THE North Shore Infant Development Program is looking for a new place to play.
After spending 12 years as a neighbourhood fixture, the group lost their space on East Seventh Street at the end of June.
The IDP offers therapeutic play for newborns and toddlers who have been diagnosed with conditions like cerebral palsy or Down syndrome, or who seem developmentally delayed for undiagnosed causes.
While the group continues to maintain their schedule of house calls, they lost their central play area after a big spike in lease costs left IDP looking for new funding from the Ministry for Children and Family Development.
"The polite answer at the end of the day was that they weren't able to discuss that with us, and so we were left with very little choice but to give our notice," said North Shore Disability Resource Centre executive director Liz Barnett.
Because playgroups are not offered in the summer, there has been no disruption in service, according to MCFD communications director Corinna Filion.
"The agency is currently in the final stages of negotiations with a partner community agency for a permanent space this September," Filion wrote.
Despite carrying an annual caseload of 170 children, all whom are no older than three, Barnett said the closure was not entirely unexpected.
"We were a bit shocked, because, first of all that our funder wasn't willing to cough up any extra money for lease space. I guess we shouldn't have been shocked because they're not willing to cough up anything for staff wages," she said. "This has been ongoing, this death of a thousand cuts, for years."
The North Shore Disability Resource Centre receives annual funding of approximately $316,000, according to Filion, who pointed out that 30,000 youth and children with special needs across B.C. receive help from the ministry.
While contracts have yet to be signed, Barnett said she's confident IDP will have a new play centre by September.
The centre affords an opportunity for families in similar situations to share advice and help each other in ways professionals can't, Barnett said. "IDP is the first place to go to get the help you need to get to know what to do," Barnett said. "It saves their sanity, it saves them from worry. It creates opportunities for them to network."
Finding space is an acute challenge for North Shore nonprofits, according to Barnett, who cited the region's prohibitive housing prices as an obstacle.
