TIMMINS - A growing clinic is celebrating its new space.
Bright Spot Therapy Services held its grand reopening today (Jan. 24). While you can find the clinic in the same spot at 11 Rea St. N. in Timmins, it's been expanded.
The clinic offers several therapy services, including psychoeducational assessments, autism assessments, psychotherapy, and feeding and reading therapies. A doctor’s referral is not required.
It opened seven years ago to fill a gap in services that founder Rachel Pessah saw while working as a speech pathologist.
“I was seeing the needs of the community that weren’t being met,” she said. “I’ve always loved working collaboratively with other professionals, so I started from day one as a multidisciplinary clinic and just continued to expand into other service providers.”
Pessah said the company's growth has been tremendous.
“We have continued to grow, the needs in our community have continued to grow,” she said. “We wanted space that met our clients' needs better.”
Bright Spot has doubled its staff in the last year.
The new space offers more room for the staff and their clients. It also features brightly coloured doors, furniture, toys, and other comforting items for the children they help.
Painting the doors, in particular, was a “labour of love,” said Pessah.
“It took a lot of coats of paint, but it was worth it,” she said.
There's a kitchen to help teach life skills and a gym for those who need more room to move.
Client families, staff, members of the Timmins Chamber, Mayor Michelle Boileau, and Timmins MPP George Pirie attended the ribbon cutting.
“It’s so exciting for the community and these families because they’re providing services for children throughout our community and throughout the region,” said Chamber vice-president Melanie Dufresne. “It’s in the middle of our city, accessible, bright, and colourful. It’s a wonderful space for children and families alike to come in.”
Pessah said she and the staff are looking forward to helping more families and growing, if at a slower rate than over the last seven years.
“The needs for services just continue to grow,” said Pessah.
