Agyapa Care Ldt. will be the first provider of 24-hour childcare services in Lethbridge. (Photo: Agyapa Care Ltd.)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge’s first 24-hour childcare centre opening this fall

Jul 16, 2025 | 2:01 PM

Families in Lethbridge will soon have a new option for childcare.

Carolyn Agyapong is the owner and founder of Agyapa Care Ltd., a childcare facility that is currently under construction near the intersection of Walsh Drive West and University Drive West.

She says it will offer daycare services for typical hours, but also services for a part-time, drop-in, emergency, evening, overnight, and weekend basis. It will be the first and only centre in Lethbridge to offer 24-hour childcare.

Agyapong says times have changed, and an increasing number of families are working hours outside of the typical Monday-Friday 9-5.

“More families are faced with diverse working schedules, including shift work, overnights, weekends. We also encounter a lot of families that don’t have the support of relatives who live nearby, or they recently moved to the area and they don’t really know anybody,” says Agyapong. “They’re looking for options for care that just aren’t there for them on the evenings and on the weekends.”

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It will also be the only place south of Calgary with dedicated respite care for children with disabilities.

According to Agyapong, there are currently around 990 families in Lethbridge who receive government funding for respite care. Many of these families have specific funding for 24-48 hours of respite, but are left with nowhere to go to receive that type of care from a local service provider.

Upon completion, Agyapa Care Ltd. plans to offer 210 licensed spaces, which she feels will greatly help in addressing the city’s long-standing shortage.

A report commissioned for the City of Lethbridge in 2024 classified the community as a “childcare desert,” saying there was a shortage of around 620 spaces. The west side, in particular, lacks licensed childcare spaces.

Agyapong has been operating a day home in west Lethbridge for about the last five years, providing care, including overnight and respite, to as many as 30 families each month by herself. She says it has been a lot of work, but it is work that she enjoys and feels is important.

She told LNN that there is “always” a wait list at her day home and that many have been wanting a larger facility with more staff.

Agyapong plans to hire 30-35 employees.

A meeting of Lethbridge City Council this week included a public hearing for a rezoning application for the facility. The current rezoning will mostly stay the same, but it will add the terms Group Home and Clubs/Community Halls. Agyapong says she wants to offer spaces to the community for events.

Her goal is to open the facility this fall, potentially by October.

READ MORE: Lethbridge classified ‘childcare desert,’ city to maintain current levels of support

Agyapa Care Ldt. will be the first provider of 24-hour childcare services in Lethbridge. (Photo: Agyapa Care Ltd.)

Agyapa Care Ldt. will be the first provider of 24-hour childcare services in Lethbridge. (Photo: Agyapa Care Ltd.)