In communities across the Kootenays, a group of 23 trained volunteers is helping reshape the way families of children with diverse abilities connect to support.
These volunteers, known as family stewards, are part of the Diverse Family Roots Society, a nonprofit launched in late 2023 that aims to reduce isolation and build stronger community ties in rural and remote areas.
Operating in towns such as Trail, Nelson, Cranbrook, and Golden, the society offers a peer-led model rooted in lived experience.
Through mentoring, information sharing, and advocacy, family stewards, all of whom are parents themselves, provide local support that’s often missing from formal systems.”
“There’s something powerful about being understood without having to explain everything,” said Ben Postmus, the society’s executive director.
Meet the Family Stewards here: Family Stewards
He explained that for many families, day-to-day conversations about raising a child with unique needs come with hesitation and fear of judgment.
“But when they connect with someone who’s walked that path, those barriers fall away. It creates a sense of relief and belonging.”
Postmus emphasized that this kind of peer connection helps break down the misconception that families are alone in their experience.
“There are many others out there going through something similar,” he said. “Our stewards help families realize that, and connect them to one another.”
Group sessions are held both in person and online: the virtual format (Zoom) emerged during the pandemic and continues to meet a critical need.
“Only good thing to come out of COVID for me was access to Zoom,” said one regular participant. “It provided another conduit for gathering information related to helping my daughter.”
One of the most visible examples of this approach is Dads Matter, a peer support group for fathers facilitated by a volunteer mentor.
One father described the group as a space that offers “support, belonging, and no judgment.”
He attends when he can and said it feels like “getting together with old friends who are on the same path as me.”
The sessions are intentionally unstructured, led not by a strict agenda but by inclusion and the freedom to speak openly.
“People are encouraged to purge their stuff,” the father added. “I feel welcome and part of the group. I know of no similar resource that provides what Dads Matter does.”
That kind of connection is usual, Postmus said.
“Many of our family stewards have been doing this kind of support informally for years,” he said. “They bring decades of experience, and they lead with instinct and empathy. They do what comes naturally, and it works.”
The organization’s work is provided to diverse families at no cost.
Helping the society expand its reach across the region, the programs are supported by a long list of community partners including Canadian Tire Trail, Kootenay Chrysler, Teck Trail Operations, Columbia Basin Trust, and the Community Fund of North Kootenay Lake.
Learn about the 23 family stewards and get involved by visiting: diversefamilyroots.ca.
