CHILD AND YOUTH ADVOCACY CENTRE SERVING MUSKOKA WITH ONE-STOP HELP FOR ABUSE VICTIMS

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

ORILLIA — Trauma telling oughtn’t be traumatic.

Once is enough.

Especially for children and youth.

Abuse is repeated far too often and how sharing and reporting of trauma is handled can make or break families short- and long-term.

The Child and Youth Advocacy Centre Simcoe Muskoka is sympathetic to that shared experience. And sensitive to how everyone can cope and begin tentative critical first steps toward bridging between a bad relationship and new, positive future.

Presently, victims and their families are on a merry-go-round when it comes to services, which can often begin with brief encounters with Victim Services crisis workers.

Welcome to the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre Simcoe Muskoka, where families are greeted by Annalise Mota, a child and youth advocate, and Moose, a therapy dog trained to comfort victims.

But the brave first steps of coming forth and laying bare what has happened usually involves telling a friend, then an advocate, a doctor, police, a social worker and hospital workers and others — over multiple visits and tellings — how they’ve come to this painful point in their lives.

All at different times, in different locations and settings over weeks.

CYACSM allows that telling in one visit — at one location either in Orillia, Barrie or at a suitably safe satellite location in Simoce and Muskoka close to where families live instead of them having to travel.

CYACSM brings the service to them. A kind of one-stop.

A convenience and too often and impediment for those without transportation.

About 25 per cent of their visits are in Muskoka.

The Orillia office approach is to be more inviting, calming and comfortable for families entering and as they go through the various rooms on their journey with understanding staff.

Since opening nine years ago in Orillia CYAC staff have helped 3,000 families said program manager Samantha Ward.

CEO Jim Harris said: “Kids deserve to be heard” — his words echoed and etched at the top of their website so as to reinforce his quote: ‘Children’s Voices Will Be Heard.’

CYACSM’s services are open to all victims and genders up to age 24. And their is Indigenous support services as well.

While it’s not a drop-in, families generally would be referred by a front-line responder. the advocacy centre has all the resources it needs from initial contact for at least a half-dozen follow-up visits to assist with finding the right future appropriate ongoing assistance services.

However, they can also call to book an investigation.

From its friendly front door on West Street in Orillia, where an inviting reception room leads to a bright new lively play room, examination room and interview rooms adjacent, it’s a welcoming home-like environment.

Open to telling, being heard and understood.

Police, politicians, social workers and community supporters got to experience a family’s initial visit to the CYACSM during a tour of its Orillia office Friday.

One that the six or seven staff are sensitive to on a more than daily basis with about 300 families helped across Simcoe and Muskoka annually — or 1.5 per day.

This is important because through the regular health system it can take victims and their families a year to 18 months to get a mental health assessment, treatment and counselling.

It’s a dogged pursuit for executive director Dawn MacDonald, the CYACSM team and their therapy lap dog Moose — a gorgeous golden retriever who greets every guest and can help calm victims telling their story.

Friday MacDonald and Moose greeted several supporters, such as Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop, who two years after the centre opened in 2014 was one of its biggest supporters worked for them as a fundraiser.

The associate minister of children and women’s issues, now, was joined by fellow Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, MPP for Barrie, Springwater and Oro-Medonte as well as Andrea Khanjin the Barrie-Innisfil MPP and provincial deputy government house leader.

Along with Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac and dozens of others they got a walk-through to “see and feel how a family experiences coming in,” said MacDonald.

And to boldly go beyond their own front doors.

It was a moving, comforting and reassuring tour of duty for the politicians, police and several community social workers.

Children love the therapy dogs Moose and Andy who are trained to put up their paws on victims to help them during stressful conversations and help ease a bit of the trauma involved.

Ostensibly the occasion was to announce a new partnership with New Path Youth and Family Services to deliver remote access of advocacy support for child and youth victims of abuse across the Simcoe Muskoka region.

Thanks to the support of a $133,900 Resilient Communities Fund grant, awarded last year by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and $199,000 for this year and next, CYACSM can now expand its program services to include a new partnership for mobile program delivery. That’s an SUV loaded with all the staff, toys, listening, examination and advocacy tools for the road.

Including Moose and his canine partner, Andy, who works out of the permanent Barrie satellite office.

Ward said COVID actually made their remote visits easier as there was more office space available with people working from home. But that is no longer case.

She added victims and their attending families can also receive initial medical checkups as many do not have a GP.

The kids room is one of three bright, inviting spaces that are part of the one-stop opportunity to tell their story to sensitive care providers who also provide Indigenous supports as well.

The announcement also highlighted OTF’s support to trauma-informed, bridge support services for families whose children and/or youth have witnessed or experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, online exploitation, neglect, intimate partner violence, or human trafficking.

MacDonald said the announcement marks a significant milestone for CYAC Simcoe Muskoka as they continue to expand their services and support for victims of abuse in the Simcoe Muskoka region.

She said for them the purpose isn’t to duplicate available services, but to bridge support until families can access the services that may be available to them.

“We can now expand our program services and bring the supportive care of our Child and Youth Advocates closer to home for many families in Simcoe Muskoka. More timely transitions to mental health services for children and youth who have experienced physical or sexual abuse in our region are critical.”

The tour was also an attempt to inform government representatives of the importance of what they do and the need for long-term, sustainable funding for the 11 CYCs in the province, of which the Simcoe and Muskoka site is about mid-size.

About CYACSM

The Child & Youth Advocacy Centre Simcoe Muskoka (CYACSM) supports children, youth, and families through the difficult process of abuse investigations. The Advocacy Centre is voluntary and free of charge for all children/youth (up to and including age 24) and their non-offending family. https://cyacsimcoemuskoka.ca/

New Path Youth & Family Services of Simcoe County (New Path) is an accredited children’s mental health agency providing various compassionate, innovative, and accessible services for children, youth, and their families throughout Simcoe County. They can be called at 705-327-0118 or visit their website here.

Orillia’s CYAC office is on West Street and offers a wide variety of help and followup support and service referrals.

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