Organizers with the local Block Parent program are looking for more people to sign up in Chatham-Kent, specifically in the Wallaceburg, Dresden and Thamesville communities.
Murry Haggerty, program coordinator for the Chatham-Kent Block Parent Program, told the Sydenham Current the program has been around for decades.
“The Block Parent Program is basically a network of pre-screened families and they are there to provide a safe place for children or adults, anybody can use it, that they go to if they need help,” Haggerty said.
“If they are in distress. So if a child is lost and they don’t know how to get home, or they are being chased or you know a dog is attacking them, they can go up to a Block Parent home and they can knock on the door and the Block Parent will offer them help and assistance.”
Haggerty said Block Parent homes go through a police screening every two years.
“So everybody in the household over the age of 12 has to have a police screen done,” she said.
“To be a Block Parent, you call us at the office, you fill in some paper work and we take some details. We come and check the house to make sure there is no fenced areas that the child wouldn’t be able to see the Block Parent sign, to make sure there is no loose dogs running around. You have a police check done and if that comes back okay, then we give you the sign to put in your window.”
Haggerty added: “Then every two years, you’re renewed. You have to have a new police screening done and we come out and do another check of the house to make sure nothing has changed.”
Haggerty said the Block Parent Program will reimburse anyone who signs for the cost of the police check as well.
Anyone interested can call 519-350-0430 ex. 267 or visit them online, here.
“We are always looking for more Block Parents,” Haggerty said.
“We would love to get more Block Parent houses in Wallaceburg, Dresden, and Thamesville. If anybody is interested, give us a call or you can email us. Our email is ckbpp@ciaccess.com.”
Getting into schools
Haggerty said their group is just getting back into the local schools.
“We are having great feedback from the St. Clair Catholic District School Board,” she said.
“So we are going to do some presentation to the kids. We do presentations at the (Chatham-Kent Children’s) Safety Village and it is just a great way for kids to know that sign means a safe place for them to go and we want to make sure that Block Parents know that it doesn’t matter if you are both working or everybody is busy running around doing different activities. You just need to put the sign in the window when you want to. So if you are only home for the weekend, you just put the sign in the window at the weekends.”
Haggerty added: “It’s a great thing to do form home and it is a really nice thing for the neighbourhood to know that there is a safe place for their kids to go.
Glow necklace program for Halloween
The group will be holding their glow necklace program once again this Halloween as well.
“The program started in 2009,” Haggerty said.
“We basically gave out a few glow necklaces at Halloween in Chatham originally and we found that is was a really successful thing and everybody wanted to be involved. So it has grown over the years. It is now our signature event and it is called ‘Light Us Be Safe’ named by a Grade 5 student in 2011. Every year we give out as many glow necklaces that we can to our Block Parent Homes and they distribute them with the candy at Halloween.”
She added: “So this year we are giving out around 2,500 glow necklaces. In total since we have started we have handed out about 20,000. So it is a really great event and it just highlights safety when they are out trick or treating. They can put the glow necklace around their neck and it is an extra safety feature.”
– Photo credit: Dana Haggith
