Upcoming Strengthening Families for the Future Program

I am excited to announce that we are once again partnering with the Jean Tweed Centre for Women and their Families to deliver CAMH's Strengthening Families for the Future program in Etobicoke.  SFF is a 14-week family change program that focuses on building resiliency and reducing risk factors for families facing mental health and/or addiction challenges.

What I love about this program is that it involves the whole family; parents, grandparents, children, siblings, support people...anyone interested and invested in improved relationships in families.  The first hour of the program is spent sharing a communal meal.  This is important as many families with busy work-life schedules don't have the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal together.  In the second hour, parents and children split up into separate groups and cover a specific topic for that week (communication, managing anger, praise...).  In the final hour, parents and children come together and work on the skills they learned in their group.  The result is that parents are supported in their parenting skills, children develop important life skills, and family relations improve. All of this, while eating, playing games, doing artwork, and having important discussions.

Understandably, with dynamics of families being affected when they are dealing with challenges, it's important for families to also have quality time together, outside their struggles, and to learn better ways of coping.  Appropriately named, it Strengthens Families for the Future.  They are then better able to deal with the challenges that come their way.

I sat in on a booster session yesterday for families who had completed the program a month ago.  Children shared about how much they loved the games and parents appreciated the comfortable, non-judgemental atmosphere in which they could learn new skills and build connections in the group.  A great program that is highly recommended!

Next Group:

When: Tuesday, February 10th, 2015
Time: 5:00pm – 8:00 pm
Where: The Jean Tweed Centre (215 Evans Ave, Toronto)

For more info or to register, contact Sonali Sagare at:
416-255-7359 ext.278 or by email sonalisagare@jeantweed.com

Hi, I'm Karen! I am the current student intern here at FAME and am very excited for all of the work that I have the opportunity to be involved in here until April. As my first blog post, I thought I would share what I have been up to!

Tuesday marked the first session of the CAMH Strengthening Families for the Future program offered through The Jean Tweed Centre, and it was wonderful!

            SFF is a 14-week family program for children ages 7-12 and their parent(s). This program is designed for families where one or more members have a mental health and/or addiction issue.  The program helps with parenting skills, effective communication, and improving the family dynamic.

Meeting once a week for 3 hours, the program is broken down into four sections.  During the first hour, participants and staff all sit down for dinner together where we share stories, bond, and provide encouragement. Following dinner, the children and parents part into separate rooms where programming takes place: teaching skills for positive communication, relationship building, and appropriate methods for sharing feelings.  Finally, during the third hour, everyone comes together for a family group session where the skills from the previous weeks are reviewed and discussed (example: what worked well with implementation in the home, and what did not), and skills introduced that day can be actively practiced by all members, with any struggles being worked through as a whole family.

            I am excited for the next 13 weeks to witness both individual and familial growth, and to also grow in my own learning experiences.

            I find it important to highlight this new affiliation with The Jean Tweed Centre, as building the bond and cohesion within the community through positive relationships creates a much-needed sense of continuity. Developing partnerships and a true collaboration in the community (schools, families, agencies, hospitals, etc.) aids in the support that we can provide to our clients, and meeting their needs.