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The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday O cto b e r 17, 2001 - A 5 Walk-in centre helping at-risk kids and their families cope with problems B y A n ge la B la c k b u rn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF If children need help, w hether it's w ith their hom ework or a m ore seri ous mental health problem , they shouldn't have to w ait nine m onths. T h a t's why the C h ild re n 's A ssessm ent and T reatm ent Centre (CATC) has walk-in clinics, includ ing one on Kerr Street in Oakville. "The C hildren's A ssessm ent and Treatm ent Centre is often called the best kept secret in H alton. Services fo r children should be easily accessi ble and CATC should be a household nam e in Halton, so that no one is confused about where they can get h elp ," said the CATC developm ent officer Kirsten Lowe. The walk-in clinics are intended to elim inate lengthy w aiting lists that, Low e admitted, are com m on in social services. W aiting lists for CATC services can som etim es stretch as long as nine m onths, admitted CATC's m an ag er o f clinical services H eather Cook. "W e're know n to have this awful waiting list and it d o esn 't serve the com m unity w ell," said Cook. The new w alk-in clinics aim to reduce the w aiting period for help at the centre, w hich serves about 1,000 fam ilies annually. The addition of the w alk-in serv ice at the CATC offices should offer fam ilies quick referrals to program s, or even offer advice to those who may need only that, said Cook. "Som etim es one m eeting is all people need to turn their view o f a problem around," said Cook. A nyone can now ju st w alk into the K err Street office, w hich has existed since 1989, on any Tuesday betw een noon and 8 p.m. to seek advice. The w alk-in service is now up and running -- having first addressed those on the w aiting list. T h ere's an initial $50 CATC fee, yet those who can 't afford it w ill not be turned away. "It is crucial for children to get the help they need, when they need it. We can do this, we ju st need peo ple to know about us," said Lowe. W hile the CATC is headquartered in B urlington, it opened both the K err Street office and one in M ilton to serve north H alton in 1989. The CATC annual budget is $2.5 m illion with funding provided by O ntario's M inistry o f Com m unity & Social Services, the U nited Way and to a lesser degree, H alton Region. The CATC was founded in 1989 and deals w ith infants to those aged 17 exhibiting signs of, or at risk of d ev elo p in g , em otional problem s, said Cook. The bulk o f the clients are those aged 8 to 12 and are m ostly boys, since, Cook said, boys are more apt to act out. G irls, she said, may internalize em otional problem s m aking them less obvious and tougher to detect. CATC offers a host o f treatm ent program s. There are social w orkers and psy chologists available at the walk-in clinic. The CATC offers a brief therapy, six sessions or less, program as well as psychological assessm ent, long term fam ily counselling, and indi vidual therapy. A Traum a Treatm ent Program is new to help fam ilies deal w ith chil dren w ho've experienced a traum atic event. M uch o f it is focused on edu cating parents, so they can help the child deal with the traum a and grow back to their norm al social develop ment level. Cook cautioned that the oft-used paradigm "they'll grow out o f it," can result in subm erged feelings that grow into other behaviour in life. The CA TC's G ood B eginnings program is funded under H alton R e g io n 's H ealthy B abies/H ealthy Children program and aims to foster the parental/infant bond. PAH! works to serve deaf chil dren with mental health problem s (its title is taken from a sign lan guage word that m eans "finally!"). PATH assesses and addresses pre schoolers' behavioral issues w hile YAY is a youth-aiding-youth pro gram that m atches senior teens aged 16 to 20 w ith ju n io r teens aged 6 to 12 in a m entorship/role m odel rela tionship. Com pass is an outreach type of service for children and parents that goes into a hom e for intensive coun selling and is used to treat young offenders. Parents aren't left out o f the equa tion at CATC either, said Cook, not ing parenting courses like COPE or The Family Enrichm ent Service in north Halton. The CATC W a lk -in C e n tre on K e rr S t. is o p e n e v e ry Tuesday fro m n o o n -8 p .m . Rent Fine Original Canadian Art T r a d itio n a l & C o n t e m p o r a r y 150 originals to Own FAW CETT-LANGDON GALLERY 431 Brock Ave., Burlington Wednesday-Saturday 10-5, Sunday 1-4 9 0 5 - 3 3 3 - 0 0 6 3 Website: www.fawcett-langdon.com T R A V EE L_ C H O I C E S 5- A (fo rm e rly G o lig e rs TravelPlus) NEW N AM E S A M E L O C A T IO N S S A M E G R EAT STAFF! P la n y o u r W in te r G e t a w a y N o w ! G e t up to $200 FREE* in A m e ric a E xp re ss T rav elle rs C heques! Workshop helping groups find volunteers The next Parks and R ecreation C .O .R .E . w orkshop