Family Services
Our Family Resource Worker works closely with CDC program staff, external agencies, and parents, providing assistance in a variety of ways:- assisting with case management within the CDC
- assisting families with the referral process
- consulting with families on an individual basis.
- counselling parents regarding parenting issues
- providing group sessions to children
Groups
Family Services facilitates a number of groups throughout the year. Upcoming sessions are posted to our training/events calendar.Sibling Group:
A seven-hour workshop to help children understand what having a brother or sister with special needs means to their family. These groups also focus on how the sibling can find constructive and appropriate ways to express their feelings and to get their needs met.The goals of the workshop are as follows:
- To provide siblings with an opportunity to meet other siblings in a relaxed, recreational setting.
- To provide siblings with an opportunity to discuss common joys and concerns with other siblings
- To provide siblings with an opportunity to learn how others handle situations commonly experienced by siblings of special needs children.
- To provide siblings with an opportunity to learn more about the implications of their brothers’ or sisters’ special needs.
- To provide parents with an opportunity to learn about common sibling concerns.
Weekly Coffee Group
Family Services provides a coffee groups for parents. This is a casual get together one hour per week. Some parenting tips are provided but these parent-directed meetings are very informal.1,2,3,4 Parents!
Is parenting your child tougher than you thought it would be? Attend a 3 session workshop to learn the following:- why your child acts like he does;
- how to keep your child safe;
- how to bond with your child;
- how you can discipline your young child; and
- why taking care of yourself is so important.
Rainbows - Grief Support Program
Grief and loss affect all people regardless of their age and level of development. Children often do not have the skills to be able to recognize, express or accept their grief. The Rainbows program helps children develop the skills to grow beyond the pain of loss they are experiencing. Children will also get the opportunity to offer support to their peers as part of the Sunbeams program which will help to build the children’s self esteem and enable children to form trusting relationships with their peers.Program facilitators include our Early Childhood Education staff and our Family Resource Worker.
Second Step
Second Step is a violence prevention program for preschool aged children focusing on 3 different skills – empathy, impulse control and anger management. Through the use of pictures, interactive games and discussion, children learn valuable skills that will help them be successful in both personal and social situations throughout their lives. In the empathy section of the curriculum, children will learn to identify their own feelings as well as those of other children and to show care and understanding as a result. Through the impulse control portion of the program, children learn to stop and think through problems before making a conscious action instead of simply reacting. With the anger management component, children learn to recognize their angry feelings, learn and practice calming strategies and think of how to solve problems.Friendship Tea
Our annual Friendship Tea is hosted for families with children under the age of three who attend a program at the CDC. It is an opportunity for a casual get together to form new friendships within a supportive environment.For further information regarding any of the above, please call Tanya at (250)563-7168 Ext 210
Some of the CDC's Family Service groups are made possible through support from Provincial Gaming Grants and the support of community groups and donations
