The Family Action Network (FAN) has launched familyactionnetwork.ca, an online hub for parents in the Lower Columbia region.
FAN polled over 100 local parents in 2014 to find out what kinds of information they would like to see in an online hub for young families, and the new website is the result.
“The feedback that we got back was, 'You know what, there's lots of great information but it's all on different sites, so we want one stop shopping. We want to be able to go to one spot and find out what's happeing around events for our kids, programs, and also for services in the community when we need them,'” said Christy Anderson, FAN regional coordinator.
Families can visit the website from their mobile devices, tablets or home computers and find an events calendar and information on regional services. Users on the site can also contact FAN to let them know about free community events.
They'll also find information on aged-based milestones.
“What that means is that as children age between birth and age five in particular there are certain milestones that we know they kind of reach along the way: walking, talking, you know, sleeping through the night and all those kinds of things,” said Anderson. “We relied on our member agencies like Kootenay Family Place, and the Childhood Resource and Referral Agency, and CBAL to help us find out what those aged-based milestones were, so that we could put them up on the site.”
Articles on the website are also supplied by FAN members such as Kootenay Family Place, CBAL and Interior Health.
Local web development company ProCreative Design Lab is the creative force behind the website’s hosting, design, development and ongoing support and maintenance. Images on the site were supplied by Lesley Chisholm, a Rossland photographer.
FAN hopes that local realtors working with families who are relocating to the region can share the site, giving families a sneak-peak into the many resources available to them. Family doctors can also use the site to connect parents with young children to local resources.
The site will be updated with new content regularly.
This story will appear in the West Kootenay Advertiser the week of Thursday, October 22.