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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-10-06, Page 214 Located at Clinton • Huron Centre answers problems of county youth Mrs. Smith is worried. Her six-year-old son is behind in his school work. The neigh- bors' boy has already ad- vanced to the next class. Her ten -year-old daughter is popular with classmates, finds her school work easy and has a pleasant nature. But Johnny -- he seems rebellious. His lack of interest in school is becoming more apparent. Perhaps he is, after all, just incurably lazy, without the necessary spark to make him move ahead in life. Still, Mrs. Smith is worried. Mrs. Jones is at her wits end. Two-year-old Susie continually defies all efforts at toilet training, to the embarrassment of her mother. Yet, the more Mrs. Jones tries, the worse the situation becomes. , Seventeen -year-old, Bill is having a rough gci of it. He wants to leave home, strike out on his own -- and all he is getting is one big hassle from - his parents. "Where can I turn?" is the question on each mind. In Huron County there is an answer. It is the Huron Centre for Children and Youths. The names and incidents here are all fictitious, but they are typical of problems handled by the centre. The work is in the area of mental health, but the people who come for help are not' psychologically crippled. The director of the centre, Don 'Keillor, explains the.role of the service as that of a mediator, a means of of channeling people in the, right direction when all sense of direction has been lost in confusion. FRIENDLY RECEPTION—At the Centre for Children and Youths, Marianne McCaffrey greets people with friendli- ness. Director Don Keillor says she is excellent for the job as she is warm and understanding and able to recognize if the tedious problem of name spelling over the phone is important at the moment. She says when an extremely agitated person calls, she immediately turns him over to one of the four social workers or Mr. Keillor. The centre concentrates its objectives on problems•from in£anc'j/ to " eighteen years, "BuLwe don't always know who our clients will be," sa,;ys Mr. Keillor. "If a child has a problem, then his parents have one as well." FAMILY CENTRE Df "Our basic motive of operation is to, work with the family. We work mostly with the family, seldom with the .children alone." The centre has been of- ficially , in 'operation since January,' and as it grows, so does the need for its services. It is staffed by Mr. Keillor and four social w2rkers who work within the centre or in the homes of those it serves. In a short time a psychologist will be added to the regular staff. "The idea of forming the service centre came up at a public meeting,-' says the director. "With the closing of the Goderich Psychiatric Hospital people were con- cerned by the lack of facilities' for children and young people who had problems.'' ' The meeting was held about a year ago and a steering -- committee was formed. The centre was originally funded by the Ministry of Health but with the shift in ministries it is now funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. "We are directly respon- sible to a local board of directors," Mr. Keillor emphasizes.." "Board mem- bers come from many points in the county, The centre's location at Clinton is central, and thus we have a fairly even distribution of people using its services from across the county." The director talks about the centre and its work in a relaxed manner. The longish, dark hair, with a dash of grey at the temples • gives him an easy-going appearance. He is also a man who knows his business. Mr. Keillor was a director of a learning centre for the Etobicoke board of education, operated for children with learning 'disabilities as well as those who were emotionally disturbed. He was also a professor at York FEATURE AND PHOTOS BY KIM DADSON WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES University, Toronto, for three years; teachitng as a member of the faculty% of education and before that principal of an elementary school. His interest is in special education skills. Explanations of the problems outlined at the beginning of this story are given by Mr. K illor. Johnny has a proble because his family finds d' t difficult to cope with his slow learning. Johnny, in turn is disturbed by his own shortcomings and reacts in a rebellious manner and may eventually become withdrawn. A social worker at the centre helps, through sessions with the family, to make Johnny's parents realize their son needs extra support and love. As soon as Johnny realizes he is ac- cepted by his family, no matter what his inability, he will probably be motivated to do his best. Mrs. Jones may need help in disciplining her daughter. Jane Harris, a Member of the staff at the centre, has had - special training with children. As the only child care worker at the centre her responsibilities lie mainly with the problems of children, while the other social workers deal with the adults. Miss Harris teaches parents methods of disciplining their children and stresses that consistency , is a major factor. ' DISLIKE CHANGE Bill, the 17 -year-old, has an age-old problem. Every adolescent goes through a difficult period in life when body and mind are changing. Most people don't like to see changes in others, the director explains. It upsets the normal pattern of life.