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It’s the next local effort – and a tangible one – to answer the call from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

A new child care and family centre, the city’s eighth, will be focused on Indigenous children and families.

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Close to $6 million in provincial funds will flow through city hall – which manages those child and family centres in London – to build and begin operating the Indigenous-led facility, where families can find cultural and language programming and other early childhood services.

“It’s going to the first of its kind in London,” said Jan Martin with the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC)’s Chippewas of the Thames site.

“Our centre is going to be addressing specific supports needed for child development for our Indigenous families to be healthy.”

That means a place for First Nations children to learn traditional languages and teachings, and a point of connection for parents and families to meet friends and learn about other services in the community, everything from recreation programs to mental health supports.