In collaboration with Parents for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH), two (2) lead Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH) agencies from Northern Ontario will be sharing how they worked to create a Parent Peer Support Program (The Program) in their rural northern communities leveraging technology and existing resources. They will explore their different approaches, successes, challenges, and journey with supporting and integrating PCMH chapters within their agencies. They will share how this peer support program creates a community of support for families while engaging with local CYMH agencies and how building partnerships between families and CYMH agencies will build and strengthen local communities. They will provide an opportunity for audience members to collaboratively brainstorm how they can integrate Parent Peer Support Program ideas and successes within their own context.
Learning Objectives
- Learning different strategies to start parent peer support programs in their own communities.
- How to collaborate with other agencies to create parent peer support programs.
- Helping to build community strength and resilience.
Presenters:
Denise Almeida (Hands TheFamilyHelpNetwork)
Denise is a Social Worker at Hands TheFamilyHelpNetwork.ca and assists clients and their families with complex mental health needs to sustain service navigation, case coordination, and advocacy. Before this, Denise worked at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto for 10 years as an investigator. She has her Bachelors of Structural Social Work from Carleton University. Denise enjoys yoga, paddleboarding, and anything outdoors when she isn’t reading or travelling.
Zoe Campbell (FIREFLY)
Zoé works as a clinical manager within the Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH) team at FIREFLY. She has a Master of Health Science in Occupational Therapy and a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Program Evaluation. Before moving into leadership, Zoé worked as a CYMH clinician and participated in initial work around Family Engagement within her agency. Zoé’s favourite aspect of working in child and youth mental health is having the ability to innovate and think creatively in order to meet child, youth, and family needs. Outside of work, Zoé enjoys travelling, reading, yoga, and gardening.
Vicki Cochrane (Parents for Children’s Mental Health)
Vicki Cochrane is the Family Partnership Program Manager for Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO), managing the provincial peer support program, Parents for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH). She is also a parent with lived expertise, having raised two boys with exceptions who required constant advocacy and support, and is an original member of the Family Advisory Council for the Knowledge Institute for Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions. Vicki also has over 20 years of experience in child welfare as a Child and Youth Worker, supporting vulnerable families while advocating for their needs and educating them about navigating systems.
RoxAnne Daignault (FIREFLY)
RoxAnne is the parent of one child who has struggled with mental illness for 17 years and now an independent adult successfully living on their own. RoxAnne spent much of her time attending support groups, workshops, and courses related to mental health. She has spoken at events about her experiences, notably the Vancouver Mental Health Conference 2013, and the Two Eyed Seeing Conference in 2023. RoxAnne shares her expertise creating an environment of peer support through PCMH, so that others can find a sense of belonging and experience the same sense of community that she found when it mattered most.
