFC space beside its main office.
Mariah Horsnall, program co-ordinator at MJFFC, said the garden would grow everything from flowers to food crops.
“So throughout the pandemic, we were just looking for different ways to get our folks here outside,” Horsnall said. “And gardening was one of the ways we did that. We started off just with two raised beds outside of our building here at the KIC (Kinsmen Inclusion Centre), but we needed more space.”
The organization formed a partnership with Holy Trinity to use the space beside their main office on Manitoba Expressway. The garden will have paved pathways and raised beds.
MJFFC is also hoping to move some of its programs out to the garden this summer to get their folks outside and use the garden space to its potential. Popular monthly programming includes “Music with Johnny” and “Fitness with Angie.”
MJFFC breaks down barriers in the community for people with varying abilities through education and by providing opportunities for such individuals to experience greater community inclusion.
Three local families started the non-profit in 2000 to create safe and inclusive spaces for their children.
Families for Change operates three residential homes that give people with intellectual disabilities more independence. They are fully staffed with 24-hour care, which is important because some people living there have advanced medical needs.
“We’re there to assist with their daily care and medical routines and support them in their programming and community activities,” Horsnall explained.
A partnership with the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Club proved to be a crucial part of a major expansion just a few years ago. The Kinsmen Inclusion Centre opened in 2018 to provide day programs for MJFFC clients. One of the many activities they’ve been offering at the centre this year has been to make snuffle mats as a fundraising project for the Moose Jaw Humane Society.
In 2019, again with the help of the Kinsmen, MJFFC opened the Kinsmen Café. The café serves as part of the Imagine Employment program, the sole purpose of which is to provide meaningful employment to people of varying abilities. The program also employs people at Victoria Towers, operated by the Moose Jaw Housing Authority.
The pandemic made things as difficult for MJFFC as for everyone else, but Horsnall said that everyone stayed engaged with each other.
“We used a lot of the Moose Jaw outdoor facilities and activities,” Horsnall said. “We did a lot of things like canoeing and gardening, walking through the parks.
“We strived very hard to give (our people) the same life that they were having before the pandemic, so we just had to find different ways to go about it.”
Folks at MJFFC are excited to be getting back into the community now, Horsnall said. They are getting outside, picking up recycling at the Moose Jaw Casino, delivering papers for the Moose Jaw Express, working on athletics with Special Olympics activities, attending local plays, and going to Warrior games.
The new gardens are an extension of the realization of how healthy and enjoyable gardening can be.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the gardens – contact Moose Jaw Families For Change through their Facebook page or call or email Mariah Horsnall to find out how to contribute.
- Email: mariahmjffc@shaw.ca
- Call: (306) 631-2113