` The centre helps the teenager's family to accept the youth's instinct for in- dependence. If he is really determined to leave home it is preferable that he leave on good terms with the family. Often, however, says Mr. Keillor, the youth wouldn't g"o if he really had an op- portunity. He is just testing himself and his family. "We like working with young people in this area, and en- courage parents to un- derstand their children's natural, instinct for in- dependence." As children are given in- crasing responsibility they learn to appreciate in- dependence, as do their parents. The whole objective of parenthood should be to develop independent, well - adjusted adults. "We help families deal with problems," says the director, "we don't solve problems. Our contribution is to get families together to talk." There is a big room at the centre which contains toys for the children as well as a two- way mirror, through which Mr, Keillor can observe behaviour from his office. Families often meet in this room, particularly the larger families. They know that someone is watching from behind the mirror and that the session is being taped. Sometimes as many as three social workers are talking with the family. "Family dynamics are so complex," says Mr. Keillor. "The tape helps if we have •missed something that was said, something that is the key to the problem. We play the tape back to the family as well, so they can understand the problem." - Even the toys have a meaningful purpose. There are puppets and a small stage where real life drama may be portrayed by a reticent child. The child may well be hesitant to tell a social worker the exact nature of the problem. For instance, he or she may enact a male and female puppet arguing, as the parents of the child do at home. After investigation it may be discovered that the child is frightened by family arguments, perhaps believing himself to be the cause of unhappiness. Other `social workers at the centre, in addition to Miss Harris, include Philip Warren, Archie Andrew and Shirley Hackman. The latter holds a master's degree in sociology and worked in children's, mental health centres previously. Mr, Andrew also holds a master's degree and has worked with the John Howard Society for criminal offenders who need assistance in ad- justing to society. He has also worked for the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Research Foundation in Toronto. (There have been no major drug problems at the Huron centre yet, but alcohol has been evident as a relating factor in several instances.) Mr. Andrew was trained at King's College, London, and specializes in play therapy for children, such as the puppet theatre. Another important staff member is Marianne McCaffrey, who answers the phone and is the first contact with a troubled child, youth or family. Mr. Keillor says she isn excellent choice for the job, with her warm and un- derstanding manner which comes through on the telephone., Mrs. McCaffrey says she usually makes appointments as soon as possible, but if the person calling is extremely agitated she puts the call through toa staff member immediately. She has had, teachers call her ,after up- setting experiences with children about whom they are concerned. There •is a good liaison between the schools, the parents and the centre when a problem is being handled. • There is no long wait for an appointment as yet. Mr. CENTRE DIRECTOR—Don Kei Centre for Children and astonished ^ mistake at how complex is often in adults who don individual who has feelings, likes Ilor Youths, children is director of the Huron Clinton. He says he is s problems can be. The realize the child is an and dislikes of his own. 't it ;RUAitl,rAt, 41m vow ,�l rtift}k amioro'Ttc tf31111 room ttif illitittitxto'c 40 VA, PLAYTHERAPY-DIRECTOR of the Huron Centre for Children and Youths, Don Keillor, with social worker Jane Harris and secretary Marianne M..Caffrey demonstrate how play therapy works with puppets. A reticent child may answer a lot of questions by bringing out his problems In play acting with the puppets. His agression, otherwise held back, could be "redilrected in the poppets. it HURON CENTRE—The Huron Centre for Children and Youth, Clinton, officially opened in January of this year. The need for this service is evident in the number of people using the Centre. Within an hour of joining the staff, one social worker was working with a family. Keillor says the capabilities of the centre are growing at a steady rate with the need. When the last social worker joined the staff at 9 a.m. she was working with a family an hour later. At present 24-hour service is available in all cases of emergency. Miss Harris says that appointments can be arranged, even though parents cannot come during the day. Arrangements can be made to accommodate those who work on shift work or who have other special circumstanes. Rarely ,is `it necessary to hospitalize a child; the family can usually provide for the need's with the assistance and guidance of the centre. Mr. Keillor