Announcements

Choose a New Name for EarlyON Drop-In Play Groups

02-25-21

Help to choose a new name for EarlyON drop-in play groups.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions face-to-face services like drop-in play groups have not been available since March 2020. During the pause in face-to-face services, we are taking some time to reflect and want to make some meaningful changes in anticipation of re-opening.

Wellington County and Guelph EarlyON Supervisors and Staff have come up with 4 options for you to choose from as the new name for EarlyON drop-in play groups. 

What are EarlyON drop-in play groups?

EarlyON Child and Family drop-in play groups are for children birth up to 6 years of age and their parents/caregivers. 

 The EarlyON drop-in play groups: 

• Provide opportunities for children and parents/caregivers to participate in high quality play and inquiry-based programmes
  • offer a variety of activities that support play, inspire and support critical thinking, holistic development
• Align with How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Year
  • are led and facilitated by Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs)
  • who model responsive adult-child interactions,
  • support all parents/caregivers in their roles,
  • connect families to other community supports and specialized services 

EarlyON Child and Family Centre drop-in play groups are available FREE – no cost to families and, no pre-registration is required.

For more information about EarlyON Child and Family Centres, click on the link below:

EarlyON Child and Family Centres - Wellington County and Guelph

https://www.wellington.ca/Re-naming-EarlyON-drop-in-play-groups/

Ontario Expanding Supports for Families of Children with Autism - 02-22-2021

New core services and additional funding will offer greater choice based on need.

TORONTO — The Ontario government is providing additional supports for families of children on the autism spectrum. Starting in March, the province will begin offering core clinical services based on a child's individual needs, a key element of the new Ontario Autism Program. These services include applied behaviour analysis, speech language pathology, occupational therapy and mental health supports.

Ontario Delays March Break in an Effort to Reduce Community Transmission of COVID-19 - 02-17-2021

Ontario Increases Mental Health Funding for Postsecondary Students - 02-17-2021

Investment will expand access to mental health and addiction services during COVID-19.

TORONTO — The Ontario government is providing $7 million to help increase access to mental health and addiction services for postsecondary students during COVID-19. The funding will provide more supports for students, both on-campus and virtually and can also be used to address the needs of vulnerable and diverse groups, such as Indigenous students, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities.

Read the full news release.

Ontario's Most Popular Baby Names for 2019 - 11-01-2021

View the full list and information about ServiceOntario's 5-in-1 Newborn Bundle. 

Vital Focus Series Details Secondary Impacts of COVID-19

Pandemic on Families with Children - 22-12-2020

Toward Common Ground and their collaborating partners have released the Vital Focus report on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on families with children. It is the fifth in a series of reports providing evidence-based recommendations on how to mitigate and address the secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Vital Focus report details national and local data and offers recommendations for local community organizations, institutions, and all orders of government on how to mitigate and address the secondary impacts over the longer term.
Increasing awareness of the pandemic’s effects across a range of issues helps identify and make sense of the community’s most urgent needs and how best to serve Guelph residents as service providers and local organizations continue to work together to respond and recover from COVID-19.

Read the Vital Focus: The Impact of COVID-19 on Families with Children in our Community.

Ontario Expanding Mental Health Services for Children and Youth

22-10-2020

The Ontario government is providing $24.3 million in targeted investments to hire additional staff, increase access to counselling and therapy, create new programs to help manage stress, depression and anxiety, and address eating disorders and other challenges facing children and youth. This funding is part of the government's $176 million investment in the Roadmap to Wellness, a comprehensive plan to build a fully connected mental health and addictions system across the province.

Ontario Taking Action to Improve Child Care - 19-10-2020

The Strengthening Early Years and Child Care in Ontario report details how Ontario is helping to provide more child care and before and after school spaces for parents, as well as increasing opportunities for home child care providers. The report was developed with input from families and sector partners. These same groups provided input into the review of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014.

The government has also posted the Early Years and Child Care Annual Report 2020, which provides an annual overview and year-over-year trends of Ontario's early years and child care sector. It is clear that Ontario's child care system continues to grow. 

The Honourable Rob Black, Senator's Statement on the Integrated Youth Services Network! 16-09-2020

The Honourable Rob Black, Senator, makes a statement on the Integrated Youth Services Network (IYSN) to the Canadian Senator's Group. View the video.

The Integrated Youth Services Network is a place where youth between the ages of 12-26 can go to seek support for mental health challenges, substance abuse, education, employment, training, housing and much more. It is a collaborative project that involves over 30 organizations under the leadership of the Rotary Club of Guelph. These organizations include:

• Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Centre Wellington
• University of Guelph
• YMCA-YWCA of Guelph
• Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington
• Guelph Community Foundation
• East Wellington Community Services
• Minto Mental Health
• Shelldale Family Gateway

This is a partnership of service organizations and volunteers united in the common goal to build a new standard of care, support and services for youth. 

 IYSN will feature 7 Youth Centres across the City of Guelph and Wellington County, where youth can go for support and guidance or just for a safe place to hang out. Youth will have access to programs and services such as education, career support, counselling and peer to peer programs.

Senator Black highlighted the importance of having Youth Hubs located in rural areas, stating that access and availability to rural youth is important due to unreliable internet connectivity and physical distance from urban centres.

1 in 5 youth 15-26 experience mental health or substance use disorders.

Since 2007, hospitalizations in Guelph and Wellington County increased by 223% for mental health and behavioural disorders and by 211% for self-harm.

This network was created to respond to the lack of adequate and accessible services to respond to these challenges and to ensure that youth and families don't fall through the cracks.

The Senator applauded the initiative and thanked the organizations involved in contributing to the creation of the IYSN.

ACEs & Resilience Training Modules Available - 28-08-2020

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Coalition of Guelph & Wellington is pleased to announce the release of the ACEs & Resilience Learning Modules. 

The free, online, self-directed ACEs & Resilience Learning Modules are intended for human service professionals (including but not limited to, Primary Care Providers, Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses, Social Workers, Outreach Workers and Pharmacists) interested in learning more about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Resilience. Content is also useful for educators, including early childhood educators, volunteers working with children and families, or anyone wanting to develop a better understanding of the relationship between early life experiences and long-term health. All participants will receive a certificate of recognition upon completion. 

This online course includes the following five modules, and may be completed in 5-7 hours:

• Module 1: An Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences
• Module 2:  The Impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences
• Module 3: Resilience
• Module 4: Taking Action to Prevent and Reduce the Effects of ACEs and Build Resilience
• Module 5: ACEs and Resilience Practice Case

The ACEs Coalition is working towards a resilient community that prevents and reduces the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Guelph and Wellington County.