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SCS News & Events
Family Service Toronto - Seniors and Caregivers Services invites seniors and their families
To join together and celebrate their cultural diversity
...Let's create an age-friendly, culture-sensitive society
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012
Time: 10 am - 3:30 pm (Lunch & Refreshments)
Location: SCARBOROUGH CIVIC CENTRE, 150 BOROUGH DRIVE – Council Chamber
For more information call 416-586-9777 ext. 438 www.familyservicetoronto.org
Download flyer
Past news:
- Individualized Senior Support Program provides relief and independence to seniors (April 22, 2010)
- Senior Moments: Exploring Positive and Negative Views of Aging
- “If I’d Only Known” Project Helps Newcomers Avoid Violence and Abuse (Oct. 8, 2009)
Family Service Toronto, with funding support from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, is launching a unique project that uses the first-hand experiences and voices of newcomers - women and seniors - who have been involved in situations of abuse, to educate new immigrants about their rights and responsibilities under Canadian law with regard to violence.
- Pat's Place - Toronto's first
safe haven for older people who are living in an abusive relationship
(June 16, 2008)
- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
Senior Moments: Exploring Positive and Negative Views of Aging (Jan
29, 2008)
- Read Swede Talk - a blog by one of our international placement students (October 15, 2007)
The Senior Advisory Council (SAC) of Family Service Toronto (FST) is looking for new members.
You would act in an advisory capacity to the Seniors and Caregivers Support Service Unit at Family Service Toronto.
Are you interested In:
- An opportunity to volunteer with other seniors
- Issues that affect seniors and their caregivers
- Raising awareness of social policies and issues which affect seniors and those who care for and about older persons
- Using expertise, skills and knowledge gained throughout your life, to improve the quality of life of seniors
- Meeting other like-minded seniors
If so, please contact Mindy Khu, Volunteer Coordinator at 416-595-9230 ext 234, for more information
Individualized Senior Support Program provides relief and independence to seniors
By Lisa Manuel, Director Changing Lives and Family Violence Programs and Erica
Leibovich, Communications Intern
Article published in Care Watch, Winter 2010
The Individualized Senior Support Program (ISSP) is a partnership between lead agency Family Service Toronto and St. Clare’s Multifaith Housing, Margret Frazer House and the City of Toronto. The program is funded by the Toronto Central Local Health Integrated Network under the At Home Initiative and began in 2008.
ISSP supports 20 participants who might have previously experienced homelessness or been at risk of being homeless. Some have mental health challenges and all have one or more physical health issues. Through ISSP, these seniors get a chance to remain independent and live in permanent supported housing in the community in downtown Toronto. Being part of this type of program allows the participants to avoid unnecessary emergency department visits, hospitalizations and/or long-term care placement. Supports for mental health are also provided.
The program uses a self-driven model for clients, meaning seniors get to decide who is part of their support system. A Community Resource Facilitator assists them to identify the services and support they need for day-to-day tasks, such as personal care, nutrition, medicine monitoring, homemaking and various other issues. The facilitator may guide the participant to use existing resources, such as meals on wheels, recreation organizations, such as the Community Care Access Centre, for equipment (e.g. bath seat) or foot clinics from COTA Health, etc. The facilitator works with the participant to determine how the linkages would be made and advocates on the participant’s behalf to ensure the services are being utilized. Together they work out a detailed budget plan to get approved by the funding review committee.
The strengthening of family and significant other relationships is encouraged as a means of bringing out emotional and practical support for the participants.
“This program gives me new hope in life,” wrote one client in a satisfaction survey. “I feel heard for the first time in a long time.” Those sentiments were echoed by many other participants. More than half indicated that their lives improved because of the support they received from the program.
Read Care Watch, Winter 2010 [pdf]
Pat's Place
Family Service Toronto and the Rotary Club of Toronto
respond to the growing numbers of seniors experiencing abuse.
In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, on June 16 Family Service Toronto and Rotary Club of Toronto launched the Safe Haven for Seniors project. The project creates a safe space - called Pat's Place - for seniors who are living in an abusive relationship. Pat's Place will allow seniors in need to take time out from their current situation and gain the emotional space to deal with their issues.
Senior Moments: Exploring Positive and Negative Views of Aging
CALLING ALL SENIORS
interested in exploring the positive and negative views of aging.
Would you like
to contribute your experience and wisdom to this project?
Participate in the development of a new project reflecting the positive and negative aspects of aging through popular theatre, educational workshops, art, photography and other creative possibilities.
The GOAL is to create senior focused, senior directed, senior delivered education and awareness programs about ageism to other seniors and health and social service professionals.
To volunteer, please contact Mindy Khu at 416-595-9230 ext 234 or e-mail mindykh@familyservicetoronto.org. Get involved and help make change happen! Funding provided by New Horizons for Seniors Program.
Swede Talk Blog
This year, one of the students working with us to fulfill her social work program requirement for a semester of supervised field-work is Martina. Martina, a third year Swedish student, studies social work at the University of Lund. Her university encourages students to look for placements overseas to broaden their perspective and learn from how social work is applied in other countries. Martina chose Canada from the beginning because our country is well known internationally as being on the front-line of social work. She applied for a placement with Family Service Toronto after she found out about the Violence Against Women and Seniors and Caregivers Support Services programs by searching the internet. In her blog, she writes candidly about her international student experience with Family Service Toronto - SCSS services. Read Martina's blog
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