says .that some parents fail to realize their children are individuals, with very real sensitivities, likes and dislikes. There is a tendency to lump all "kids" together and consider them all the same. If a youth comes to the centre alone he will not be turned away, but the staff members will try to involve the family, If under 16 °the centre prefers to have the parents' consent at least. There are no fees for ser- vices; the centre is a ,non- profit public service. BOARD MEETING The next development will be branch offices in the county if there is an ap- preciable number of families in need of assistance in the outlying areas. Such an office would, perhaps, be staffed by one person and open one or two days a week. "We all have vulnerable times in our lives,=' says Mr. Keillor. The death of a member of the family or a divorce or just the problems of adolescent years are among the factors which can create crises. Miss Harris says that at these times parents are often blinded to the good qualities of their offspring. They see only the bad traits and as a result magnify them unduly. A third, uninvolved person is needed to put things into perspective. The annual meeting of the centre's board of directors is to be. held October 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Clinton Public School. At this meeting the board members will officially give up their seats and the new board will be elected or returned. Mr. Keillor feels that this locally elected board is important. It wouldn't be the same if the centre•Was run by an obscure group in Toronto. The centre is open fig e days a week, with evening ap- pointments as well. It is located at 160 Huron St., Clinton. Those who ' believe that smaller communities lack the facilities available in the city should consider the foresight of a group of citizens who saw a problem and took im- mediate action. There are people with adequate credentials who are willing to settle ina small town and make good use of their abilities. Country life is simple and relaxing at times, but the needs this centre is answering proves that' there can be serious problems in our midst. For the children of Huron County and their parents there is an answer. Treasurer tells municipalities to cut back on spending Local municipal officials aren't sure yet just what the recently announced provincial spending restraints may mean in terms of mill rates or planned projects, but they gotthe basic message loud and clear: municipalities will have to .• cut back their spending growth rate or reach deeper into their own pockets. Speaking at a' meeting in Wingham last week, provincial Treasurer Darcy McKeough told about 200 municipal officials and councillors from Huron, Bruce, Grey and Perth counties that the increase in provincial grants to local governments and agencies is being cut to 6.3 percent next year from 10.7 percent in 1977. Figures provided during the session indicate the actual funds transferred to municipalities will be even lower than this suggests. After subtracting grants to school boards and the early payment. on 1977 per capita grants, Mr. McKeough in- dicated, "there remains $82 million for actual growth in your calendar year, sub- stantially down from this year's increase of $186 million." "It won't be easy for you to come down to $82 million from $186 million," ,Mr. McKeough told the officials, "but it can and must be done." The budgeting job will be tougher than in the past, he noted, and there may have to be some mill rate increases, though they are not en- couraged. The province is aiming for a balanced budget by 1981, he said, claiming: "We aren't asking you to do anything that we are not doing." 'If the interest on the provincial debt were taken out, the budget's rate of growth would be only five percent next year, he added. "Unfortunately, an item we can't do very much about." The cost of servicing the deet is up 17 percent this year. Knights to observe Columbus Day A special Columbus Day address will be heard over CKNX radio on October 9 at 6:45 PM according to an announcement made by Phillip Durand, Grand Knight of Father Stephen Eckert Knights of Columbus in Seaforth. Durand stated that the address would be delivered by Virgil C. Descant, Supreme • •'K'night of the Knights of Columbus. The executive head of the more than 1.2 million member Catholic, family, fraternal, service organization will speak on "A Time For Optimism". In commenting on the program, Durand said, 485 ' 'years ago, Christopher Columbus completed one of the most daring' .and courageous exploratory sea voyages recorded in the annals of mankind -- the discovery of the North American Continent. More than one and a quarter million men of the western hemisphere, all Knights of Columbus members, join together this -Week in ob- serving this the Anniversary of Columbus' epic voyage," In addition to the special radio broadcast, other Columbus Day activities are• being, planned. The Knights of Columbus will be asked to attend a special service at Saint Josephs Catholic Church in Clinton at 8 Wed- nesday, October 12. They extend a special invitation to other denominations to join 'with the Knights in a prayer for peace in the world and unity in Canada.