Edmonton’s Zebra Centre opening doors to new ‘forever home’

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Edmonton’s Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre is opening the doors to their massive new facility next week.

The 30,000-square-foot facility, located at 14325 112 Avenue, will be the new home for the esteemed child and youth advocacy organization, a much-needed expansion considering the Centre has seen an 85 per cent increase in need for their services in the past five years.

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The Zebra Centre has been something of a downtown Edmonton landmark, having been at its former location on Jasper Avenue and 109 Street for the past 22 years. Emmy Stuebing, CEO of the Zebra Centre, says that despite its tenure, the organization knew the downtown location was always temporary.

“The new facility enhances our multidisciplinary team and partner collaborations, and it will ultimately allow us to better serve the thousands of children and youth who visit the Zebra Centre every year,” Stuebing said.

Nearly three times the size of previous facility

While the previous facility boasted 13,000 square feet of space, the new Zebra Centre, opening Monday, spans a total of 40,000 square feet — with 30,000 square feet developed and an additional 10,000 square feet that will be used as needed.

Stuebing emphasized the new building is their “forever home.”

The new facility sports 15 kid-friendly rooms where families can feel comfortable upon arrival while staff members provide answers and support.

There are six child forensic interview rooms with a monitoring room connected on the other side of the wall. There are also 50 office spaces and an additional workstation for volunteers and staff, allowing our partners to be on-site.

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On-site partners include the Edmonton Police Service’s child protective unit and child at risk response team (CARRT), Alberta RCMP, Children and Family Services, Alberta Health Services (AHS), and Edmonton Prosecution Services.

‘We hate that we exist, but so happy we do’

The centre serves children and youth who have experienced various forms of abuse, neglect, witness to crime, luring or anything that may harm them in some capacity. The children and youth who come to the centre are supported through the investigative process, navigating the justice system, and providing mental health supports.

In 2023 the centre helped 4,362 children and youth — a two per cent increase from 2022 which saw 4,272 children. In 2021, the centre helped 3,844 children.

Stephanie Franks, director of child and youth supports, oversees all of the centre’s frontline staff. She said while the building has been under construction, staff have been dispersed across the greater Edmonton area to fulfil their operations.

Now that the new facility will be up and running Franks said they are all feeling both relieved and excited for the opening.

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“There’s times that we feel tired and overwhelmed with it all. But I feel that all the staff that work at the centre, they’re here all for that same reason — to help those kids,” Franks said.

“We always say we hate that we exist, but we’re so happy that we do.”

Franks said the centre will follow a family from the moment they enter their facility until they no longer need their services.

The centre acquired the building through a lease-to-own arrangement and already owns 22 per cent equity in the building. In the coming years, they will be raising funds to assume full ownership.

They have raised $4.8 million of the necessary $6.2 million to build and operationalize their building with no government support and are continuing to seek funding.

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