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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1971-10-21, Page 19M 'il 0 0 This choir, made up of about 50 students from St. Mary's Separate School in. Goderich, with th\e assistance of _additional voices from the Goderich and District Collegiate Institute, will perform this Sunday on CKNX, television at Wingham ,on the 1. program "Sing Time:" The "show, regularly presented by the United Church of Canada, will this week be turned over to, the Children's Aid Society in recognition of C.A.S. week and the choir is to supply the music for tlile program. - Staff photo Family Counselling Service oving good f This is Children's Aid:Week in Ontario and the Huron County Children's Aid Society -is taking in active "pa""r't 'in this provincial project. x. Bruce Heath, Idea 'direedr.'bf' the CAS, -and ••.,•--M-rs, Connie Osborne, a CAS volunteer, sat down „last Friday ,..to outline some of , the Association's exciting plans for'tliis week. First of all there was a series of •television "shorts'on CKNX — right after the afternoon movie which told .a little bit about CAS • werk in the four -counties served by Wingham television - Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce. Secondly, the regular Sunday program .Smg,.Time — will be turned over to the ChildreW,; Aid to, aid in getting their message across for the four - u.nUni.ted. Church of Canada sponsors Sing •1 0, Time and this Sunday, October 24 at -5:30 p.m., the 'choir from St. Marys Separate School in Goderich will appear on Sing Time with some songs from their very successful and colorful program from last Spring. Last'Sunday, all the churches in Huron County received bulletin covers telling the story "'ot, CAS in Huron County. This weekend in Goderich, the CAS is placing a bus somewhere in the area. of the Square which the public is invited to visit to lead ' more about "children's aid work and its rewards; o ^ Also in Goderich — and for the first time in CAS, history here — the Association is using the cancellation stamp at the Post Office to get their message . across to the people.' Prior to CAS week, officials of CAS; as well as volunteer workers, - have taken their 'rrtess@ge to "'befall k'fai'rs in "4p Iluron — Seaforth' and Dungannon. ' , The theme of this year's program is finding homes for the' older children in care. , Although the di'recto'r of the Huron County '' CAS, Bruce Huron, County Health, is pleased by the number of foster homes in the county of Huron, . he finds there are yirtually no new foster homes ol3ening-to-teenagers. This may be easily explained, he believes, by the fact that people just naturally associate more problems', with older children. In many cases, though, accprding._to, Heath, many of the serious problems dissolve once thechild is taken out of the home environment where there may well be a contributing factor to the child's hostility or his belligerence or whatever else. The emphases in CAS' work', now, is more toward rehabilitating the family. That's why in so many more instances .now: children are of taken into care at all, 'or they are • removed -•from' their homes, it is only for as short,. a time as possible to permit the immediate and more serious difficulties 'to be • alleviated andthe,'family reunited. Therefore, more and' more children in foster homes are staying • fo`f shorter periods of time. What is desperately -in Huron, -are families who will make a place in their homes for older youngsters who must, for „sow special reason,, leave home fpr while. '' until problems are sorted out there. ' CAS now has ' a family counselling service which is( proving highly successful and which is assisting greatly in the area of family rehabilitation in* Huron County. and shorter needed Heath also is impressed by the number .of dotlars which come through the mail for all facets of CAS work in Huron. "Through the very nature of. this county," said Heath; `"we 'are` arm" u hderwrit'e"a' great' many of the costs such as Christmas toys, flannelette etc. These things don't even have -•to gd into our budget." Veath admits that when the came td Huron .,•.Coi.rnty from Toronto, he was somewhat concerned' about the volunteer area 'of CAS- here. His fears have since subsided and he is nova, thoroughly convinced that Huron County people are most •unique in their concern for children's aid work. "I't is truly remarkable," said Heath. �Zz At a dinner held last evening in the Ontario Street United Church facilities at Clinton Mr. and Mrs: a,:.: '41 f ; tf!i{iCri t tt' �NtidvIr,citatioa'matttiRg �'flem'"•tfte,*foster. • ,• , h Parents of -the Year for Huron County. Malting the presentation on behalf of the Hurbh!-County ,' Children's Aid Society is G.A.S. director locally Bruce Heath of Goderich. - S f sho-fa � r4,• 04 Support Your hiId.en '5 Aid • See what YOU can do tohelp Call r • . s .. toda 'f ..A. Art 1 SLGNAL- �T THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1971 Foster parent's get much more than hey ever give o Goderich area women discuss 9 years of loving all children For Mrs. Dorothy Scott, RR 6, Goderich and Mrs.. 'Grace Patterson, , St. ' 'Patrick Street, mothering foster children ,is a - way of life a wonderful way of life.' Mrs. Patterson has been taking youngsters into her dome for about 25 years while M9. Scott has been ripening her home to ohildren for the last 14 returned — then kept running over to get her every day or so, keeping her for the day and returning her to -the foster mother in the later evening, "Well, finally- we just went over and got her and kept her," stated Mrs. Patterson, ,Mrs. Scott read about foster homes in ' a magazine and thought very vaguely at first, years. t that might be something she Both �� oi, n have children of would love to do. She didn't their own. Mrs. Patterson and mention her feelings to her her husband Pat have two sons husband, Jack, however, but strangely enough, he brought up and a daughter, all of whom, are the subject, just in passing, in a grown " now and away from conversation a day or ,so later. home. Mrs. Scott and her Then 'her eldest• daughter then -husband Jack have three just a little girl 'asked about daughters and one son. opening the Scott home to Mrs Patterson- rernem,bers': foster eh,itdretr. .. „ that she was at a church meeting The final decision was with a friend when' she first reached after a chance discussion became involved in' children's aid with a public health nurse. Mrs', work. She