The Centre

The Kackaamin campus sits on the territory of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations, surrounded by forest on the edge of the Alberni Valley. Families come to live here, together, for the duration of their program.

The buildings sit in a circle around a central park and playground. The circle is a foundational form in Indigenous healing: it reflects how healing works here. Everyone is equal, everyone faces each other, no one is at the head or the foot. That shape holds the whole campus together.

The campus is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Family Housing

Sixteen fully furnished housing units surround the children's park with one for each family in the program. Each unit has its own living area, full kitchen, dining space, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Items like pots, pans, dishes, and linens are all provided. Families arrive and settle in without needing to bring much beyond themselves.

For many families, living together without separation is itself part of what makes Kackaamin different. Parents and children stay in the same unit. They share meals. They walk to sessions together. The healing doesn’t just happen to individuals in a building but it also happens to a family, in a home.

Women’s Supportive Recovery Residence

The Supportive Recovery Program has its own dedicated 10-bed residence on site. Women in early recovery live here during their program, in a space designed specifically for their needs and with access to 12-step supports, one-on-one counselling, and cultural programming, all within the same campus.

Other Facilities

Adult Education Building

This is where the clinical and educational work of the adult program takes place, like counselling sessions, group therapy, learning rooms, and staff and administration offices. The building holds both the therapeutic heart of the program and the practical logistics of running the Centre.

Administration office hours are 8:30am to 4:15pm, Monday to Friday. All visitors to the campus are required to check in here first. We protect the privacy and safety of all client families and staff.

Therapeutic Children’s Centres

While parents are in programming, their children are never far and never unattended. Kackaamin's two children's centres sit on campus, close enough that families remain connected throughout the day.
Both centres share the same foundation: safety first, relationships before curriculum, and healing woven into every hour. A child doesn't stop needing care because their family is doing hard work. These spaces exist so that both can happen at the same time.

Erica Seitcher Childcare Centre

Named for a childcare mentor, this centre cares for newborns and toddlers up to five years old while their parents are in programming. It is a licensed Aboriginal Head Start program, supported by the Aboriginal Head Start Association of British Columbia and Island Health Authority.

The centre is warm, unhurried and it exists so that parents can be fully present in their healing, knowing their youngest children are safe and cared for nearby.

Because spaces in the childcare centre are tied to the session intake, it is generally not available to community families outside of programs. Contact the childcare coordinator# directly for questions.

Learning Centre (K–12)

Children and youth in the program (from Kindergarten through Grade 12) continue their education here throughout their stay. Learning at the centre is built around trauma-informed approaches: it moves at the pace of the child, and it holds space for both academics and healing, without treating them as separate things.

The Learning Centre is staffed with School District #70  teachers, education assistants, and clinical group therapists that support healing and integration for the children and youth.

The Gymnasium

The gym is large, bright, and well-used. This is where families play basketball, move their bodies, and work off some of the weight that comes with doing hard emotional work. Physical wellness is an important part of recovery.

Once a week the gym becomes a banquet hall. All client families come together for a community dinner which is one of the rhythms that makes Kackaamin feel less like a program and more like a community.

Ceremonial and Outdoor Spaces

Outside, the campus includes spaces for sweat lodge ceremonies, sacred fires, and outdoor gatherings. These cultural practices are central aspects to healing. Culture is medicine at Kackaamin, and the land is part of how that medicine is delivered.

Coming Soon

The Family Healing House

Kackaamin is growing! Fundraising is currently underway for a Family Healing House, which will be a new ceremonial space with a commercial kitchen and alternative healing offices. If you'd like to support this project, contact our Special Projects Coordinator or learn about our other Special Projects.