Why we started Puffin Services

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Puffin Services started with a question parents kept asking.

One of us managed a pediatric clinic. Day after day, we met parents doing everything they could for their children, many of them autistic. They were grateful for any help they could get. But they also told us what was missing. They wanted sessions at home, where their child feels safe. And many felt they had no real choice about where to go.

We wanted to give them one. The plan was a pediatric centre built around families: modern, warm, and different from what they had been offered.

Then we went to the banks. The banks said no.

That could have been the end of it. We decided it would be the beginning. If we couldn't open the doors of a centre yet, we would bring good care to families' own doors and build from there.

So we started with what families need every day: childcare and babysitting, nannies for weddings and events, postpartum support for new mothers, and care for seniors. And we made one rule we have never bent. The people we send for these services are our own employees. Each one has a vulnerable sector criminal record check, and each one is covered by WorkSafeBC. A family should never have to wonder who is walking through their door.

Puffin is a woman-owned company, and a young one. We know trust isn't claimed. It is earned, one family at a time, and that is how we are earning it.

The reason we started hasn't changed. In-home pediatric care, including speech, occupational therapy and behaviour support, is coming soon, and families can register their interest today. Beyond that, we are working toward the centre we first imagined.

We were told no. We are building it anyway.

If your family needs a hand, we would be honoured to be the ones who come.