The Artemis Place Society, formerly Victoria Society for Educational Alternatives, was initiated in 1971 through a concern over the lack of resources for young women who had left school or who were experiencing difficulty with the traditional school system.  At that time, the society established the Girl’s Alternative Program (GAP) to meet the educational and social needs of young women in a smaller, more personal setting. 

 

In 1989 Options Daycare, an Infant and Toddler program, was created to serve the needs of pregnant and parenting youth while attending school. Teachers carried on the academic component of the program and Youth and Family Counselors provided counseling, support groups and training around the many issues and decisions affecting the lives of the young parents. 

 

Options Daycare later became called Artemis Young Parent Program. In 2021 the Multi Age Centre (MAC) was opened to continue supporting young parents as their children grew older. Even though the children were too old to attend the Infant/Toddler program, some Artemis young parents were still working on completing their goals at Artemis, attending post-secondary education, finding employment or needing additional daycare support while they found their place away from school.

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Today Artemis Childcare and Young Parent Program serves a variety of families. We have a combination of children whose parents attend or have attended Artemis Secondary School with the additional spaces filled by community families.