Community Briefing Issue 38, Fall/Winter 2018

THRIVE Child and Youth Trauma Services

This Issue…

...Our ongoing Community Briefing features agency news and updates,

events, research from the field, and our regular ‘On The Path to Thriving’

feature. As always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to share

this Community Briefing with others. This issue, as well as all back issues,

are archived on our web site: www.thrivechildandyouth.ca.

We believe thriving children create thriving communities.

Please share this community briefing, post it prominently, or

use its content to educate others.

Inside: Community Support

AGM Update

Office News

Community

Connections

On The Path to Thriving

From the Field

Community Support

We believe thriving children

create thriving communities. To

that end, our mission is a

community-wide response to

childhood trauma that combines

excellence in treatment, state-of-

the-art education, and community

oriented prevention initiatives

aimed at reducing the incidence

and impact of child maltreatment

and promoting the safe and

healthy development of children.

Announcement

On October 1st, 2018, Nawal Behih joined the Thrive team as our Administrative Assistant. Not only is Nawal Thrives friendly face that

welcomes visitors in our waiting room, but she also brings a fresh and unique perspective to Thrive with her multitude of skills. She is

currently leading the rebranding process and creating a new look for

Thrive`s promotional content.

Stay Tuned!

It is also our pleasure welcome back Nancy Rumble from her maternity leave effective October 2018. Nancy Rumble is Thrive’s only full time staff clinician and has been working with the organization since May 2012. Nancy is a social worker and psychotherapist who completes assessments and treatment for the SAAT program. She is also the

clinician connected to the Resiliency Brief Therapy program in

partnership with the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton.

We are very excited and happy to welcome Nawal and welcome back

Nancy to the Thrive Family

Community Support “Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change”

- Bob Kerry

Late in September, Thrive received an unexpected donation of $5,000, and gained two lifelong friends. At a conference early in 2018, Doug and Mary Ellen Jenkinson re-connected with friend Janice Floyd (Client Services Coordinator at Thrive). After this chance meeting, not only did Doug and Mary Ellen make a significant donation to Thrive, but Doug also pitched Thrive to the Oakville “100 Guys Who Care”. Although we came short of winning at this event (by only 1 vote), we are pleased to hear that our story and work has reached so

many people.

This year Thrive was once again invited to attend a meeting of The Hamilton Steelworkers Area Council and were presented with a generous donation to support our programs! We were also presented

with donations raised by employees of individual locals, these included:

HSAC Women of Steel | Universal Promotions | United Steel Workers

Brantford | United Steelworkers of America

As part of the Better Communities Program at Intact Insurance, Thrive was thrilled to be selected as one of their 2018 charities! On behalf

of all the children and families here at Thrive - thank you!

Our submission was sponsored by our long time friends at Magnes

Insurance, some of whom you can see in the picture on the right.

Thank you Hamilton Steelworkers Area Council

Thank you Intact Insurance

Thank you Doug and Mary Ellen

Annual AGM Meeting

Thrive had another successful Annual General Meeting this year, which included the reveal of our newly renovated reception area. Partners, supporters and friends came to visit and got to see where the “real work” takes place and also saw the pride that the Thrive team takes in their space. There was a lot of positive feedback about the informal nature of the evening and people enjoyed the open house style. As we do every year, we recognized a few people through our Leaders for Kids awards. The 2018 recipients were: David Hoy - David has been an integral part of the Thrive fabric for over 10 years now. With extensive

experience in child protection services, David’s transition into the organization came through his involvement as a group facilitator in our parent groups. From there, David and his family became volunteers as part of our long standing CAPPY ride which officially wrapped up in September 2017. In June 2009, David joined the Board of Directors for Thrive, including acting as the board chair from 2013-2015. Cathie Pead - From June 2016 until January 2018, Cathie Pead excelled in her role of Interim Executive

Director at Thrive. She led the agency through a time of significant transitions. It was a critical time for the agencies future; as we were navigating the evolution of children’s mental health services. As a community, Hamilton had welcomed close to 1500 Syrian newcomers in the months leading up June 2016, and as such, we were beginning to see the pressures this was placing on complimentary services such as OASIS. It became quickly apparent that her dedication and commitment to this work stretched far beyond the expected job requirements.

