The Luna Child Youth and Advocacy Centre, formerly the Calgary and Area Child Advocacy Centre, plays a crucial role in the Calgary community as a centre of excellence in child abuse intervention and prevention.
“Luna” is Latin for “moon.” The Luna Centre aims to be just that – a beacon of light and a path forward for children, youth, and families when they need it most.
BLG is proud to be a long-time supporter of Luna at all levels. Our professionals regularly volunteer their time to support the Centre’s activities, which includes making and delivering seasonal craft bags for the Centre’s children and families to enjoy. BLG also provides ongoing pro bono legal services. This effort coincides with the guidance provided by BLG Calgary partner, Melinda Park, who currently serves on Luna’s Board of Directors and as Chair of the Governance Committee.
“I love how BLG has wrapped its arms around a place that is so wonderful,” she says.
Luna addresses a critical issue in an innovative way. Using an integrated approach, Luna brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts, services, and support, under one roof. This allows children and families affected by abuse to access the therapy, medical and justice services they need in a safe and secure environment.
How Luna responded to COVID-19
Luna serves Calgary and the surrounding area and manages approximately 2,000 files each year. This challenging task was made even more difficult with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, during the early days of the pandemic, the centre realized a need for remote testimony services, as victims and families were no longer able to attend the courthouse in person. With this, Luna began using their remote testimony room, and quickly built a second room as demand increased.
The use of remote testimony had a positive impact on the centre’s operations, as Luna CEO, Karen Orser says “our hope is that this will become the standard, and that all children will be giving their testimony virtually from our advocacy centre and never have to go to a courtroom. The pandemic allowed us to get the buy-in we needed to make this possible.”
Giving back
BLG is proud to continue our support of Luna. At the start of the pandemic, BLG supplied the Luna staff with a hot lunch, as those in the healthcare sector felt the immediate impacts of COVID-19.
When asked about BLG’s relationship with Luna, CEO Karen Orser says, “This feels like a true partnership, we know there are people at BLG that care about our work and care about our staff.”
To learn more about Luna and the important work they do in our community, visit the centre’s website.