George Hull Centre - In the News

By TAMARA SHEPHARD
November 13, 2008
http://www.insidetoronto.com/article/59240

George Hull Centre offers assessments, groups for parents of teens feared to be Internet dependent

While growing numbers of parents are seeking help for their teen's Internet addiction, local children's mental health professionals first began treating teens four years ago after many of the children had dropped out of school.
First and foremost, parents must recognize that the Internet is a "real and legitimate" social world for children and youth, social workers say. If parents don't, strategies to overcome the addiction fail.

"If parents don't understand that the Internet and socializing is interconnected, all the strategies they try simply won't work," said Rashaad Vahed, a social worker who manages the community clinic at The George Hull Centre for Children and Families in central Etobicoke.

"To remove a computer feels like a terrible punishment to the child."

Teen Internet use can include gaming, social forums, surfing the Web, chat forums, even gaming using ear pieces where players talk with one another while also adopting a persona often at odds with, or better than, the child's persona in society, Vahed said.

Parents may not, but children see real connections on the Internet.

"The cold turkey approach is very difficult to implement," Vahed said, of parents who remove the computer to deter Internet use. "You're not just cutting off the game; you're cutting off the child's social circle."

Internet addiction came into the spotlight after Brandon Crisp, 15, ran away from his Barrie, Ont. home Thanksgiving Monday after arguing with his parents over his Xbox gaming habits.

Steve Crisp said he had confiscated his son's Xbox at least 20 times since Brandon became "obsessed" with the online war game Call of Duty 4. Brandon began to stay up all night, skip school and steal money.

Brandon's body was found Nov. 5 by hunters in a wooded area east of Barrie. An autopsy concluded he died after falling from a tree.

The Crisp's reaction to Brandon's Internet addiction is common and "intuitive" among parents, Vahed said.

"The conflict happens when parents try to limit the use," Vahed said. "And parents try hard. They shut down the Internet cache, take the screen to work. But when you remove it, you've got a child anywhere from shy to socially anxious with an experience of being in pain. Kids who are depressed sometimes only 'come on' when they watch television or are on the Internet."

Most teens are on the Internet, Vahed said, approximately two hours a day.

He and other experts agree that excessive Internet use can be a sign of underlying mental health issues such as depression or an anxiety disorder or an attention-deficit disorder.

George Hull social workers employ a harm-reduction strategy, not unlike that used in substance abuse treatment. "It's not abstinence. But you move toward this date where the use is more controlled."

Counsellors work with parents to develop alternative activities to gaming, to be wary of any clinical behaviours, like depression or anxiety, then build in family strength.

"Does the family have the muscle to communicate?" Vahed explained. "These days, you almost have to force communication on teenagers: in the car, ask questions of them when they're talking about a friend or a movie star or Britney Spears. When they talk, they talk about themselves, their value system. Then you match that with increasing activities with their parents."

"Red flags" that suggest parents search out a parent support group or make an appointment at their local children's mental health centre, like The George Hull Centre, to discuss their child's Internet use include: teens who exhibit depression or anxiety, who experience extreme emotional ups and downs or who engage in destructive behaviour toward themselves, others, or property.

George Hull counsellors can screen for the clinical behaviours, like depression, then put a plan together for the family and the child.

The George Hull Centre for Children and Families offers mental health clinical services for children and youth ages six to 18 who are experiencing significant emotional, behavioural, developmental and/or psychiatric difficulties.

The centre at 600 The East Mall (at Rathburn Road) hosts once weekly evening workshops starting in January that can be helpful to parents dealing with their teen's Internet use or addiction.

In January, Help! I Have Teens! runs for six weeks for parents of teens ages 12 to 18. Parenting Challenging Children runs for eight weeks starting in February for parents of children ages four to 11.

Call Rae Augusto at 416-622-8833 ext. 252 to register, or for more information.

Internet addiction is a concern globally.

