Child abuse is more common than most of us want to believe.
Statistics Canada reports that roughly six in 10 Canadians experienced some form of abuse before age 15, and in Alberta it is closer to seven in 10. Many of those experiences are never disclosed, and most never make the news.
Behind the figures are children in every Calgary neighbourhood, and a responsibility we all share to help them feel safe.
This is the quiet, essential work of Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre. When a child in Calgary or southern Alberta experiences abuse, Luna brings together the people who respond to it: more than 140 experts from police, child protection, health, justice, and victim services, working as one team and under one roof.
Rather than retelling their experiences to strangers in different offices, a child is met in one safe place by professionals who coordinate their care, from the police interview through medical support, therapy, and the court process. The result is fewer delays, less trauma, and a stronger path toward healing and accountability.
Everything about that experience is designed around the child. A Child Life Specialist greets young people at the door and walks them through what their visit will look like, sometimes with the help of Luna’s accredited facility dogs, Zoom and Summer, who sit beside children during interviews and testimony.
Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre: The need has outgrown the space.
Since 2013, Luna has supported more than 30,000 children, youth and families through the most difficult moments of their lives. But the need has outgrown the space. Luna’s current Centre was built to serve roughly 1,000 children and youth each year.
Today it supports nearly 5,000, and in one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities, that number keeps climbing.
That is why Luna is moving to a new, purpose-built space, shaped from the ground up around what helps children heal and informed by everything Luna has learned in 13 years about supporting children, youth, and the professionals who stand with them. It will have the privacy, accessibility, and room this work requires. For thousands of Calgary families each year, it will be the place where a difficult chapter begins to turn toward hope.
To make the move possible, Luna has launched a $7 million capital campaign: More than a Building. A Place for Healing.
Luna has always shown what is possible when this community comes together, and that is what this moment asks of us again.
Child abuse is a community issue, and keeping children and youth safe is something all of us have a stake in. Individuals, government, businesses, foundations, and community partners each have a part in getting this centre built, so that every child who needs somewhere to feel safe and be believed finds Luna right there with them.
Learn more about Luna and support the campaign at lunacentre.ca.