Please accept our sincere thanks, deepest gratitude and immeasurable appreciation for all of your

hard work, commitment and care during your years of involvement at Thrive Child and Youth Trauma Services. Below is a picture of this years Leaders for Kids award.

Leaders for Kids

2018

Office Renovations

Thanks to Rotary Club of Hamilton AM, our reception area is now a multi-functional area; a reception space, child minding area and group session delivery space. Due to this, special attention was given to colour and design choices to create a space that brings positivity and hope to clients and families, also allowing it to adapt between different needs. The incredible addition of hand painted butterfly wings, seen in the attached picture, was designed and created by Tricia Schinkel, clinical consultant and art therapist at Thrive. The purpose of the butterfly is two-fold; first, as a backdrop for children, youth and families to take a personal picture in front of. Secondly, butterflies are very symbolic and we hope it inspires our clients and families to remember the transformation they have each undergone to grow, change and flourish. Clients will have an opportunity to design a piece of the wing through art or add an inspiring message to the butterfly wings over time.

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly”

- author unknown

Before After

Welcome CFS!

The main reason behind our renovation work at 460 Main St E was to reduce our footprint (creating cost savings each month for us), while also making space for new tenant, and long term partner agency, Catholic Family Services (CFS). CFS offers a number of complimentary and necessary services for families in Hamilton. This move for CFS also shifts their service delivery approach to become mobile and community based. Service locations will be determined by the client’s location and their preferences. CFS has offered us use of their large board room, allowing us to move our board meetings into our building. This further connects board members to our work and allows them to feel more involved and connected to our services and clients. Counsellors from CFS have also been utilizing clinical space within Thrive’s location when they are not in use. We will continue to find innovative ways to partner and provide more

seamless services to clients where ever possible.

Community Connections

Nancy Rumble, Thrive’s staff clinical social worker,

was excited to contribute to a presentation at the CMHO annual conference in Toronto, on November 26 and November 27. This was in partnership with Lynwood Charlton Centre and The Offord Centre for Child Studies. The presentation titled, “Collecting Standardised and Meaningful Feedback from Youth and Families: Making Performance Indictors Work” allowed for Thrive’s story to be shared on the experience of implementing the Hamilton Service Area Feedback Form within our existing data collection processes. The conference was a great experience with a variety of key note speakers but the most remarkable presentation was by the Youth Action Committee who spoke about the need for youth’s voices and perspectives to be an integral part of all mental health services.

More information can be found on: http://files.constantcontact.com/314f3f09501/25e4cf12-0668-4a93-b6a1-1fe53a987aa8.pdf

CMHO Conference

Youth & Family Engagement Project

In January 2018, Thrive Child and Youth Trauma Services secured a grant from the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade (MCIIT) under the Multicultural Community Capacity Building Program. The project has developed an evidence-based approach for engaging newcomer families and youth in order to build their capacity to access and benefit from community mental health services. Many newcomer children and youth face mental health challenges which can impede their successful integration into school and community. This project has provided an opportunity to reflect general best practices of family and youth engagement through a cultural/newcomer lens. Early in 2019 we will be connecting with partner agencies and working groups in Hamilton to share our learning’s and support other agencies to successfully engage with newcomers in order to build their

capacity to access and benefit from community mental health services.

On the Path to Thriving

A 16 year old girl Sarah fled her home country Serbia because of political corruption and domestic

violence

Sarah’s daily functioning was compromised by these events; it was difficult for her to focus in school, her high levels of fear and anxiety made it difficult to leave her home, and she was in a constant state of angst.

Unsure with how to manage these emotions, Sarah’s well-being was at risk.

Sarah was diagnosed with PTSD and severe depression, and struggled to cope with the trauma she experienced. Sarah also experienced conflict within her family, some of which was related to acculturation

difficulties, which highly affected her.

When Sarah joined OASIS, she was given a safe space to work through the trauma she experienced. Sarah learned about processes of the brain and how trauma affects it, and how she can use that

knowledge to understand how her experiences have affected her and how to overcome the negative effects of this. Sarah also learned new coping strategies that she can use throughout her life. She found ways to

understand and manage her feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression and developed new skills to manage her experiences, further enhancing her resiliency. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and

Strengths Based Theory were some of the approaches used when working with Sarah. Sarah is continuing to address her family conflicts in OASIS, aiming to build a stronger bond between everyone at home. Sarah

also now has future goals to attend university and travel to countries she loves.

