Good afternoon,
I am honoured to be here for the reopening of the Family Centre, here at Sunshine League House.
Over the past 22 years the Family Centre has aided and provided much needed services for children, their parents and families. The Family Centre, like the former Sunshine League, serves as a valued resource for Bermuda and I am pleased to be here today as the Centre opens their doors to the community. The fact that your new location is housed in the former Sunshine League is noteworthy and highlights the important legacy that Family Centre now embodies. This is very fitting as we approach the International Day of Families later this month.
As we know, Sunshine League House was established because Ms. Agnes May Robinson was deeply concerned about the social conditions of Bermuda’s ‘forgotten children’ in the early 1900s. With 35 Shillings and three half-pennies, the home opened on January 28th, 1919 as Bermuda's first social welfare organization. Its mission was to provide shelter and education to homeless young men. The League later evolved as a facility that housed both males and females, and provided services to Bermuda's youth and families…until its recent closure.
Like the Sunshine League, the Family Centre serves as a beacon of hope for many Bermudian parents and their children. The historical significance, rich cultural and social impact of the former Sunshine League will motivate the Family Centre to carry on the mission of helping to support Bermudian families.
Let me take this opportunity to commend the Sunshine League Board Members for giving their most valuable asset – this seven-bedroom house – to the Family Centre.
Since 1996 and under the consistent and steady leadership of Martha Dismont, the Family Centre has provided family-based intervention services to support children suffering from problems such as abuse, neglect, and other emotional challenges. The Family Centre’s counselling services help families out of crisis, create safety and rebuild positive relationships through empowerment of family members that can break negative cycles and move the family forward with better care and protection.
Their community programmes promote strength-building in various skills such as team-work, decision-making and leadership through participation in community-based groups.
Data from 2016 shows that 100% of parents who attended the Family Centre’s counseling services reported that, at discharge, they were better able to positively function as a parent while 98% of training participants report that they gained new knowledge, skills and tools that will help them to be more effective in their jobs.
I am sure that this new location will give the Family Centre staff greater scope to continue and further expand their good work in the community…And how fitting it is that the legacy of helping families started by Ms. Robinson all those years ago will be carried on by an organization with a similar purpose that addressed the needs of our youth and families, including unaddressed trauma.
On behalf of the Government of Bermuda, the Ministry of Social Development and Sports, and those families in need, thank you Family Centre and best wishes for continued success in your new location!
