Programs

What is DEEDFRI

Daybreak East End Downtown Family Resource Initiative (DEEDFRI) is all about helping families with young children from prenatal to age six living in downtown St. John’s and new Canadian families living throughout the St. John’s area.

With help from our community partners, the Association for New Canadians, Bridges to Hope, Bishop Feild Elementary School, Macpherson Elementary School, and Choices for Youth, Read to Ride Incorporated, Eastern Regional Health Authority, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church and many more, DEEDFRI is providing families with family resource supports and programs.

Our programs are structured around drop-in playgroups and offer a variety of activities for children. DEEDFRI also offers prenatal support groups for youth (Healthy Baby Club), parent workshops (i.e., Nobody’s Perfect, Right from the Start, guiding children’s behavior, etc.) outdoor programs (weather permitting) and special activity days (i.e., summer family fun day).

ALL programs are offered free however, parents/caregivers must remain with their children at all times while attending any DEEDFRI program.

Program Locations

Bishop Feild Family Resource Centre located in Bishop Feild Elementary School on Bond Street.Please check in with the front office at the school and the staff will be happy to show you to the Family Resource Centre.

Playgroup is a drop-in playgroup.

Toy-lending Program is located at 39 Cookstown Road in the Bridges to Hope main building. The Toy-lending Program offers families the opportunity to borrow age appropriate toys for children birth to age six.

Youth Service Centre Family Resource Site is located in the Choices for Youth Service Centre on Carter’s Hill Place. The site offers two programs:

Healthy Baby Club is a prenatal program for pregnant youth that is offered throughout the year; registration is required, please call the DEEDFRI office for more information.

Baby and Me is a drop-in playgroup for parents with infants up to “steady walking”.

St. Andrew’s Active Playgroup is located in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church hall (The Kirk) on Queens Road.

Active Playgroup is a drop-in gym-based program.

Macpherson Family Resource Centre is located in Macpherson Elementary School on Newtown Road. Please ring the door bell at the main entrance to the school and the staff will be pleased to direct you to the family resource centre:

Playgroup is a drop-in playgroup.

Parent Child Mother Goose Program is an oral literacy program for parents, registration is required, please call the DEEDFRI office for more information.

Daybreak Parent Child Centre located next to the CNIB building on the Boulevard is home to a variety DEEDFRI of programs including:

English as a Second Language Group is an English as a Second Language support group for mothers with infants who wish to improve their conversational English, registration is required, please call the DEEDFRI office for more information.

Healthy Baby Club is a prenatal program for pregnant youth that is offered throughout the year; registration is required, please call the DEEDFRI office for more information.

Rock and Talk is a postnatal support group for young parents, registration is required, please call the DEEDFRI office for more information.

For more information on the programs offered at the Centre please click on Programs on the main page and then Parent Program.

Community Connections for new Canadians is a program designed to help new Canadian families learn more about their community. Our Community Outreach Workers can introduce new Canadian families to family resource centres, community centres, food and clothing banks and toy-lending programs throughout the St. John’s region. For more information about this program please contact the DEEDFRI offices.

Our schedule of programs, detailing days and times that each program is offered can be found by clicking on Newsletter and then DEEDFRI Calendar.