Children receiving intensive mental health treatment at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s Regional Children’s Centre now have a new place to play.
Hôtel-Dieu and the HDGH Foundation have officially opened “The Nest” - a new playground for children in the centre’s Intensive Treatment Services program.
The project was made possible through local fundraising led by Dave and Mackenzie Cassidy, with more than $105-thousand dollars raised for the playground.
The Intensive Treatment Services program provides specialized mental health care for children between the ages of six and 12 who are struggling in multiple areas of their lives, including at home, at school, or in the community. The children in the program are able to continue their treatment while also continuing their education.
Work on the new playground began in June and opened earlier this month.
Playground fundraiser Mackenzie Cassidy says the project carries a personal meaning for her family and honours her grandmother who passed away as fundraising for the playground began.
“She had the biggest heart. She would get her checkbook out to make the first donation for every fundraiser I ever put together. And she was a daycare cook. She loved kids. And I know that this would be exactly what she would envision.”
Cassidy says locally there was a big gap in mental health support.
“They told us that they needed a playground for the Regional Children’s Care Centre, and that was sort of our next goal was set on giving them money for that.”
Operations Manager of Intensive Treatment Services at the Regional Children’s Centre, Kyle Williamson, says the new playground may look like a simple addition - but it’s much more than that.
“When kiddos come here, they tend to at times lose out on some of the experiences they typically get at community school. And so on the surface, it seems like it’s just a playground. But something like this allows them to get some of those more typical experiences that they get at community school, being out on a playground, playing with friends, that type of outdoor activity.”
About 50 children are registered with Intensive Treatment Services at any given time, with children typically spending about a year in the program.
The HDGH Foundation says the Cassidy family’s fundraising included the 5K Run Through the Orchard in 2023 and the 2025 Big Party Table Challenge, helping raise more than $105,000 for The Nest.