Communities in western Cape Breton, N.S., came together this week to learn about caring for children in their early years.

The one-day workshop drew about 70 people to the Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre on Friday to talk about how they can better support children and families in their communities.

Jim Mustard, an Inverness County councillor, organized the workshop. He said 32 per cent of children in Inverness County have been identified as vulnerable, according to the Early Development Instrument. That's a questionnaire completed by primary teachers that measures children's ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations.

"So it means about a third of our population are going to struggle in school, are going to struggle with their peer relationships, they're going to struggle down the road in employability," Mustard said.

Now or never

The time is right to take action, he said.

"It wasn't until last year when the One Nova Scotia coalition announced its seven priority areas that it really became a priority for our whole province to look at the early years. So that was a catalyst for me as a municipal councillor to say, 'Well, why don't we look at bringing ourselves together to look at what's working, and what's missing, and what we can do about it.'"

Friday's workshop included politicians from Inverness County, Victoria County, the Town of Port Hawkesbury, and the Wagmatcook and Waycobah First Nations.

Diana MacKinnon and her son Hector stopped by. (CBC)

There were also parents, some with infants in their arms — among them Diana MacKinnon, a mother of four from Lake Ainslie, who has one son who has been diagnosed with autism.

"My husband and I have been going through the steps of getting his assessment and getting the resources that he needs," she said.

That's involved many trips to Sydney, Antigonish and Halifax. "I think we have met many challenges just due to the location of where we live. And it's very frustrating."

Community support

MacKinnon would like to see the establishment of early learning centres.

"For each community to have a very strong centre to go to just drop in, have programs, maybe a little clinic where pediatricians or Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech can come to us."

It's a need Mustard has heard from other parents.

"Where are those spaces that you can just gather to talk about your breast-feeding needs, talk about how your baby's sleeping, maybe just get out of the house and hang out? Because it's hard. Those things are a loving lap that used to exist in the home, back when grandma was closer by. Maybe we could start to support that type of network in our community halls, in our schools with extra space," he said.

Mustard says the plan is to spend the next three months assessing the assets and gaps in each community, then to come back together in June to discuss where participants want to see investment happen.