It Takes a Village

It Takes a Village

For Every Family Initiative Provides Support Across the City

By: Beth Schellenberg

Photo Credits: Tinkertown photo supplied by Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism

Photo by: Mike Peters

All other photos by: Kyle Thomas

When Carey Anderson received word that they had been selected as the new executive director for Acorn Family Place, they could hardly believe their luck. “I love it,” Carey exclaims, “I pinch myself most days thinking, is this real? Am I really in this role?”

Acorn Family Place (Acorn), located just off Broadway Ave. on Furby St., has a large, bright atrium ringed by rooms and areas dedicated to different activities—from laundry to cooking class to early childhood education. It is a hub of support and connection for young families facing a variety of difficulties, with poverty being an overarching challenge. The space is warm, with thriving plants, including a potted flower nodding in the sunshine in the craft area, children’s art adorning every available surface, and plenty of cozy nooks to relax in.

On any given morning at Acorn, the front doors open and close in a steady rhythm as families arrive. Staff greet people by name and offer coffee and snacks. For Carey, this is exactly where they want to be.

“The community and the families and the children that we support are just beautiful, beautiful humans,” they say. “And I feel very honoured to be able to be part of that community.”

Acorn is one of 24 Family Resource Centres across Winnipeg supported through the For Every Family Initiative (FEFI). FEFI is a collaborative project led by United Way Winnipeg, which the Winnipeg Foundation has been supporting since its inception. The initiative, which pools resources from multiple funding bodies, is rooted in the belief that a family should receive support before their situation devolves into crisis. Early access to community, resources, and support helps families stay together and build towards the future they imagine for themselves.

“We are a place where we want to support families to be able to connect, build community, develop skills, and be empowered,” Carey explains. “We just want to support families to thrive, whatever that looks like for them.” For many families, that begins with meeting immediate needs like access to diapers, infant formula, and emergency food kits, or simply the ability to do a load of laundry in a welcoming space. Most families who come through Acorn’s doors are navigating poverty, and the ability to access these supports without stigma can make a meaningful difference.

The support offered is both practical and relationship-based, grounded in the knowledge that isolation can be as challenging as material hardship. “The For Every Family Initiative funding really helps provide those opportunities for families and caregivers to reduce their isolation, build connections, and learn from one another,” Carey says.

“Having a place where they can come, have a coffee, and connect, it matters.”

Family Resource Centres, which can be found across the city, meet families without judgment, and with an understanding that each person arrives with their own story, their own challenges, and their own strengths. The For Every Family Initiative builds on this approach at a city-wide level, strengthening a network of community centres, extending hours, expanding programming, and coordinating resources so that families can access support when they most need it, in a place where they already feel a sense of belonging.

The impact of this work is evident anecdotally and experientially, but also in the numbers. Between 2021 and 2024, Family Resource Centres helped reunify 87 families and prevented 357 families from having their children enter the child welfare system. These numbers reflect not only intervention but also prevention, and the quiet, ongoing work of keeping families together.

At Acorn, one of the most significant ways this support takes shape is through the wraparound team, a group focused on working alongside families at risk of Child and Family Services involvement or already navigating that system. “For Every Family is now funding a position and a half of staff in our wraparound team,” Carey explains.

This work often focuses on building relationships and trust, and on connecting with parents to understand their unique needs and the barriers they face. It can involve accompanying families through complex systems, offering guidance, and creating spaces where relationships can be rebuilt. In some cases, that means providing a setting for family visits that feels more like a home than an office. At Acorn, Carey explains, families can meet in a licensed playroom rather than in a formal CFS environment, providing “a warmer, safer space.”

This kind of safe space can create room for new connections to form, and for new family structures and relationships to emerge. Conversations can unfold more naturally, and families can begin the work of repair in an environment that feels supportive rather than clinical. Carey believes this “more relaxed environment for families to connect and work on relationships” provides better outcomes.

Each year, Acorn organizes outings for families, creating opportunities for shared experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. “Our team supports folks with going to sweats and going medicine picking,” Carey says. “In the summer, we always go to Tinkertown. We close the centre and load up a couple of buses, 30 or 40 families.” For a day, the pressures of daily life recede, replaced by laughter, fun, and the simple pleasure of being together. These experiences are central to Acorn’s work, offering families a way to connect with culture, community, and with one another.

Acorn also supports families in building toward long-term stability. Through a social enterprise catering program, parents have the opportunity to gain experience in a commercial kitchen, receive training, and earn income, all while their children are cared for on-site. “They get paid, they get all the training, and at the same time they can get their kids taken care of,” Carey explains. For many parents, access to childcare is one of the most significant barriers to employment. Removing that barrier opens pathways that might otherwise remain out of reach.

This combination of immediate support and long-term opportunity reflects the broader vision of the For Every Family Initiative, which is to create conditions in which families can move forward together with confidence. Before initiatives like this, support for families was often offered through piecemeal services and programs at scattered locations. “Prior to the funding, there were significant gaps in terms of person-centred supports,” Carey reflects.

Today, those gaps are being addressed through collaboration among community organizations, funders, and government partners, each contributing to a more coordinated and responsive system of care. It is, in many ways, a collective effort that reflects a shared understanding that supporting families is not the work of any one organization alone.

Across Winnipeg, through the For Every Family Initiative, that work is carried forward by the belief that when families are supported, entire communities are strengthened.

For Every Family: By the Numbers

The For Every Family Initiative is a collaborative investment in families across Winnipeg—bringing together philanthropy, government, and community organizations.

Launched by United Way Winnipeg, it supports a network of 24 Family Resource Centres that provide preventative, low-barrier services to families across the city. Winnipeg Foundation has supported the initiative, which aligns with the Foundation’s goal of reducing the number of children entering care and strengthening outcomes for youth aging out of the system, since its inception in 2016. In the years since, For Every Family has grown steadily, demonstrating that early, community-based support can reduce system involvement, strengthen families, and build healthier communities.

Funding Model:

• Total annual budget: $3.6 million, with a goal to grow to $4.58 million
• The Province of Manitoba matches philanthropic donations, recently increasing its commitment to $2 million annually (2025–2028)
• Winnipeg Foundation has committed up to $1 million per year (2025–2027) to help expand the program

Impact from 2021–2024:

• 87 families reunified
• 357 families were prevented from entering the child welfare system
• 4,500+ family interactions
• 400,000+ visits to Family Resource Centres in one year alone