Children, Youth and Families

May 5th, 2010 in Find Services Email to a friend 3
Children and Families

The Health Centre provides a wide variety of programs designed to promote, support or improve the health and well being of children, youth and families. We also work with neighbourhoods and community groups who are building on their strengths and positioning themselves for future health and well being.

While this is not a complete list, here are some of our programs and services supporting children, youth and families and the communities in which they live:

Ethno-Racial Youth Mentoring Project

The Ethno-Racial Youth Mentoring Project is a three-year initiative of the London InterCommunity Health Centre, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Multiculturalism Program, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The project is built upon the principal that social networks are critical to the development and maintenance of health and emotional well being. For youth, social networks encourage a sense of belonging and promote resiliency and problem solving skills.

Building on the success of the Health Centre’s previous work with newcomers and our work with at-risk youth, the new Ethno-Racial Youth Mentoring Project has two primary goals: to foster relationships among Northeast London’s ethno-racial youth aged 9 – 13 with caring adults; and to foster relationships between the mothers of the youth program participants with experienced and supportive “mother mentors.”

Youth Mentoring Component:

This volunteer mentoring program consists of both group activities and one-on-one connections between mentors and youth participants. Group activities will occur monthly and may include sports, movies, games, community events and other opportunities for positive socialization and exposure to healthy activity. In between monthly meetings, youth mentors will connect one-on-one via internet, phone or face-to-face with each of the participants.

Mother Mentoring Component:

Mentor mothers provide one-on-one companionship and support for mothers of youth participants. The hope is that these mentor mothers can assist their mentees in understanding their children’s integration and adaptation to the Canadian context. Overtime, these connections will lead to group activities such as English conversation circles, educational programs, community kitchens, etc., to expand their social networks and decrease their isolation.

Our objective is to provide strength-based mentoring to ethno-racial youth who are experiencing isolation or who engage in at-risk behaviour, to provide the mothers of these youth with support and companionship and to foster the gifts and talents of ethno-racial youth and their families.

For more information on the Ethno-Racial Youth Mentoring Project:
Mandy Knill, Program Coordinator
Ethno-Racial Youth Mentoring Project
(519) 719-3353

Children’s Nutrition and Learning Project

Please note: most components of the Children’s Nutrition and Learning Project are currently on hold as the Health Centre negotiates its contract with the Thames Valley District School Board. However, the SHAC After School Program is running, as is the Walking School Bus.

The CNLP is one of the key components of a comprehensive community health plan developed by community workers at the London InterCommunity Health Centre. Working in partnership with Lorne Avenue Public School, the Health Centre works with local students, parents, and other community members to plan and deliver a variety of programs to support childhood learning and development.

Children, parents, school staff, Health Centre workers, health sciences students, and neighbours are engaged in the local community through processes that respect and celebrate individual and community capacity.

Beyond the immediate benefit of improving nutrition and children’s capacity to learn in school, learning about nutrition carries over into daily home life. New relationships are forged among parents, teachers, Health Centre community workers and other community members. The program serves as a platform for a variety of community building efforts. The Children’s Nutrition and Learning Project encompasses a host of programs, including:

For more information, please contact Shelly Happy, Community Worker, at (519) 660-0875 x 254.

Youth Outreach Workers

In initiated in 2007, the Youth Outreach Worker Team is committed to promoting youth and community engagement, and increasing youth opportunities. Through an outreach approach, the YOW team meets youth ‘where they are at.” In various community locations throughout Northeast London, our four YOWs provide direct person-to-person contact with those aged 12 – 21. Our workers are committed to building trusting relationships with youth, families and the community and support then to support them by finding appropriate programs and services. We want to enhance and promote the development of community based services and local leadership.

Our outreach is intended to reduce risk factors by:

  • Sharing information about the interests, concerns, and needs of youth and their families
  • Providing information regarding relevant programs services and opportunities
  • Guiding and facilitating access to programs, and services
  • Enabling positive civic participation in their neighbourhoods and communities

This program is funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services of Ontario. For more information about the Youth Outreach Worker program, please contact Greg Nash, Team Leader, Children Youth and Family Programs at (519) 660-0875 x225.

Youth Outreach Worker Brochure (PDF)
Youth Outreach Worker Fact Sheet (PDF)

North East London Community Engagement (NELCE)

NELCE is a resident-based, action-oriented community group focused on strengthening and improving the community of Northeast London.

Through our work we:

  • seek to promote and develop a strong sense of community pride and participation
  • articulate concerns and issues raised by the community to the right people
  • raise awareness of what Northeast London offers
  • work with the London InterCommunity Health Centre to involve others make change real!

NELCE is led by a coordinating committee and is structured based on priorities and action. Presently NELCE is working on the following priorities:

  • Neighbourhood Safety
  • Neighbourhood Development
  • Community Building
  • Community Inclusion and Belonging
  • Food Security

Hundreds of community residents have been positively impacted by the work of NELCE because they are a sought after residents’ voice and participate in a wide variety of community development activities. For more information about NELCE, please contact Greg Nash at (519) 660-0875 ext. 225.
You may also want to visit NELCE’s website at www.nelce.ca or contact them directly at (519) 659-1271 ext. 500