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Working Together for Children in their Community
When it comes to mental health services, Denis Boyle and Donna Earl believe children in military families shouldn’t have to wait.
Yet recently, many Ontario military families were waiting quite a while to receive support due to government uncertainty over jurisdiction. In March 2007, the Globe and Mail published “Feud leaves soldiers’ children waiting for care”, an article which explained the dilemma as follows: the Ontario provincial government said that children with mental health issues arising from a parent’s deployment were a federal responsibility because they were a consequence of federal initiatives; the Department of National Defence maintained that all mental health care was a provincial responsibility.
The result? Ontario military families were left with few options and long waiting periods for mental health services. After reading the article, Keystone Child, Youth and Family Services Executive Director Denis Boyle decided it was time to take action in his community.
“Keystone approached us, and said ‘something has to be done,’” says Donna Earl, Executive Director at the Meaford Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC). “We’d always partnered with them informally, but it was then that we decided to make our partnership official.”
Together, Keystone and the Meaford MFRC applied for various emergency funding grants from Ontario Children and Youth Services. In October 2008 they received funding to start an 18 month military children’s mental health pilot program.
“We now work with about 20-30 families with kids who need help,” says Donna. “We have a geographically mobile team that can go to the families, or families can come to them at Keystone or at the MFRC. They work with groups or one-on-one; it’s great that it’s so well-rounded.”
The effect on the community has been immediate and tangible. “I was talking to one family who’d had mental health issues with a child when they first arrived here. They were told it could be a six year wait for services,” Donna says. “When they got into this program, they couldn’t believe they got services right away that were tailored to their needs.”
The Meaford MFRC works with Keystone to refer families to the program and to raise awareness in the community. Donna has connected with local schools so that teachers know they can refer military families to the program for support. “Teachers see the kids every day, so we really think the school is the entry point for providing these kinds of services,” she says.
The Meaford MFRC also provides support for families once they have finished the Keystone program. By using the Meaford MFRC’s services and participating in activities, families have access to continued sense of community and a network of people who understand the challenges that can accompany the unique military lifestyle.
Director Military Family Services (DMFS) supports this successful partnership, and will be examining the program’s effect on mental health services in the Meaford community as one of our pilot projects. To learn more about the various Mental Health and Social Support pilots projects DMFS is currently working on, click here.