Numbers & Progress

CLINICAL HRS.: 521 DIRECT 611 INDIRECT

From the Field

In this day and age, internet access is everywhere, and children, big and small, are using “devices”. Babies in grocery carts, latency age kids in doctor’s offices, teens and preteens walking down the street, plugged in and often unaware of what is going on around them. Some researchers (1) have gone as far as to say that cell phone “addiction” is a real thing, although others feel that more research is required before we are able to accurately label or classify what appears to be compulsive use of smart phones as an addiction (2). Whatever the label, it is clear that children and youth, who are already vulnerable in many respects given their age and developmental stage, can develop a relationship with devices that can be problematic. With a greater degree of access, the user can be at increased risk of being bullied, lured, invited and even pressured to share sexual images, or be exposed to unwanted sexual content, in addition to a number of other concerns that are currently being linked to increased use of internet connected devices (3).

In response to this, numerous websites and advocacy groups have arisen to inform both children and their caregivers about how to safely engage with technology, especially given the possible dangers that exist when internet access is unchecked and unsupervised. These are valuable resources for Thrive clinicians and clients/caregivers alike given that we are noting, with increased frequency, exposure to on-line sexualized material has played a significant role in the child/youths’ victimization and/or concerning sexualized behaviour. Both assessment and treatment at Thrive include components dedicated to exploring and understanding the role technology has played in their experiences, and providing information and resources to assist both clients and their families in engaging in safe and healthy technology use. Thrive has ensured that some of these resources are linked to our website, which enables clinicians to encourage clients/caregivers to access the information without having to wade through the myriad of information made available from an on-line search. Please visit our website (4) and browse the links that

can be found in the tab: “For Parents and Caregivers” for more information about this important area, one that affects all of us, big and small.

In this day and age, internet access is everywhere, and children, big and small, are using “devices”. Babies in grocery carts, latency age kids in doctor’s offices, teens and preteens

walking down the street, plugged in and often unaware of what is going on around them.

1. https://virtual-addiction.com/about-us/

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5076301/

2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/nurturing-resilience/201801/teens-and-dangerous-levels-cell-phone-use

4. http://www.childabusecouncil.on.ca/for-parents-a-caregivers/online-safety.html

“Winning doesn’t always mean being first.

Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve

done before.”

– Bonnie Blair

Please support our work!

Donate online at

www.thrivechildandyouth.ca

Phone: (905) 523-1020

Fax: (905) 523-1877

www.thrivechildandyouth.ca

info@thrivechildandyouth.ca

© THRIVE Child and Youth Trauma Services

Charitable Reg. No. 893261727RR1

THRIVE Child and Youth Trauma Services gratefully

acknowledges the support provided by our financial

partners.

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Holiday Season

Community Support

Ancaster

Community

Services- Holiday

Assistance

Program

Good Shepherd

Venture Centre

Mission

Services of

Hamilton

Neighbour to

Neighbour

Centre (N2N)

St Matthew’s

House

Christmas

Program

Salvation

Army Dundas

Salvation

Army

Hamilton

Stoney

Creek

Community

Foodbank

Wesley Urban

Ministries

905-648-6675

pjones@hpl.ca

www.ancastercom

munityservices.ca

905-972-9485

info@gsch.ca

www.goodshep

herdcentres.ca

/christmas-

programs

905-528-4212

christmascare

@mission-

services.com

www.mission-

services.com

905-574-1334

ext. 300

foodbank@n2n

centre.com

www.n2ncentr

e.com

905-523-5546

ext. 230

christmas@stm

atthewshouse.

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www.stmatthe

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905-627-0572

diane_dunnet

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onarmy.org

905-540-

1888

905-643-

2090

905-528-5629

info@wesley.ca

www.wesley.ca

The Christmas Registry provides a listing of supports available in the City of Hamilton to help ensure as many people as

possible will be able to enjoy Christmas. It is coordinated by The City Of Hamilton, Hamilton Food Share and The

Emergency Food Network operating in Hamilton. Agencies listed below can be contacted directly for additional details.