Mary's Story
- Mary is a 67 year old woman who recently separated from her husband of 47 years who met another woman. Mary was unsure of herself and fearful of life without her husband. She had never paid bills nor had any responsibility for managing finances.
- Mary also had a history of childhood sexual abuse and had not yet recovered from the loss of her granddaughter in a fire. When Mary’s husband left, many of these past occurrences resurfaced and resulted in Mary being unable to function independently.
- She was referred to North House, received a rent subsidy and participated in WrapAround. After 8 months Mary was living independently with much success.
Clara's Story
- Clara is a young woman who recently moved from Toronto to her mother’s home. Clara, as a former prostitute and crack addict was convinced that her life would end if she didn’t get out of Toronto. She checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for several months until she felt confident enough to return to Toronto and a “normal life”.
- The pressures were too great however and she relapsed but was strong enough to know that she could not live in Toronto. Her mother suggested that she come and live with her.
- Clara was referred to North House by her counsellor and through the rent subsidy and WrapAround is now working full-time and clean of drugs and alcohol. She has left North House and moved onto another community and a better job. She is a confident, forward looking young woman in stark contrast to the frightened, unsure woman who moved into North House last spring.
A Client's Letter
I want to thank North House for everything they have done for my son and I. I learned about North House after having an accident and breaking my back. Someone from Operation Scugog told me about an organization that they thought could help me.
When I broke my back I had recently moved to Uxbridge and did not know very many people. Before my accident I was doing o-k, getting by, supporting my son and myself. After breaking my back, my life changed dramatically. I could no longer work and I was in constant pain. Being connected to North House became a lifeline.
Through North House I was able to start WrapAround and set some goals for myself and my son in order to get our lives back on track again. My goals were to find affordable housing, to make sure my son had a good summer, to heal and begin thinking about new work opportunities and to resolve some long-standing legal issues. WrapAround and my team members helped me see light at the end of a long tunnel.
My year with North House is coming to an end and I feel some stress about what lies ahead, however I now feel more connected to the community and feel supported by many people.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Brenda and Seth
Brenda’s Story:
Brenda and her four children were referred to North House by their family doctor. Brenda and her family had previously lived in
The family returned to their former community and tried to start over. The family was traumatized by what had happened and were having difficulty sorting through a maze of paper work. Without any source of income, adapting to their new reality was causing incredible stress both financially and psychologically.
North House supported the family in finding suitable accommodation and a housing subsidy. Their wraparound team, consisting of friends and a family services counsellor supported the family in reaching the goals that they had set for themselves.
The family worked incredibly hard to find jobs and pay their rent. The eldest daughter who had recently graduated from high school successfully entered a work study program in a field that she was interested in. The mom eventually got a good job, again in a field that she had some experience in and the three younger children adapted to life in their former community and reintegrated into their former schools.
One child, a teenage boy, had a lot of difficulty dealing with the disappearance of his father and continues with therapy to deal with this issue. As difficult as their experience was, the family remained optimistic that the future would be better for them. Their church also played a tremendous role in the re-introduction back into their community.
We continue to stay in touch with this family, checking in on a regular basis to see how things are going and to see if we can be of assistance in any way.
Lisa’s Story:
Lisa and her son Daniel were referred to North House by their family counsellor. Lisa had suffered with anxiety and paralyzing panic attacks since being a teenager and was now beginning to experience behavioural and academic problems with her 14 year old son.
North House quickly stabilized her housing situation through a move and a housing subsidy. Through wraparound, Lisa and Daniel set goals that they wanted to achieve over the following year. Their wraparound team consisted of their family services counsellor, an Ontario Works staff person and later a tutor that was secured for Daniel.
The family’s goals were:
1. To get Daniel on track at school and to ease his entry into high school and to help him find a part time job.
2. To assist Lisa in managing her anxiety and panic attacks and to get a job.
Meetings were convened by North House with the school and the family. Improved communication between the family, teachers, administrators, special educators, and Daniel’s tutor, resulted in a very successful year and a smooth transition to high school. Through Daniel’s tutor a part time summer job was secured and success at school and work resulted in increased self esteem and self confidence.
Lisa’s panic attacks continued to impede her ability to find and keep work. Her family counsellor, doctor and Ontario Works worker all felt that her level of anxiety constituted a disability and that she would be better off on disability benefits. Once these benefits were secured, Lisa began working on a business plan to develop her sewing hobby into some extra money. She is currently developing her business with the mentorship of a retired business man located through her disability worker.
As our work with this family winds up we continue to be in touch making sure that their progression forward continues and that they feel secure and comfortable reaching out to their wraparound team should any issues arise that they are not able to handle.