recalled that fornier �cot.t went home; telephoned Huron. CABS director Miffs Claree CAS and told them she was tl M owan ' was the special interested in becoming a foster • speaker that day. Miss parent. Then she hung up the McGowan, ,since retired 'from telephone and forgot about, it — full:time CAS work, told her until just a day or so later When - audience . that she' found a CAS worker called her to take Goderich a lovely town to live a nine -month-old baby. in, but being new to the Gowen, she apparently felt free to The Scott home is now the mention that—there were too few county's receiving home. That homes here which were willing means that whenever 'a child is to receive foster children into taken into care — whether a boy their care. or a girl, a baby or a teenager,„ early morning or late at night,^ Mrs. Patterson said it' was her alone or in ' company — the .friendw,iro volunteered first her Scotts receive that child or those own service .... and then Mrs, children into their home until a Patterson's service. And she also suitable foster Home can be remembers that it was just a, few found or until someother --� days later that she received her solution is worked out. first tele hone call from the t "�'�That's part of the reason that calling her long after they are CAS asking her to take a baby girt into her home.. ' ' "° " the --Booms have :_had—is° many done. Sontie .of. her "gifts", a:re•. "There has to be a car there to take them;" smiled Mrs. Scott with a knowing look that comes to the faces of most mothers from time to time. In recent . years, both Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Patterson have been taking older, children, although right. now Mrs. Scott has two brothers; aaged one year and three years as well as a 16 -year-old who has been with the Scotts for more than •one year. - The" real problem for - children's,,aid workers these days - is to find foster homes for older children: It seems that few parer ,ts are anxious to ac .ept the kind of responsibility they think goes with opening the home to an- ol.der''chiSzi: Mrs. Scott and, Mrs. Patterson believe that a child should be judged for itself. "Don't even consider what you've heard," said Mrs. Scott. "Accept the children at face value and take them as you find them and don't go by what. you've heard." , Then M,rs.. Scott —got that knowing look on her face. • • "—"There -is -not- one -child that Will come intce'your home that. you won't learn something from," she smiled. Mrs. Patterson claims that while' the love of an older child won't come back in just' the same demonstrative way that affection' for a younger child will, the young people she has had' -"in' her home are 'always Mr. Patterson returned home from work that evening to find. a delightful - 13 -month-old child cuddled into a makeshift crib — a loveseat turned against the wall. That little -girl won•.a,•place in the hearts of the Patterson family. She was to stay "just a few ; days" — while her •othe'r foster' mother attended to some urgent family' 'business. 'She ended up staying a lifetime and becoming the Patterson's ._..daughter. ' Mrs. Patterson • remembers that they took her bark • to her fuai,er 'mother's home when she children in their home in= the last 14 years — Mrs. Scott estimates there must hate been 40 or more! Y r• Mrs. Scott feels that her family has "the edge" by living in the country: She says it, just isn't possible fcr their own children iinc'luding one adopted child) as well as their foster children to' get 'uptown' whenever thy feel, like it. A teenager needs you Call, your CAS already married, of course, and she hears from several of them frequently, • "I'm the one theycall when they get a little homesick," Mrs. Patterson confessed with obvious satisfaction. _ It was evident from the conversation ',that the foster fathers play a large and important role in,. the foster home, In fact, it became clear that in some instances, it is the 'man -of the • household unto 'whom._.the.._fbster.._children will attach themselves, in many, cases because the - father is the age-old rrlaster of the household who demands and receives respect from his entire family. Children like rules and regylations, it seems. o1Wt�{!• Jack Scott is particularly important in the Scott receiving home. Not only ddes'.Mr. Scott have to be an understanding man with a real desire to open his home to anyone at„ any time of night, the Scotts quite often get • boys -- big oya — who need a strong yet compassionate man around the house. Mrs. Scott• recounted a story about a time;when she and her husband were telephoned by the CAS about a boy who was coming into care and would be -- spending a few days with the Scott family. "They told us this was an ° older child who had been in some difficulty," Mrs.' Scott recalled. "My husland•.said:.tfiat as .long .as 'the.boy. .wasn't .:any larger than him, he was welcome." "He was a wonderful boy, Mrs. Scott said. "That's why I like to take children as I find them without going by what I've heard about them." • The Scott children, too, play " a large role in the Scott receiving' "home. When ,a new• foster child comes into the home, it , sometimes means "doubling up" at the' Scott house, and of ' ,, course, it is the Scott children (and the foster children) who are doing the doubling. "But ft doesn't hurt them," stated Mrs. Scott. "They.learn to appreciate things more', I think." • Also evident during the conversation was the fact that foster parents are not always what one would term. "model. parents". As Mrs. Scottpointed ointed out; the Y have- their pToblems with the x,`own children, just the same as anyone else would hate. "There are more good times than bad times," smiled. Mrs. , Scott, "although it doesn't seem _ like• it whensthere is trouble, But when you look-back',a-there are more happy memories ,than"''- anything else." Neither Mrs. Scott or Mrs. Patterson has ever regretted getting involved with children's aid work. "You'll take more out of it than you'll ever put in," mused Mrs. Patterson. "I agree," said Mrs, Scott with a faraway look of contentment. • . � a ._,.. �: wi$ss tE7tC' ,.,of 39 ears f foster4�tieri fust r mthersmget together, the triple r aaysfoster- home care in HurokCounty. At right.isM�rs: tari iiirdmarsh children and the many varied and wonderful experiences they have had. Here Mrs. Grace Patterson (left) and Mrs. Dorothy of the Huron County ,Children's Aid' Society (staff •• photo) - ' 1 '11