SideBySide Children's Village Society Fund

SideBySide Children's Village Society, (formerly known as SOS Children’s Village BC) 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. 

The Society cares for 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 underfunding. We are guided by the boundaries of the Provincial Legislation for child welfare in terms of providing support and other services to Caregivers contracted by the government.

We provide healing, hope, and homes through a variety of programs within a supportive community environment, our Village. Our Village comprises 12 homes with 14 Caregivers and 48 Children. We own and oversee 5 foster homes, 5 Transition Suites, and a Village Centre on our own wooded 2.5 acre campus suite, with the seven other “village” homes integrated in the surrounding geographic area.