The American Journal of Psychiatry wants Internet addiction included as a brain illness in the updated edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) expected in 2012. The DSM is the official reference source for psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health counsellors.

Last year, Korea, one of the world's most wired societies, launched Jump Up Internet Rescue School, a boot camp and rehab program paid for by the government, which also built a network of 140 Internet addiction counselling centres.

Back home, the Crisp family has set up a foundation to help underprivileged students play minor sports. An interim account has been set up at the CIBC as the Brandon Crisp Trust Account. Donations can be made at any of the bank's branches.

More than 1,000 people were expected to attend Crisp's funeral mass today at St. Mary's Church in Barrie, north of Toronto.

By REBEKAH WILLIAMS
December 04, 2008
http://etobicokeguardian.com/article/60486

Nutrition is the focus of the breakfast club that runs out of Highfield Junior School. To involve the community the volunteers of the program are holding a community breakfast on Dec. 11 at 8 a.m.
"Aside from it being a venue or a get together as a community, I think a nice emphasis is the nutritious value," Elnora Magboo, project manager of the Highfield Community Enrichment Project said about the community breakfast.

To ensure healthy breakfasts are served, the food choices are made based on the guidelines of Public Health and the Canada Food Guide.

Each school year, the club hosts three community breakfasts where the Highfield community, which is the surrounding area of Highfield Junior School invites the local residents to participate in an event that unites the community with local politicians, members of parliament and police officers. In the past Councillor Suzan Hall, MPP Dr. Shafiq Qaadri, and police officers from 23 Division have attended.

Magboo said it is nice to see the community brought together and that quite often the children are drawn to the police officers.

"The kids get to see the police officers in a different light and vice versa," she said. "They get to see each other in a different atmosphere, not in quite an intimidating way."

The breakfast can also offer a place for newcomers to the area to get to know other people in the community Magboo said.

"Let's say you are new to the community, it's nice to come here and get to see teachers of your kids not within the confines of the classroom."

The Breakfast Club is offered to children three times a week from Tuesday to Thursday at 8 a.m. In addition to the breakfast club, the Highfield Community Enrichment Program offers a hot lunch available from Tuesday to Thursday and a snack time available Monday to Friday. The program is funded by The Toronto Foundation for Student Success and the Kingsway-Humber Kiwanis Club.

Both sponsors are also invited to the community breakfast.

"It's nice to see in action, and where their money is going," Magboo said of the sponsors who attend.

In past years, the club has had 300 guests attend the community breakfast.

Magboo said the gathering is a social event that allows the community to interact with each other on a different level.

"There are a number of positive things for the breakfast," she said. "The atmosphere is really free moving about, it's not a formal setting that you sit down."

December 15, 2008
http://www.insidetoronto.com/article/61064

The George Hull Centre for Children and Families will be hosting a variety of workshops and groups for the community in the new year from Jan. to May.
The centre located at 600 The East Mall on the third floor will be holding the Family Wellness Series with groups and workshops to help parents and children deal with many different issues.

The anxiety group for children aged eight to 12 will be held for 12 Mondays from Feb. 2 to May 4 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. There will be no sessions held on March 16 and April 13. The presenter will be Dr. Marianne Gocker who is a child psychiatrist.

For parents who need support for their children in the anxiety group for children, the anxiety support group for parents will meet at the same time. The presenter will be social worker Eva Casino.

A group for all parents called angry parent/angry children will begin Tuesday, Jan. 20 and continue for six Tuesdays until Feb. 24. The group will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and Francis Martin, master of social work will be the presenter.

A group, turning down the heat will be held for children aged seven to 11 beginning Tuesday, Jan. 20 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The group will meet for six Tuesdays until Feb. 24. The presenter will be Heather McDonald who has a masters in psychology.

For eight Wednesdays beginning on Jan. 14 the parenting challenging children group open for parents of children aged four to 11 will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. The presenters will be Anat Elbaum, a marriage and family therapist and Dr. Gabriela Pitariu, also a marriage and family therapist.

Help! I have teens! group will start for six Thursdays on Jan. 22 from 6:30 to p.m. 8. The group is open to all parents of teens aged 12 to 18 and will have two guest presenters who are masters in social work, Leticia Gracia, and Bill Davidovitz.

There are also three workshops available to the community.

The first one is for single/sole parent families that will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 27 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The event will be open to all parents and feature presenters Maureen McSween, child and youth worker, and Abraham Nehmad, who has a masters in psychology.

The other workshop will focus on ADHD and what it is, and what it isn't. It will be held on Feb. 24 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and is open to all parents. The presenters will be Dr. Ruth Stirtzinger, child psychiatrist, and Dr. Gabriela Pitariu, marriage and family therapist.

The final workshop will be held April 14 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It will be open to all parents who want to learn about teens and the Internet. The presenter will be Rashaad Vahed, who has a masters in social work.

To register for the anxiety group contact Dominique Darmanin at 416-622-8833 ext. 258.

For registration and information on all the other the groups and workshops contact Rae Augusto at 416-622-8833 ext. 252.

Rexdale Community News - Fall Winter 2008

By Elnora Magboo

Highfield - George Hull was recently recognized by the Toronto Community Foundation for a summer
program that introduces pre-school children to the class routines before they formally become Junior
Kindergarten "students".

The recognition came by way of a $25k 'Vital Idea' grant that would study the merits of Highfield's
Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), document these and use as bases for potential replication at
other school sites.

SEP is a month-long program where enrollees to Highfield Junior School's Junior Kindergarten (JK)
get to see first hand what a classroom is like and experience, for two weeks, life as JK students. They meet their first "teachers", interact with their first "classmates", and learn such concepts as recess time, study time and respect for others.

The value of SEP has been deeply acknowledged by parents and teachers alike. The two-week "dry run"
has diminished the degree of separation anxiety experienced by parents and children during the first
day or even first week of classes in September.
SEP has also helped newcomer families integrate to the Canadian school system faster.

For this summer's program, facilitator Patricia Scotland who works as JK Enrichment Worker and is familiar with the JK class routine, helped to make this happen. She was supported by another Highfield staff, Habiba Hadibhai, who understands and speaks the languages commonly spoken by the newcomers. Both can relate to the children and caregivers with ease as they transition from home to school life and from their ethnic to the English language used in class.

SEP has been beneficial in other ways. New friendships have been known to develop amongst parents
as they bring and pick up their children to and from school. They learn about other services available in the community. Parents are advised by the program facilitators to pay closer attention to their children if they have been observed for any sign requiring special attention and/or needs - opening the process for remediation as early as possible.

SEP has been running for more than a decade with huge success and popularity. It has been acknowledged to work well through feedback mostly delivered verbally or in fragmented writings.
The study being conducted by Diane Bartlett of George Hull's Research Unit will go deeper and,
depending on findings, will include ways to further strengthen the program. Documenting everything
will produce a blueprint beneficial to all.

Thanks to the "Vital Idea" grant by the Toronto Community Foundation!

Rexdale Community News - Spring Summer 2009

By Elnora Magboo

Mother A worries that her baby is not eating enough. Mother B fears she might spoil her baby if she picks him up every time he cries. Father thinks an unruly child needs a good spanking to discipline him. Mother C desperately wants to start working but does not know anyone who can take care of her toddler.

Their concerns vary and so is the gravity. But they are all parents who love their children and want to do a better job at parenting. Anxiety. Guilt. Stress. How do you solve the problem of Maria? The mother, not the movie heroine, my dear.

There is no school that trains women for the role of motherhood. But thank goodness, there is Nobodys Perfect!

Nobody's Perfect is a program for parents who may be relatively new to the role of parenting, do not have support and have issues they are unsure of handling. One complete program consists of eight sessions held once a week, each lasting for two and a half hours.

Program participants get a free set of six easy-to-read books about the children's behaviour, body, feelings, mind and safety, as well as one focused on the parents themselves. They take one book each week to read at home, for discussion the following week.

Parents take turns in leading the discussion. Was what you read helpful to you? What are your concerns t? Tell us what happened when you applied what you learned? These are some of the questions that form the bases for discussion.

Enrichment Worker Moonie Mohammed and Public Health Nurse Manju Dawan teamed up to facilitate Highfield's Nobody's Perfect program last fall. Fifteen parents signed up and eleven completed the program.

"Discussions have always been lively", said Moonie. "A few started on a tentative mood but once they realized others were not holding back from sharing their problems, their comfort level in participating increased", she added.

Participation was not limited to discussions. There were many role plays where two people would initially act out a mother and child's "problematic" situation, then have them or another couple replay this applying the book's teaching.

Aside from reading the book, a typical homework could also have the parent practicing what was learned in the just-concluded session and sharing with the group what happened afterward.

"In one session, parents shared their joy in praising their children and noticing some change in them. They confided that as children, they very seldom received praise and were pleasantly surprised at the positive impact it created when they did it with their kids", Manju declared.

"Nobody's Perfect" perfectly captures the essence of the program. No parent is an expert in the role of parenting. As one of the books states, "Children learn by trying and doing and trying again. So do parents".

With this program, who needs a school on parenting?

April 16th, 2009

To view Robert Hull's article that appeared in a recent issue of 'Your Guide To Charitable Giving & Estate Planning', click here

Funds can't match breakfast plan demands
By SHARON LEM, SUN MEDIA
June 2, 2009
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/05/31/9628306-sun.html

For the past decade, Francoise Naraine has sent her children to school early for breakfast.
After separating from her husband, putting food on the breakfast table got a lot tougher for the 47-year-old single mom.
The Nutritious Students breakfast program at Highfield Jr. Public School has been a "godsend," Naraine said. "If it wasn't for the program, I don't know what I would do," she told the Sunday Sun. "It means a lot (to my family) and my kids love it."
Naraine has worked as a volunteer since 2000 with FoodShare, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to helping individuals and communities feed themselves.

'SEE THE SMILES'

"Kids feel better after they have something to eat," she said. "You can see the smiles on their faces and when they're happy, I'm happy."
Hunger has become a chronic problem in this city, exacerbated this past year by the recession. As reported in an exclusive Toronto Sun story last week, food bank use has soared -- up 20% to more than a million visits to Greater Toronto Area food banks.
Toronto's breakfast programs have also been hit by growing demand and funding constraints.
In response, city council this past week voted to increase spending on school breakfast programs by $400,000.
However, while 45 schools will benefit from that funding, thousands of children and 146 city school breakfast programs will go without any municipal help.
"These programs are very important," Dr. David Mc-Keown, Toronto's chief medical officer of health, told the Sun.
Last January, McKeown said the city needed to boost breakfast program funding by at least $1.4 million to keep them viable.
"We know families living on low incomes and social assistance don't have enough money to buy nutritional food for a basic nutritious diet and every year these costs are out of reach," he said.
"The children are at risk of poor nutrition. We know low income is related to health problems like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease."
And low-income and marginalized communities earning minimum wages or living on social assistance incomes simply don't earn enough to cover the cost of healthy eating in Toronto, he said.
Breakfast programs also improve student performance in class.
More than 100,000 students in 378 schools participate in Toronto's Nutritious Students program that provides breakfast, lunch or snacks to a third of all elementary students and one in 10 high school students.
Queen's Park covers 15% of the cost, but without a 12% municipal share, 146 city schools will need to fund 85% of the cost of their programs next year.
"It's very hard to feed someone on 15 cents," said Catharine Parsonage, senior manager of Nutritional Services at the Toronto District School Board and the executive director of Toronto Foundation for Student Success.
"And these less affluent communities won't be able to survive," Parsonage said. "It's a real struggle for parents and to raise the money through local fundraisers.

HALF A SLICE OF BREAD

"If you have a program it's not good to serve half a slice of bread. We don't want to water down the funding by giving pennies to these programs -- they are desperately in need of government support and donations from the private sector," Parsonage said, adding it costs $1.29 for each child's breakfast and $2 for each teenager's breakfast the program provides.
"It's too late when we have children dropping out of school and we can't afford to wait for that to happen," she said. "It's critical to deal with it now because if we don't, we fail our children.
"In the year 2009, it's shameful because it's a basic human right. Children have the right to be nourished, to be warm and educated and have housing," Parsonage said.
There's little question that school funding programs are beneficial -- particularly for at-risk youth.
The question is who should pay for them.
Toronto council will spend $3.2 million this year on the school breakfast program and the extra $400,000 has been targeted to help "priority areas" -- 20 elementary and 25 secondary schools in the neediest communities.
Meanwhile, Queen's Park spending for 2009 has more than doubled since 2007 to $3.8 million to feed 136,000 kids.

THREATENED

Though some city officials think the province needs to do more.
Toronto Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti said if the province doesn't kick in more money, the 146 breakfast school programs will clearly be threatened.
"I'm a guy who does fundraisers for breakfast clubs to feed 250 children every morning, and if you're going to rely on people like me to continue fundraising, it's the wrong way to deal with this because this program will not work just relying on fundraisers," Mammoliti said, adding the city is tapped out and fundraising can only raise so much.
"I would hate to see what would happen to the children who can't afford breakfast ... the kids just won't get fed," he said.
Fellow Councillor John Filion, chairman of the City of Toronto's board of health, also said the city only has so much money to allocate to school breakfast programs.
"The city had budget problems and we did provide extra money ($400,000 in March), but it was not proportionate to the province's (funding)," Filion said.
"We're serving more meals to more children than last year, and unfortunately it's never enough but we're doing the best we can."
About 36% of children in Toronto live in poverty -- meaning a lot of children from across the city likely go to school with too little to eat.
Jann Houston, acting director of Toronto Public Health's chronic disease prevention program, said hunger is a real concern for many families.
"In this economy, parents are working two jobs to keep a roof over their heads," Houston said.
"For parents who are working at jobs paying $10 an hour, it's a real struggle to support their families and pay rent and utilities."
Numerous research and medical studies have concluded that breakfast programs help children learn better in school, improve attendance, improve classroom behaviour, increase in-class participation, decrease classroom disturbances and school violence, improve discipline and decrease the times children are absent due to minor colds or illness.
"Hungry kids have less attention, they can't focus -- period -- and there are a lot more disciplinary problems happening and more trips to the principal's office," said Lori Nikkel, of Toronto's partners for Student Nutrition, an agency that helps to co-ordinate 17,600 parent volunteers in Toronto who buy, prepare and serve the food.
"It's not just the kids that won't get to eat," Nikkel said. "Their behaviour changes and violence goes up."
Sara Camilleri, executive director of the Angel Foundation for Learning, which is in charge of the Toronto Catholic District School Board's student nutrition program, said school breakfast programs have made a huge difference at their schools.
"These programs build communities and get volunteers out of their houses, talking to neighbours, building confidence and learning skills they need to get a job," Camilleri said.

BIG IMPROVEMENT

"In many schools we've noticed tremendous academic improvement," Camilleri said. "We haven't quantified it because it's been empirical evidence from principals telling us attendance is up, participation has increased and in social areas kids are getting better at recess time when they're not in the classroom.
"When children are not properly fed, the chance of losing your temper and making mountains out of molehills increases, they may come to school late, kids are easily provoked and they're not using good judgment when their tummies are empty," Camilleri said.
Rick Gosling founded the Children's Breakfast Club in Toronto in 1984 in the Jane/Falstaff community.
Today, there are more than 20 Children's Breakfast Clubs in Toronto, Markham, Mississauga, Brampton and Hamilton that prepare more than 4,000 hot, nutritious and culturally sensitive breakfasts each school day.
These breakfast clubs rely on corporations and individual donations.
"You get children across the board going to school hungry," Gosling said. "Giving a kid breakfast can make all the difference -- it helps to prevent behavioural problems, reduces anger and violence, truancy, tardiness and rates of aggression and allows kids to feel loved and cared for and gives kids the respect they need."
Despite the efforts of such volunteers, more needs to be done including more by government, suggests the city's chief medical officer of health.
"Government funding for student nutrition is really important to ensure programs are viable and sustainable," McKeown said.
"Some communities have greater success in raising money and others have more difficulty.
"I think we should be doing more to provide access to healthy food and security for children in low-income families and the provincial government should expand the student nutrition program for families on social assistance to receive a $100 healthy food supplement -- these are steps which will improve the health of children," he said.
"What we need to be doing is support student nutrition programs with more government support," McKeown said.
"It's not just about those 146 schools. It's a higher level of support for student nutrition programs.
"There is value in promoting and ensuring better nutrition for all children."

SHARON.LEM@SUNMEDIA.CA

MEAL THAT MATTERS

- Kids who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight.
- Girls, low-income children and some ethnic children are more likely to skip breakfast.
- Even short-term or periodically skipped or missed meals diminishes brain function.
- Numerous studies have shown a clear link between good nutrition and school performance.
- Concentration is diminished by poor nutrition and poor diets increase behavioural problems in adolescents including irritability, aggressive behaviour and violence.

Source: Government of Ontario

By Elnora Magboo
Rexdale Community News - Fall/Winter 2010

There are daycare centres and there are recreation centres. There are before and after school programs and there are, soon-to be, full-day Kindergarten programs.
At Highfield, there is a drop-in program. In fact, there is a Family Resource Centre that offers not just a drop in program, but the whole nine yards. If you are hearing the term 'drop-in program' for the first time, it is really what the words imply: families can drop by at certain times to access the Centre's resources or participate in programs. Perhaps you want to take your child to a place where she/he can play, be with other kids her age, listen to stories or do 'stuff' with you. Well then, the Centre's regular drop-in program is for you.
Drop-in programs run from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 11:00 in the morning. There are activity sets and theme centres for your child to choose from on any given day, or at least, at the start of the drop-in program. Storytelling called 'Circle Time' is introduced midway into the two hour program, and your child can join all the other kids to listen to our storyteller. As the mind and imagination of your child are fed, so is the stomach as snack time immediately follows the storytelling.
Unable to take your child on regular days? Then, the Saturday's 'Family Fun Day' may be it for you. This OEYC-funded program sponsored by Braeburn Neighbourhood Place also runs from 9:00- 11:00 a.m. with features similar to the regular drop-in program.
Do you have an infant who is too young for the drop-in program? Consider joining a Parent-Child Mother Goose Program that runs once a week for ten consecutive weeks. This program, with its application of songs and rhymes, helps strengthen the bond between parent and child. Introduction of song and rhyme to an infant is said to hasten his or her language skills, and offers a good technique in dealing with a fussy child during sleeping and feeding time.
If you are one parent who likes being ahead of the game, you may want to take your preschool age child to the Centre's Kindergarten Readiness Program (formerly called 'Dinosaur' school). Besides introducing your child to colours, numbers, shapes and letters, this program also builds the child's social skills and serves as a dry-run towards easing future separation anxiety from parents when school opens.
Not too keen on going to the Centre all the time? Would you rather be reading a book with your child or playing a game with her/him? Visit our Toy and Book Library. You can borrow two books and two toys at a time for a period of two weeks. Our collection of pre-school story books and toys has been carefully selected and is meant to spark a child's imagination and creative thinking.
A Winter Clothing Depot has a supply of winter wear and accessories that may fit a child 0-10 years of age, in case of emergency need. At certain periods within the school year, the Centre is the site of a 'Peer Nutrition Cooking Club' run by Toronto Public Health once a week, for a period of six consecutive weeks. When adult programs are offered to parents in the community, a child-minding service is generally provided at the Centre to enable them to participate.
Highfield's Family Resource Centre is many things to many people and, in one respect, it is a harbour that keeps families engaged with their children and connected to the larger community.

By Lyndsie Bourgon
January 21, 2010
http://this.org/blog/2010/01/21/foster-children-mental-health/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed

Susan Chamberlain says she's reluctant to complain about money. We're talking about the difficulties in providing mental health care for foster children, and the problem is essentially one we hear from so many reaches of health care policy. The 'R' word: resources. There's not enough money.

"There's no question that the kids need it," says Chamberlain, the Director of Residential and Day Treatment Services at the George Hull Centre for Children & Families in Toronto, of mental health services. "The problem is getting access to it. The system is cash-strapped, kids are on waiting lists-in many ways, children's mental health services is the least sexy issue."

Late last year the Canadian Medical Association Journal ran an editorial entitled "Health care for foster kids: Fix the system, save a child," which called for better mental health services for Canada's foster children.

Mental health is an issue that Canadians struggle to talk about publicly. Recently, efforts have been stepped up by journalists to report on issues like depression, anxiety and postpartum depression. Most of the time the reports come from the standpoint of grown-ups, and how we can use treatment to bring them back to stability.

But mental health and children is rarely discussed. According to another CMAJ article, the rate of antidepressant prescription for young people has been on the rise over the last decade, though some see this as an extension of over-parenting and obsessive diagnosis.

At the same time, thousands of children enter foster care and group homes each year, and as Paul C. Hebert writes, there's no doubt that many of them have mental health problems that need treatment.

"What is astounding is that one of the richest countries in the world doesn t provide these children with supportive health care that could mitigate or, even better, prevent some of the devastation caused by parental abuse or neglect, alienation from family and becoming part of a system outside of the mainstream."

But they're not getting it: wait lists are long, private treatment is expensive and previous medical records can be hard, if not impossible, to locate. It's common for children to move from home-to-home, so establishing any sort of mental health care regime for children who need it is practically impossible.

By Liane Greenberg
Children's Mental Health Ontario, Fast Reports, May 17, 2010

The George Hull Centre for Children and Families is celebrating with two of their child and youth workers who won the 2010 Horizon and Mentoring Krista Sepp Awards.

The Krista Sepp Memorial Award was established by Kinark in 1991 to honour the memory of Krista Sepp, who lost her life on February 3, 1989, while performing her duties as a child and youth counselor. Each year, the Krista Sepp Memorial Awards are held to recognize the high quality work and dedication of child and youth counselors/workers from across Ontario.

Ryan McLeod of the George Hull Centre Boys House is the recipient of the 2010 Horizon Award, which recognizes the work of a Child and Youth Worker with no more than five years of experience working in the field.

McLeod, an Etobicoke resident, has consistently demonstrated a desire to go above and beyond in his work. At times McLeod has turned to photography, basketball and numerous other activities to connect with his clients. Recently, McLeod used a client's passion for hoops to help him re-connect with his father. In what was a turning point in their relationship, McLeod organized a trip to London, at his own expense, to participate with his client and the client's father in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The weekend getaway on the hardwood radically changed the father-and-son relationship.

This year's Mentoring Award recipient is Sharon Jones, also of the George Hull Centre in Toronto. The Mentoring Award recognizes the ongoing contributions of direct service staff with more than five years of experience.

Jones, a Brampton resident and first generation Canadian, has taken special interest in helping children and youth struggling to adapt to their new surroundings. She has also taken great pride in being a resource for her colleagues in the School Program, continually sharing her knowledge and experience.

It is the first time that two professionals from the same agency have received both the Horizon and Mentoring awards since the two categories were adopted in 2004.

The Krista Sepp Award double win is a great beginning to the Centres 25th anniversary celebrations!

April 12th, 2010

To view Robert Hull's article that appeared in a recent issue of 'Your Guide To Charitable Giving & Estate Planning', click here

To see the article that was published in The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work (2010 No. 1), click here

CYC Chronicle Volume 21, No.1
June July 2010

Kinark Child and Family Services held their annual Krista Sepp Memorial Award Celebration Luncheon on April 30, 2010. Both of the 2010 Horizon and Mentoring award recipients are, for the first time, from the same agency - The George Hull Centre for Children and Families.

Our Spotlight on Distinction this month are Krista Sepp Award recipient and OACYC members Ryan McLeod, Horizon Award, and The George Hull Centre. Congratulations for such outstanding child and youth work!

Ryan McLeod is a front-line Child and Youth Counsellor at The George Hull Centre Boys House. Ryan's nominator Andrew Legatto identified in his nomination that he is "not merely a highly capable Child and Youth Worker; but, rather as an individual with extraordinary and undivided commitment and dedication to the children, their families, his colleagues and the field of child and youth work".

Ryan graduated from Humber College in 2005 and has demonstrated strong fundamental cyc skills such as the utilization of relationship, creating opportunities, creating meaningful connections, advocacy, support, inter-preting behaviours, utilizing strengths and caring. Those core skills aside, Ryan has demonstrated his commitment to those he works with by overcoming and persevering through criticism of "rose coloured glasses." Not only does he have the ability to ignore the more ineffective traditional methods of dealing with pathology and prescribed labels but he successfully creates programming and therapeutic interventions that are effective, meaningful and life altering for those he works with. At George Hull, Ryan established the First Annual George Hull Centre Invitational Basketball tournament, bringing in teams from other non-profit organizations and local community businesses and organizations. Ryan has involved the kids in his program in a Habitat for Humanity project, setting up several "build days" with the organization. Ryan has a strong belief in experiences and experiential learning, including starting a photography club, all season camping excursions, CN tower stair climbs and the first aid and cpr certification of residents in the program.

Ryan's commitment to this field is demonstrated through his leadership abilities both within his agency and the CYC community. He is a current professional member of the OACYC and attending Ryerson working toward his Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care. Not bad for someone who has only been in the field 5 years! Imagine what he can accomplish in the next 5!

CYC Chronicle - Volume 21, No.1
June July 2010

George Hull has been a long-time supporter of the OACYC and promotes the values and professionalism of Child and Youth Counsellors through their programs and their support of certification of their staff with the OACYC.

Both 2010 Horizon and Mentoring Krista Sepp Award recipients are from George Hull this year. It is the first time in the history of the Krista Sepp awards that this has occurred. Both award recipients are also certified with the OACYC.

The George Hull Centre for Children and Families was established in 1985 by the Ministry of Community and Social Services with a mandate to provide comprehensive mental health services to children and families, to contribute to the research on children and families, and to offer a teaching centre to universities and colleges for professional training. The Centre is an accredited non-profit charitable organization. There is no fee for service for clients.

George Hull provides two distinct services at the Centre - Community Services and Residential and Day Treatment Services. Community Services include: The Community Clinic (Mental Health Services), The Special Needs Resource Service, Ontario Early Years program, Etobicoke Brighter Futures Coalition,
West Toronto Preschool Speech and Language Services, The Highfield Community Enrichment Project and The Family Group Conferencing Program. Residential and Day Treatment Programs include: Libby's Place and the Boys House (adolescents), School Program (Section 23) for residents of Libby's Place and the Boys House, as well as adolescents from the community. The Clear Directions Program serves adolescents with mental health and substance abuse problems.

To read the article about George Hull Christmas Hampers, please click here.