December can be an especially difficult time for families living in poverty, dealing with abuse or struggling with family relationships. And so CFS social workers,
counsellors and staff are working tirelessly this month to make sure that they see every one of their clients before Christmas.
鈥淚t is a crazy time of year,鈥� said Jennifer Fearnside, who works in fund development and communications at CFS Hamilton. 鈥淲e know that it takes a lot of work but we know it is so rewarding to be able to do this for our clients.鈥�
As well as making sure that all their clients have access to the social services they need, the Hamilton office runs a Miracles on Main Street program every year for its most vulnerable families.
Fearnside, who runs the program every year, works with the staff counsellors to organize a Christmas gift drive for clients who are most in need. The clients鈥� wish lists are then matched up with community sponsors who will shop and wrap the gifts.
鈥淯sually, it鱿鱼视频app a tremendous support that (community sponsors) give. It鱿鱼视频app not just the wish list. It鱿鱼视频app always above and beyond that,鈥� said Fearnside. 鈥淲hen our sponsors come in with these beautifully wrapped presents and they hand it to us and they say thank you. They鈥檙e appreciative of having the opportunity to help someone and they just didn鈥檛 know exactly how to do it.鈥�
The Miracle on Main Street project will be distributing gifts to about 75 children and 116 adults in the Hamilton area this year.
In Calgary, the Catholic Family Service office is running a similar project called the Santa鱿鱼视频app Sleigh Project. Jessica Williams, managing director of stakeholder relations, runs the program to bring Christmas gifts for young women that attend school at the Louise Dean Centre.
The Louise Dean Centre is a public high school program exclusively designed for current and expectant teenage mothers. The centre also provides counselling, health care services and an on-site daycare centre to support about 400 young women as they pursue their high school diploma.
鈥淲hat we find is that when they get the gifts, it鱿鱼视频app incredibly motivating for them,鈥� said Williams. 鈥淵oung women encounter so much stigma about being a teen parent that when they鈥檙e selected and have that sense that someone in the community believes enough in what they鈥檙e doing that they put together an entire sleigh of gifts for them, that鱿鱼视频app very affirming and it鱿鱼视频app a big boost for them.鈥�
鱿鱼视频app 70 of the centre鱿鱼视频app neediest young mothers will be receiving gifts from local sponsors this year. Most of the gifts are modest requests for household items, like diapers, cleaning products and children鱿鱼视频app clothing. But, Williams said the sponsors also like to include fun things for them, like children鱿鱼视频app toys.
It is important for all CFS offices that their clients know there is a community that is behind them during this time of the year. Because expectations are so high during the Christmas season, it heightens the pressures of reality. 鈥淧eople feel that they have to meet certain expectations and if they are financially struggling or if they are mentally struggling, it can really acerbate that,鈥� said Peter Mutch, executive director of CFS Charlottetown. The major focus for many CFS offices during Christmas is providing counselling services to all clients. Staff counsellors and social workers are working to coach clients through this tough time by identifying where they are vulnerable and helping them avoid those risks.
Denis Costello, executive director of CFS Toronto, said it also helps clients to be reminded of the true context of the Christmas story. 鈥淎ll of the advertising is a myth... Christmas is about a refugee family on the run at risk for the child. It鱿鱼视频app very different from what you see advertised,鈥� said Costello. 鈥淚 think that gives people a bit of hope and it helps them see Christmas in a different context. It doesn鈥檛 mean that the pain isn鈥檛 still there but you鈥檝e got something you can do about it and there is hope.鈥