Our
Mission

The BC Complex Kids Society is a non-profit organization within the province of British Columbia looking to be a voice for children and youth with medical complexity and their families and to help shift their experience from surviving to thriving. 

We aim to create meaningful support for our community through resource sharing and facilitating gathering spaces. 

We aim to advocate for our children and families’ complex needs within the communities they inhabit and the healthcare systems they rely on.

We aim to engage in research initiatives that enhance the care, support and quality of life for our children and families.

Back in 2017, our founder, Brenda, started a Facebook group with the humble objective of finding other families like her own. Over the years, this group has grown to more than a thousand members, parents and caregivers, from across the province. This Facebook group became a space to share encouragement, resources, stories, and even supplies with each other. It became apparent over time how families were being supported inequitably and inadequately throughout BC, and advocacy efforts naturally unfolded to bring our concerns, gaps in care, and lack of support to policymakers. In 2021, the BC Complex Kids Society became a registered non-profit to further our mission for our complex kids and their families.

Our
Families

Children and Youth with Medical Complexity have a wide variety of conditions and diagnoses - with no single definition to encompass them all. Most children and youth with medical complexity have multiple chronic conditions, functional limitations, high healthcare use, and a need for ongoing caregiving. 

  • Less than one percent of children live with medical complexity and over two-thirds have a single health chronic condition.

  • Having a child with medical complexity does not discriminate based on income, race, sex or geography.

  •  About a third of children with medical complexity receive medical technology assistance.

  • Children with medical complexity depend heavily on informal and unpaid caregiving by family members.

Our
Board

Brenda

Brenda Lenahan - Chair / President 

Brenda Lenahan is a solo mom to her medically complex son, who has inspired her involvement in childhood disability advocacy and research. Since 2017, she has been advocating for equitable access to financial, health & social support for families raising medically complex kids in BC and across Canada. This grassroots work led to her co-founding BC Complex Kids Society, which is the main focus of her energy. Her passion for an equitable future for families and their kids has led her to membership in the Minister's Advisory Council on Children & Youth with Support Needs in BC and the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care. There is never a dull moment as she also runs a mobile business selling adaptive recreation equipment.  She is ever so grateful for the beautiful connections with other families and the meaningful work that her son has brought into her life. 

Angela Uncles - Treasurer / Vice President

Angela Uncles is one of the founding members of BC Complex Kids Society. She currently serves as Vice-President and Treasurer on the Board of Directors. Angela believes that every parent is born an advocate out of necessity when they have a child with a disability. Angela believes in community care and community responsibility to help one another. Community care includes all systems operated by the government, including health authorities and non-profits, and we must all work together to ensure the lives of children with medical complexity are wholesomely supported so families can thrive. Angela has a long history of volunteering and working with non-profit and charitable organizations and vulnerable populations. She currently works as a Clinical Counsellor at a community agency. Angela resides in Surrey with her husband and two daughters and is in the process of adopting a son!  For leisure, Angela is an avid reader, an eager but mediocre soccer player,  and watches comedy shows.

Diana Salcedo - Director

Diana is a passionate advocate and mother of three wonderful boys, one of whom has complex medical needs. Professionally, she works in the field of communication and graphic design. Since 2018, Diana has been an active family partner in various research projects at BCCH and family engagement initiatives at Canuck Place Children's Hospice. Additionally, she volunteers as a parent partner for a non-profit organization. Diana is deeply committed to advancing the rights of children with medical complexity, focusing on the needs and challenges faced by the most vulnerable populations, such as recent immigrants to Canada and non-English speakers. As an immigrant herself, she intimately understands the difficulties these families encounter when navigating unfamiliar systems. Finally, she is also passionate about the process of knowledge translation, striving to make research accessible and understandable to those who need it most.

Laesa Kim - Secretary / Director

Laesa is a writer and author of the memoir Can’t Breathe, which unfolds the emotional journey of living and accepting this complex life. Laesa believes in the power of each individual’s story, to learn from the nuances of each person’s experience and as a means of bridging our experiences together. She is a vocal advocate for the medically complex community in online spaces and various committees she has sat on at BC Women’s Hospital, and since 2020, she has been engaged as a parent partner on research projects across Canada. Laesa’s oldest sister lives with medical complexity and has moved through these same systems she now advocates within for her own child. Her lived experience has shaped her urgency, understanding and dedication to this community. Laesa lives in Surrey with her husband, son, daughter and dog - where they enjoy trail walks, basketball in the driveway and family game nights together.