Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network At the announcement of the opening of a new satellite office are Munro & Morris/Wilson Funeral Homes owner Alistair MacDonald, Children’s Treatment Centre executive director Robert Smith, Munro & Morris/Wilson Funeral Homes owner Katherine MacDonald, Children’s Treatment Centre registered psychotherapist Nathalie Lamarche, Children’s Treatment Centre patron Judith Wilcox, Children’s Treatment Centre president David Michaud, and Children’s Treatment Centre supporter and landlord Jean Vaillancourt. Missing is Children’s Treatment Centre volunteer Joel Doiron. Supplied

ALEXANDRIA — The Children’s Treatment Centre has made a significant addition to its presence in the region.

It’s announced the opening of an office in Alexandria, in order to improve accessibility to its services for children and their families living in Glengarry County.

“We’re the Children’s Treatment Centre of Cornwall, Akwesasne, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry,” board chair David Michaud said. “(Referrals from) all of the United Counties are welcome.”

Michaud said the goal of having an office in Alexandria pre-dates the pandemic; the emergence of COVID-19 changed everything, but now there’s an Alexandria site located at 7 Main St. S.

“Twenty per cent of our referrals are from Glengarry, and we wanted a physical presence (in Alexandria),” Michaud said.

He said the CTC has long had volunteer drivers available in outlying areas, but they’ve been more difficult to enlist in recent times.

Executive director Robert Smith in a news release said the CTC has been providing counselling services to children who have experienced sexual and/or physical abuse, and their families, since June 1996.

Beside the initial core program for child victims of sexual or physical abuse, the CTC also offers two additional programs, one for adolescents who have committed sexual offences against children, and another for children 5 to 11 years old who are sexually reactive or sexually aggressive. Since the CTC opened, 2,956 children from 2,554 families have attended the centre – many of them from outside the city.

Appointments made for the Alexandria office will be made through the Cornwall facility, and, initially, registered psycotherapist Nathalie Lamarche will be at that the new North Glengarry location one day a week.

Michaud said this approach can be adjusted depending on the need, and he said the addition of another office has been a community effort.

“A lot of community partners from North Glengarry have helped us in having this come to fruition,” Michaud said.

Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkAlistair and Katherine MacDonald, left, presented a donation to Children’s Treatment Centre registered physiotherapist Nathalie Lamarche and executive director Robert Smith to assist with opening a satellite office in Alexandria. Supplied

In fact, Alistair and Katherine MacDonald, owners of Munro & Morris/Wilson Funeral Homes, presented a cheque for $5,000 to Lamarche and Smith, the donation made in support of the new office.

The CTC clinical team includes Smith, Lamarche, counsellor Ashley McKay, psychologist Dr. Beth Pollock, intake assistant Margaret Robinson, and administrative assistant Robine Sabourin.

To learn more about services or to make a referral, contact the CTC at 613-933-4400 or at [email protected]

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