Our Vision:Every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect, and security.Our Mission:We provide stable homes, a supportive, and healing Village environment, and community-based youth and child care programs to help children and youth in need grow into caring, self-reliant adults.Our Values:Courage: We take actionCommitment: We keep our promisesTrust: We believe in each otherAccountability: We are reliable partnersAbout SideBySide Children's Village:SideBySide Children's Village (SBS) was incorporated in 1986 and has operated our campus since 1999. The Village, our flagship program, was created as a grass roots response to the unmet needs of children and youth in the provincial foster care system; namely the frequent placement breakdowns and moves for children and youth in foster care. The Village’s unique model is based on dynamics implemented by Hermann Gmeiner, the founder of SOS Children’s Village International. Our elements for success continue to be based on Gmeimer’s beliefs. Specifically, Gmeimer believed that a loving consistent family, home, and community create a circle of health, belonging, support, and positive growth for the child in need. By establishing this circle of healing. A child develops resilience and has renewed hope leading to their future successes.We welcome children and youth who have been removed from their families of origin by the Ministry of Children and Family Development and are under the guardianship of the Ministry. Our model takes into account that the most vulnerable and least visible children in the Province of British Columbia unfortunately receive highly compromised service in the mainstream system due to chronic under-funding. We are guided by the boundaries of the Provincial Legislation for child welfare in terms of providing support and other services contracted by the government.Our services provide healing, hope, and homes through a variety of programs within a supportive community environment, our Village. We own and oversee 5 homes, 5 transition suites, and a Village Centre on our own wooded 2.5 acre campus.We are one of the only programs in North America to have a trauma informed, therapeutically intensive focus. By definition, foster children are in care due to traumatic situations in their lives. Our services include cognitive, behavioural, expressive art, music, drama, and many other therapies. These services give children and youth the opportunity to heal, develop resiliency and lead healthier, more productive lives. Once out on their own we continue our support with commitment to lifelong engagement with our After Care/Alumni project.