Zebra Centre to open new facility for young sexual abuse survivors

The Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre is acceptable to unfastened its caller installation successful westbound Edmonton, which unit accidental volition amended service young intersexual maltreatment survivors.

The bureau provides attraction and services to thousands of children each twelvemonth who person experienced abuse.

At 30,000 quadrate feet, the caller centre successful the country of 143rd Street and 112th Avenue is much than doubly the size of the aged installation successful downtown Edmonton. The larger abstraction allows for much kid-friendly gathering rooms, an expanded artifact room, on-site counselling, a ineffable wellness country and an outdoor greenish space.

“We cognize the Zebra Centre is simply a spot you anticipation you ne'er person to visit. But successful a crisis, erstwhile a kid discloses being hurt, the Zebra Centre is acceptable to help. By creating a amended Zebra Centre, we tin amended service our community,” said Zebra Centre CEO Emmy Stuebing.

The aged Zebra Centre installation was designed to enactment astir 2,000 children and younker each year. Last twelvemonth alone, the centre served much than treble that number.

Staff said this showcased the urgent request for a larger, better-equipped abstraction to service much children and their families.

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The opening of the caller installation besides comes aft the centre experienced a fire astatine its aged determination downtown past year.

In October 2023, the centre was forced to temporarily unopen its doors aft a break-in and fire. An Edmonton antheral was aboriginal charged with arson and different charges successful narration to the break-in.

The Zebra Centre said the $6.2-million task has truthful acold been funded wholly by assemblage donations. The centre has been capable to rise $4.8 cardinal of the full outgo truthful far. The installation continues to fundraise for the remaining $1.4 million. Anyone funny successful donating to the enactment tin sojourn the Zebra Centre’s website astatine zebracentre.ca/showyourstripes.

The caller centre is scheduled to unfastened connected Monday.