is set for T hurs. O ct. 18. "Identifying and A ttracting the R ight V olunteer" is the subject o f this w orkshop, w hich is going to be held from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m . in the O akville Room at Town o f O akville M unicipal B uilding, 1225 T rafalgar Road. The w orkshop is availab le to both C .O .R .E . m em bers, for $10, and non-m em bers, for $20. The tw o hour w orkshop for non p ro fit o rg a n iz a tio n s is being offered by R achel Bayley. It aims to provide non -profit organizations w ith the rig h t tools to attract, find and keep the right volunteers for your business. Seating is lim ited, so register today by callin g L ouise Veres at 905-845-6601, ext. 3154, or e-m ailing lv eres@ to w n .o ak v ille.o n .ca. PLUS Scratch and Receive a ThanK y o u u in or $iu,uuu u a s m or 1 of 10 Exciting Vacations or 1 of 5000 Photo Albums! *Ju st b o o k yo u r ne xt 2 pe rson va ca tio n w ith A m e rica n E xpress Travel S ervices (m in im um $ 1 ,600 p e r person) and y o u 'll re ce ive a b o n u s o f $200 C dn. in A m e rica n E xpress Travellers C heques, o r g e t $1 00 C d n. If you sp e n d $ 8 50 p e r person. 146 Lakeshore Road E. 905-842-4999 Maple Grove Shopping Centre 905-849-7013 ` S ee tra ve l ag e n t fo r details. O nt. Reg. 4 4 89 13 4 Halton Health Department offering flu shots The Halton Region Health Department is offering free flu shots to all residents of Halton over six months of age at these Oakville locations: -- Mon. Oct. 22, 3 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.,I r o q u o i s Ridge High School, gymnasium, 1123 Glenashton Drive; -- Thurs. Oct. 25, 3 p.m. - 8p.m., Queen Elizabeth Park High School, small gym 2301 Yolanda Drive; -- Wed. Nov. 7, 3 p.m. - 8 p.m., White Oaks (South) High School, gymnasium, 1330 Montclair Drive; Wed. Nov. 14,3 p.m. - 8 p.m., T.A. Blakelock High School, small gymnasium, 1160 Rebecca Street; -- Tues. Nov. 20, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m., Halton Regional Centre, auditorium 1151 Bronte Rd,; -- Thurs. Nov. 22, 3 p.m. - 8p.m., St. Ignatious of Loyola Secondary School, gymnasium, 1550 Nottinghill Gate ROYAL BAN K S A L U T E S M A L L B U S I N E S S With A N W in e O P E N & C h e e se H O U S E R e c e p tio n Bar assoc, pres, at Cdn. Club Thurs. The president of the Ontario Bar Association will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Canadian Club of Halton Peel on Oct. 18. James O 'Brien will discuss "Civil Liberties, and the rights and obligations in a free society during these troubled times." The meeting is at the Oakville Convention Centre, 2515 Wyecroft Rd. A reception is at 6:15 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. Cost is $28 for members and $38 for non-mem bers. For tickets call 905-845-2862, or by fax 905339-0469. The Canadian Club is a non-profit, non-political organization whose sole purpose is to bring topical, thoughtful, high-profile speakers to the community. The Canadian Club of Halton Peel serves the com munities of Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Milton and Halton Hills. Meetings are held six times a year -- the third Thursday of September, October, November, January, February and April. The speaker for the Nov. 15 meeting is Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail columnist and author of the book, Star Spangled Canadian. at H a lto n R egion 1151 B ro n te R o ad , O ak v ille on T h u rsd ay , O c to b e r 2 5 , 2 0 0 1 5 :0 0 p .m . to 7 :3 0 p .m . Refreshments provided by: Black Oak Brewing Company Scotch Block Country Winery R.S.V.P. Business D evelopm ent C entre by O ctober 23rd (905) 825-6300 Toll Free: 1-866-4H A LTO N (1-866-442-586 Ontario \ O A K V IL L E I C H A M B E R ^ fC O M M E R C E A jo in t event with: .J!S«2G S8$^' ^ ^-v vI - 701 Medio Group b iiU n ; s«al b u w tn 'O N T A R IO r f = t ^ JU N IO R C IT IZ E N V-U/OF T H E YEAR "AW ARD S N o m in a tio n s are n o w being accepted for the 2001 A w a rd s Program Let's re co g n ize th e best o f o u r yo u n g p e op le . If you k n o w a yo u ng person, aged 6 to 1 8, w h o is in vo lve d in w o rth w h ile c o m m u n ity service; a special person w h o is c o n trib u tin g w h ile liv in g w ith a lim ita tio n ; a yo u th w h o has perform ed an act o f heroism ; o r a 'good k id ' w h o shows a c o m m itm e n t to m a kin g life better fo r others, d o in g m ore than is n o rm a lly expected o f som eone th e ir age -- h e lp us recognize th e ir c o n tri b u tio n -- n o m in a te them today! Nominations w ill be accepted until Novem ber 30, 2001. C o n ta c t th is n e w s p a p e r o r th e O n ta r io C o m m u n ity N e w s p a p e rs A s s o c ia tio n a t 9 0 5 -6 3 9 -8 7 2 0 , Ext. 2 2 2 . Program Sponsor: N e w o n lin e o p tio n s : You can answer the forms o n lin e at w w w .ocna.org/Aw ards/JuniorC itizens.htm , o r d o w n loa d extra forms as needed. Tembec PAPCft CHOMP Rising Id the challenge spohsoeQ fommuo ju w io *tnans Program R un b y :