Family Clinic Welcome Info

The Family Clinic

Image of the Family Clinic location, a large orange brick house with blue doors.

Icons with info: Free parking on site Watch for children Stairs to front door Ask about accessible entry Hypoallergenic dogs on site Services by appointment only

Parking & Access

  • We’re located in a big brick house with a circular driveway at 144 Wilson St E, Ancaster (between Halson St and Jerseyville Rd).  There is an entrance and an exit for the driveway.  When you’re looking at the house from the street, the entrance is on the left, and the exit is on the right.
  • You can park on site.  The parking lot gets busy around the beginning of each hour, and at 9am and 3pm especially, but you can usually find a spot.  Unfortunately, there is not much street parking available in the area.  There is a bus stop close by if you’re travelling by bus.
  • Taxis, Ubers, and parents dropping off older kids for programs may pause briefly near the entrance to let passengers out, but please take care not to block other cars.
  • When you are dropping your child off at a camp program, please either park your vehicle and wait with your child outside to the right of the garage for a staff
    member to check them in, or pull all the way to the furthest available spot and one of our staff members will come to your car to escort your child in to the program.
    We must have a clear transfer of care when receiving your child for a camp program for their safety & well-being.
  • Please be mindful that we have children coming in and out of the clinic, and take extra care when driving and parking in the lot.
  • There is a half-flight of concrete stairs with a railing to get up to the blue front doors.
  • Please ask us ahead of your visit if you need an accessible entry – we have an alternative entrance via an indoor ramp in the garage, and can reserve our ground floor room for anyone with mobility differences (see Accessibility section for more info)
  • Please tell us ahead of time if you would prefer that our hypoallergenic therapeutic dogs are put away before your visit (see FAQs for more info)
  • We are an appointment-only clinic with a thorough intake and placement process for the safety of everyone on site, so we can’t accommodate walk-ins or active crisis situations.  If you are in crisis or you are at risk of harming yourself or others, please call 911 to get immediate help, and reach out to us when you have stabilized and are ready for longer-term support.

Checking In 

  • You can let yourself in the front doors – there is no need to knock, we are expecting you!  The right-hand door is the one that opens.  It’s fairly heavy and needs a good push.  The door opens inwards.  Please open it slowly, as there may be people trying to come out of the door at the same time.
  • There is hand sanitizer just inside the front door, and a Lost & Found bin at the entrance where unnamed items are put for you to claim if you lose something on site.
  • You can keep your shoes on and wipe them on the mats as you enter.  If you prefer to take your shoes off, or if you have very dirty or wet shoes, that’s fine – there is a rack at the front door where you can leave them.  There’s also a spot where you can hang a damp jacket or umbrella if needed.
  • You will see our reception desk right away when you come in.  There is always a receptionist on duty, but if the desk is empty, they may be in the kitchen or helping someone else.  They may also be on the phone.  In this case you can take a seat on one of the green chairs lined up along the front window, and they will find you within a couple of minutes!
  • You can check in one of two ways:  you can speak with the receptionist directly, who will let your therapist know you are waiting for them, or, if you know the name of your therapist, you can use our iPad to check in.  The iPad will ask for your first and last name, but you only need to enter your first name.  Then it will take you to a list of all our therapists in alphabetical order, with small photos to identify them.  Select your therapist and hit Check In – and the system will automatically notify your therapist that you have arrived.
  • Once you have checked in, you and any family members who are with you can head back to our family waiting room to wait for your therapist.  This is a large room with big windows full of couches and different seating options.  It’s located at the back of the house, through the hallway on the right hand side of the kitchen.  There are some books and games available for use – please tidy up anything you use.  There is also a table and some drawing materials which you can make use of.  There are outlets if you need to plug in a laptop and work while you wait for a family member.  There is usually low volume office-friendly music playing from a speaker.
  • There is a coffee station beside the TV with a Keurig and an electric kettle for tea and hot chocolate.  You can make yourself a beverage to enjoy while you wait.  Please supervise any kids who are under your care as they could burn themselves if left unattended.  If any supplies are missing or running low, or if there is a mess, please let our receptionist know so we can restock and tidy up.
  • You will pass a bathroom on the way to the waiting room which is available for you to use (there is a bathroom on each floor, so if that one is busy, please ask the receptionist to show you to the upstairs bathroom).
  • There should be sanitizer, paper towels, and antibacterial wipes available in the waiting room if needed 

Accessibility

  • We’ve adapted a great big house into a clinic space, so we don’t have exterior accessibility ramps or an elevator.  However, we’ve added an internal ramp via our garage, and we have a clinic room & washroom on the first floor that can be booked for accessible sessions to avoid internal stairs.  If you have mobility differences and you would prefer to come in from ground level and use our internal ramp, please let us know before your visit so we can be prepared to welcome you through our alternative entrance – we appreciate some advance notice so we can arrange the room booking and open the garage door for your arrival.  
  • There is an accessible parking space directly in front of the garage, closest to our alternative entrance.

Animals On Site

  • We often have two hypoallergenic, non-shedding therapeutic pet dogs on site, both of whom have been in the clinic regularly since puppyhood.  Bandit is a big dog – he’s an Old English Sheepdog and is owned by Sarah, our senior children’s social worker.  He likes to stick close to Sarah, but he’s happy to say hello.  Esther is a very small dog, a Shorkie who belongs to Milena, our clinic director – she’s also quite happy to visit with friends, new and old.  They are very well socialized and well adapted to clinic life, and they are always with a handler, but like all of us, may act out of character if they are scared or surprised.  If dogs make you especially anxious, please let us know so we can make sure they’re safely behind closed doors during your visit. 
  • We also have a variety of therapeutic pets in enclosures (hamsters, turtles, fish, lizards) – clients often like to check in with our animal friends during their visit if they are available.  Clients must ask permission and be supervised and supported by a staff member if they would like to handle our pets and their enclosures, for everyone’s safety and comfort.