Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we reflected on the ways that the community has supported children, youth, and families over the last seven months.
To say we are grateful would be an understatement.
The last time we wrote, we shared that we were worried about families with children at home and youth living independently. Thanks to the generosity of the community, we were able to offer supports to both groups and we’d like to share a few stories with you.
Community support made it possible to provide care packages for almost 300 youth. This includes Youth 21+ (some housed, some unhoused) and youth 16-21. In addition, several special birthday and graduation care packages were distributed. As Youth Services Worker Denny Aschnaki told us “the isolation these youth were experiencing was intense.
As we delivered the packages, the joy and heartfelt appreciation from the youth was unbelievable. They didn’t expect this. Some even called to say thank you again, to tell us what it meant to them. They felt like someone truly cared. We told them ‘yes we care and so do people in this community!’
Kelly Farrell, a Kinship Services* Worker, said: “Thanks to the support of the community, we were able to put together activity kits together for 90 kinship families. These 90 kinship families combined together have approximately 180 children all of whom were offered some new activities to provide some fun during a challenging summer of COVID-19 restrictions. In total, we made 135 kits (48 indoor kits, 42 outdoor kits,12 jam kits, and 28 baking kits).”
Another Kin worker told us that when they dropped off a baking and jam making kit to a family “the children jumped up and down with excitement at the thought of being able to bake and to make jam. The 13 year old immediately started making plans to bake a cake as she knew that a neighbor was having a birthday soon.”
And then there is the story about Henry who lives in an apartment building with his grandma: “He looked at all the items inside and told his Grandma that he wanted to bake some brownies and cookies and share them with his neighbours, who are almost all senior citizens.” The worker said “I could only imagine the delight that Henry’s neighbours would get from the shared baked goods and a visit from such a sweet and generous boy! I guess it’s true what they say “kindness begets kindness.”
Your support has meant much needed resources for children, youth, and families – groceries, housing support, activities, PPE. But it has also provided so much more. You are building a caring community, one act of kindness at a time.
As we are still dealing with impacts of the last several months, we have entered the second wave. While we continue to have worries for youth and families, we are also thinking more and more about the well-being of parents. Many are experiencing a range of pressures that are straining even the most resilient families. The year ahead will present challenges that may increase risk factors for families that may already be experiencing poverty, mental health issues, addiction, and/or trauma.
We know that we can’t help children without helping parents and that supporting parents is a major part of preventing child abuse and neglect.
Here are a few of the things we are doing to help parents care safely for their children:
- Exploring options to offer groups like Trusting Loving Connections to a limited number of in-person participants
- Determining what mental health supports might be needed as families find themselves overwhelmed by increasingly complex situations
- Figuring out how parents can access counseling and respite (if possible)
There is so much we don’t know about what lies ahead. But we do know that children, youth, and families still need support.
During an uncertain time, it is reassuring to know that you are here to help and that we are sticking together to make sure that we all come through the pandemic safely.
With gratitude,
Karen, Jill, Christine, Jennifer & Sydney
The Family & Children's Services Foundation Team