Intake
Dream Care Program
Our home can serve up to 5 children or youth with Child Welfare involvement, ages 4–24, from anywhere in Canada.
Partnership sits at the centre of our home. We work alongside certified trauma-informed yoga instructors, Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, expressive art therapists, and martial arts experts — together with schools, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton Police Services, each young person's workers, and any other professional or natural supports they identify.
Program focus
- Teaching emotional regulation through conversation, practice, and modeling.
- Interventions grounded in the impacts of trauma and intergenerational trauma.
- Meaningful cultural participation — time with Elders, ceremony, and community events.
- A holistic understanding of health and healing.
- Trauma-informed interventions built on brain development, strengths, relationship, and attachment theory.
- Preparing young people for independence, or return to family or permanent caregivers.
Service providers and front-line staff can't do this alone — and they shouldn't have to.
Relationships among diverse stakeholders are essential. Real innovation happens when everyone who cares is involved. Listening, sharing stories, learning from one another, and staying curious and humble create the strong relationships that make this work effective.
Dream Care chooses to build meaningful relationships as a passport to understand and support children and youth.
Let's Make A Change
The world feels lonely, frightening, and hostile when you've been abandoned too many times. Many of the children and youth we serve have been through early trauma and repeated rejection. Punishment has been tried — it hasn't worked. Young people want connection, but traditional child welfare services don't meet their needs. We need new thinking, and we need to work with young people rather than trying to control them into compliance.
Working with this population takes time and patience. When a young person lets us into their world, that's a real risk for them — being in relationship means being vulnerable. For a child or youth who has been surviving on the streets, vulnerability can look like weakness, and weakness can get you hurt. We lead with patience, consistency, and trust.
Common questions about intake
Who can Dream Care serve?
Children and youth aged 4–24 with Child Welfare involvement — from anywhere in Canada. We partner with Children's Services, Delegated First Nations Authorities, and Indigenous Governing Bodies.
How many young people live at the home?
Our Edmonton home supports up to five children or youth at a time, so care stays individualized and relationship-based.
What makes Dream Care's approach different?
We combine trauma-informed practice, cultural connection (Elders, ceremony, land-based teachings), evidence-based Western therapy, and relationship-based interventions in one therapeutic home.
Do you offer support outside the home?
Yes. Our Outreach program supports children and youth aged 4–24 where they are — including those experiencing homelessness or disconnected from services.
How do I make a referral?
Caseworkers, families, and service partners can contact us through the Contact page, by phone, or via WhatsApp to request a referral package.