Highland Shores Children’s Aid has received an $85,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant to help fund efforts to bring social supports to families in need.
Todd Smith, Bay of Quinte MPP, announced the grant during the society’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.
The grant funds are being used to help provide families in crisis situations with immediate and direct access to mental health and addiction supports through a representative from the Community Mental Health Organization, with a goal of getting families help sooner and improving outcomes for children.
Tami Callahan, Executive Director for Highland Shores Children’s Aid said that while they’re still looking at data, so far the results of the partnership look promising.
“They’re quite relieved to be able to have that service right there available to them. They don’t have to be referred. They don’t have to go on a waitlist, and they can access the service,” said Callahan. “So our preliminary information would suggest that their willingness to engage and stay involved with the service is higher because it was offered to them at the time that they needed it.”
The funding from the Trillium Foundation will allow the Children’s Aid Society to continue to provide this service for another year.
During the meeting, there was also a keynote speech from special guest Amber Crowe, Executive Director for Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services.
During her keynote speech, she spoke about how over-represented Indigenous children are in the child welfare system, and promoted a new approach that was better tailored to the needs of the Indigenous families in the community she works with.
“Many people in mainstream child welfare would say that we are here to protect children and while we are here to protect children, we actually see ourselves a little bit differently,” said Crowe “That is with a purpose of determining what does a child and their family need? So what are they struggling with? What support and assistance do they need in order to keep that child safe?”
Crowe also spoke about the inquest into the death of Devon Freeman, an Indigenous child who went missing while receiving treatment in a mental health facility. Many of the inquest’s 73 recommendations are aimed at improving communication among agencies, more meaningful involvement with First Nations and increasing access to Indigenous cultural services.
