KidsFirst Meadow Lake is sponsoring all admission to the spray park throughout the month of July (Elliott Knopp/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Elliott Knopp

KidsFirst post-COVID

KidsFirst Meadow Lake resumes in-person programming

Jul 12, 2021 | 2:06 PM

Following a long hiatus of in-person visits caused by the public health crisis, a local non-profit is eager to return to its typical normal business practices.

With nearly all public health measures lifted as of July 11, KidsFirst Meadow Lake is expected to resume in-home family services. While the organization continued to serve families throughout the pandemic via virtual formats, Jaylene Cornish, Home Visiting Supervisor, stated the adjustment made service deliveries more difficult since, “it’s hard to build a relationship over Zoom.”

“We’re really big on social support, because a lot of our families have young children, and they don’t go well together with isolation,” Cornish said. “We work on social development with children, and with this whole COVID thing, we’re interested to see how that’s going to affect young children who haven’t seen other people.”

“Getting into the home, seeing the families and doing activities with them is really what our home visits are all about.”

The publicly funded program offers a variety of services designed to help with the early development of young infants and toddlers, including counseling and monitoring child development. Throughout the public health crisis, the non-profit worked to combat the lack of socialization. During the month of June, KidsFirst attended several community events, including MessFest and the RCMP Youth Advisory Committee’s Humane Society fundraiser.

Made in Saskatchewan

Find My Plus One: The Canadian App for Getting Out and Living Your Best Life

Mar 09, 2026

Riderville

Ask Not for Whom the Ed Hervey Tampering Window Opens!

Feb 02, 2026

Seniors Scene

New Year - New Habits

Feb 02, 2026

The organization plans to continue providing families with outdoor activities to help reintegrate them with others in the community. One of those activities comes in the form of free spray park access throughout July, sponsored by KidsFirst.

“We want to see families getting outside, having fun with their children, and seeing joy brought into a family’s life. We think the spray park is a great way to do that. A lot of kids aren’t getting out maybe as much as they usually do, and this is a great way to get them there.”

With public health seemingly being a lesser concern than it has been in recent memory, one of the things KidsFirst is working toward bringing back is the Family Fun Nights in which families can all come together for food, fun activities and the opportunity to connect with other families in the neighbourhood. Cornish said the organization will need to begin arranging venues and generating interest for its return.

KidsFirst Meadow Lake’s social media page on Facebook is one of the non-profit’s best ways to get in touch. The page offers information regarding events as well as weekly draws to win prizes. Families can follow KidsFirst Meadow Lake on Facebook to stay connected.

—

elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp