About six years ago, the Albertson family was one of the original families to participate in programming run by Squamish’s Vanessa Doak.
The two Albertson daughters love the programs, says mom Paula.
Healthy Hearts provides workshops, day camps, retreats, adventures and team building for local youth aged five to 16 years old.
The programs have boosted the oldest Albertson daughter’s confidence, Paula Albertson told The 樱桃视频.
“[She was] very shy, and when she joined, almost immediately, her self-confidence was just unbelievable,” Albertson said.
“It’s been life-changing, I would say, in that she just has become such a confident and strong person.”
Part of the success of the programs is that youth can move up the ranks and become leaders of others in the camps and after-school programming.
The younger Albertson daughter was looking forward to the same projection, but now that seems to be in jeopardy.
The programs for Healthy Hearts have been running out of the property on Government Road, but can no longer continue there.
Jennifer Vasarhely, a spokesperson for the non-profit , told The 樱桃视频 it had the opportunity to partner with the not-for-profit private , “to share the commitments required to ensure this site can continue to thrive and serve a marginalized population of children, youth and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities, as we have done for over 50 years, as well as, provide experiences connecting with nature for young people locally and beyond.”
Easter Seals have had to examine the overall operations of the site and the feasibility and compatibility of usage for various groups, Vasarhely added.
“Leases and month-to-month rental arrangements can be complex with many considerations,” she said.
She said that “the continuation of the Healthy Hearts after-school program was not compatible with the use of the site with other large groups from a safety, health, scheduling and facility access perspective.”
This is the same explanation that The 樱桃视频 received from
The will continue with Mulgrave operating the site during the school year, and Easter Seals continuing to use the facility in the summer months for its camps, according to Vasarhely.
Asked if there was an opportunity for Healthy Hearts to continue to operate only its summer camps on the site, Easter Seals said no.
“Easter Seals offers week-long overnight camps for children and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities, many of whom have compromised immune systems. Offering two different camps at the same time on the same site is too difficult from a safety, health, scheduling and facility access perspective,” Vasarhely said.
A portion of the 20-acre site is being leased to “to maintain the important local, agricultural focus,” Vasarhely added.
“Like Easter Seals, Mulgrave is committed to be a strong community partner in Squamish, with plans to expand access to the camp for more local and regional groups.”
According to Vasarhely, Healthy Hearts was informed that once Easter Seals summer camp started running again after the COVID-19 pandemic, it would have to make different arrangements during the summer, as it would become very difficult to offer two different camps at the same time on the same site.
An exception was made this past summer in 2022.
In the Fall of 2021, Healthy Hearts was given formal notice that a long-term lease would not be renewed and that a month-to-month lease would continue through to the end of August 2022.
What all this means is that Doak, owner and director of Healthy Hearts, is left with programs but nowhere to run them.
While determined to pivot and find a way to continue her business still, finding another suitable site is extremely challenging.
She said 75 to 100 kids per day attended the summer camps.
The site on Government Road was perfect for her programs in many ways, Doak said.
She could have outdoor and indoor activities when needed.
She noted that her summer camps and the Easter Seals camp were able to co-exist well last summer and doesn't see why that couldn't be the case again.
Doak also offers space to about 20 kids who otherwise couldn't afford to come to camp.
Growing up, Doak said going away to camp was a highlight of the year for her, and so she wants to offer the same to local kids.
"It has become like a home away from home for these kids, or for some of them, that only safe place. I was able to create that throughout the school year. So it was really heartbreaking to have to explain to my camper families that we would no longer be able to run our after-school programs," she said.
Doak said she understands from a business perspective why Easter Seals has leased Mulgrave School the site, but feels bad for the local families who have counted on her programming.
Albertson said it is a massive shame this is happening to Healthy Hearts, given how difficult it is to find child care in this town — never mind care that kids can’t wait to go to.
“Wait a minute, this was working. This was really working for so many families,” Albertson said.
Albertson and other parents who spoke out online and to The 樱桃视频 said that it isn’t just programming that fills a need; it is amazing programming that makes many 樱桃视频youth better, more well-rounded people.
“These kids ... count down the days till spring camp and then count down the days to fall camp. So [Doak] has created a huge community of really strong and independent people... It’s a bit of a letdown. It’s a bit sad,” Albertson said.
Another parent who was saddened to hear the programs won’t be running at the Government Road site is Trisha Loscombe.
Her son, who is currently eight years old, was in the boys' program last year.
"It kind of teaches them how to be good young men," she said. "They're teaching them the skills to be kind, to be compassionate."
She said her son was so proud to learn life skills like how to start a fire, something he still talks about to this day.
She said having older boys be mentors in the program meant that her son would see the older boy around town, and that made him feel special when he was acknowledged by him.
"They're like peers, right? ... We hear so many stories about bullying. We hear so many stories about children feeling uncomfortable, and not safe. So to have a local space, where kids feel safe, they feel comfortable, they feel included."
Her younger son has autism, and while he hadn't gone to a Healthy Hearts camp yet, he would be welcomed, Loscombe said.
"Because Vanessa is big on inclusion, and that is really important. All of her beliefs are just so common sense. And so many local parents are aligned with her way of thinking. [She's] doing exactly what we want from somebody in this community. She cares so much about kids in this community, and it really shows in her programs."
Easter Seals partners on the site
Asked what Easter Seals’ message is for those parents who have depended on Healthy hearts, Vasarhely said:
“The mission of Easter Seals camps is to serve a marginalized population of children, youth and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities, as we have done for over 50 years, as well as, provide experiences connecting with nature for young people locally and beyond. Both Easter Seals and Mulgrave are committed to be strong community partners in Squamish, and hope that a revitalized and accessible camp will be an important resource for all local and regional schools.”
Mulgrave hiring locally and improving site
Nadine Pettman, a spokesperson for Mulgrave School, said that the school will run a camp program during its school holidays — other than summer break when Easter Seals utilizes the site.
Pettman noted that Mulgrave is a not-for-profit preschool to Grade 12 independent school that serves families on the North Shore and the southern part of the Sea to Sky Corridor.
“Although fee-based, the school has a growing financial assistance program. A growing number of Mulgrave teachers live in Squamish,” Pettman told The 樱桃视频.
She confirmed that Mulgrave and Easter Seals entered a partnership in the spring of 2022. Mulgrave operates the camp during the school year, with Easter Seals continuing to use the facility in the summer months for their camps for children with disabilities.
“The lease arrangement with Mulgrave provides very important income for the Easter Seals provincewide work with children with disabilities. Mulgrave is also investing heavily in the renovation of the camp as the buildings are in disrepair,” Pettman said.
Mulgrave’s students use the site regularly for day camps and overnight retreats, and this will soon increase, according to Pettman.
“We also invite other non-profit organizations to use the camp and, for example, have hosted students from other schools and groups, including two camps for our partner elementary school in the downtown eastside and regional professional development events for teachers.”
As further renovations to the site are completed, Mulgrave hopes to expand access to the camp for more local and regional groups, she added.
Mulgrave does not operate the facility during the summer, so usage over that period was not their decision, Pettman said.
With Mulgrave operating the camp for 10 months of the year, the spokesperson said there has already been an immediate and significant benefit to 樱桃视频through employment in facilities maintenance, construction, catering, janitorial, and with outdoor guides.
“As the camp operation grows, this will increase and expand to additional positions such as lifeguards,” Pettman said.
“We are in the early stages of exploring the possibility of converting one of the smaller buildings at the camp into a small full-day licensed daycare facility. Having young children on site all day in a separate facility is more compatible than larger numbers of children of different ages arriving for after-school care at the busiest time of the day for other camp activities.”
The site is not a money-maker for the school, the spokesperson said.
“It is our intention to be committed community partners in Squamish.”
Other options for Healthy Hearts?
The District’s Christina Moore told The 樱桃视频 that District staff have connected with Doak regarding her recent location challenges that are impacting how she will run her business.
“Many families in the community have come to rely on her camps and after-school/Pro D Day programs as a component of their child care needs, and it is concerning to us that access to these program spaces might be lost at a time when child care is a difficult challenge for many families,” Moore said. “To that end, we’re engaging in conversations with Vanessa about possible options. It is too soon for us to comment on what those options could look like, but we are exploring this both internally amongst staff, and with Vanessa.”
Doak said her hope is that she can find somewhere to run her Healthy Hearts programs and come back stronger than ever.
Ideally, she would like to have a property of her own where she can set up permanently.
"So that I can really run with all the ideas that I have, and all the incredible programming for all ages, zero to 99," she said.
"I want to be able to be a place where the community can lean on because we don't have that anywhere right now. And … it's such a shame."
