Point in Time and Haliburton Highlands Health Services are very pleased to announce that Haliburton’s youth are going to have a place to call their own. The application that was submitted to the Province in October 2017 was successful! The Ministry of Child and Youth Services announced today that Haliburton was one of 6 successful applications out of 39 submitted across the province.

“Approximately 20 different service organizations” came together with local youth to make this a reality” says Point in Time Executive Director, Marg Cox. “Based on the community consultations – Hurting to Hope, we heard loud and clear from youth, parents and community members about the importance of a youth hub. Youth have made it clear that they need a place where they belong, where they can be amongst their peers, and access a range of opportunities and supports.”

The Province issued a request for proposal process in the fall of 2017 and community partners and youth combined forces to make this a reality. Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario represents a partnership funding initiative between Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Ministry of Child and Youth Services, with support from the Graham Boeckh Foundation.

HHHS President and CEO Carolyn Plummer commented “We are so pleased to be able to embark in this partnership opportunity with Point in Time. It is a much needed resource in our community that will reduce the isolation experienced in the youth population, engage them in a meaningful way in the community, and enable seamless and coordinated access to a range of supports including mental health and addictions, housing, employment, justice etc. We are very excited to be co-creating this vision with youth and community partners. It is indeed ground breaking innovative work. “

More details regarding funding will be released shortly but it is anticipated that support from the community will be needed to make this dream a reality. Details about how to get involved and make contributions are available on the Point in Time website or by contacting Point in Time: www.pointintime.ca 69 Eastern Avenue, P.O. Box 1306, Haliburton, Ontario K0M 1S0. 705-457-5345.

For further information, contact:

Marg Cox,

Executive Director, Point in Time Centre for Children, Youth and Parents

705-457-5345 x310 margc@pointintime.ca

Carolyn Plummer, President and CEO, Haliburton Highlands Health Services:  cplummer@hhhs.ca

For additional information, please follow the link below: https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2018/05/ontario-expanding-mental-health-and-addictions-support-for-youth.html

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Point in Time Centre for Children, Youth and Their Families, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Point in Time and their incredible staff on the recent ‘Best Not For Profit’ Business and Community Achievement Award as presented by the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce. Words cannot describe how incredibly proud we are! ~ Sandy Adams

The mission of Point in Time Centre for Children, Youth and Parents is to identify needs, provide support and enable residents of our community to function at their highest potential.

When it was identified in 2017 that some of our youth were in crisis, they responded with a serious of Healing to Hope public forums and are working with partners to establish a youth hub in Haliburton.

They’ve done this while continuing with expansive existing and new programming.

Some of the new offerings have included a kindergarten readiness program for Cardiff Elementary School; a Sunshine Circles therapy-play group in schools and childcare centres and an Integra Young Warrior Program for youth aged 9-12, using martial arts as a teaching tool.

The Hurting to Hope session held on Nov 29, 2017 at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School was a follow up to the Youth Suicide Prevention and Wellness session held on Oct 30th at the Halliburton Legion. The Hurting to Hope event was organized in partnership with local service providers, schools, parents and community members. A panel with representatives from providers of local mental healthcare, the Trillium Lakelands District School Board and a provincial expert in youth mental health and suicide were on hand to answer questions and discuss issues related to youth wellness. Panel members available to respond to questions included:
Marg Cox: Executive Director Point in Time Centre for Children, Youth and Parents
Dr Ian Manion: Director of Youth Mental Health Research at the Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal in Ottawa
Cynthia Weaver: Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with Kinark Child and Family Services
Cheryl Roffe: District Manager of Mental Health Services with Trillium Lakelands District School Board
Dave Jarvis: Director of Adult Mental Health Services for Haliburton

Hurting to Hope Community Event Feedback

Over 120 community members attended the three-hour session and asked over 40 questions! We received 55 feedback forms from participants and here is a summary of what we heard.

What did you find most helpful about this evenings event?

• appreciated the expertise of the panel and the opportunity to hear the questions answered from the different perspectives of panel members
• The event helped us “to hear that this is a community issue and to make positive change it needs to be addressed by the whole community, not just the school”
• Information about services available in our community
• Parents liked the actual strategies given to help start conversations with their youth
• That it was a community conversation

We also asked what the community would like to learn more about. Here is the list:

• Social media, the role in mental health and how we can encourage youth to use it appropriately
• More about the wellness hub planning
• Help with understanding the pathways to care when they need support for their families
• A deeper understanding of the role of school, home and community in addressing bullying across the lifespan
• More education/skills to support youth in distress including support for youth that are helping their friends in distress or with grieving

There were suggestions about the venue/format/length of the event.

• Although he format allowed for lots of questions to be answered, many felt that the next session should be more interactive perhaps using a round table format where community member ideas can be generated
• Although many thought the content was excellent the community is now ready to dive deeper into some of these issues and start to think about potential solutions
• Most felt the session was too long at three hours
• The sound system was a distraction.

Overall the community is very interested in continuing the discussion about how we can come together to support youth wellness in Haliburton.