Jane Street Hub

seniors case management newcomer support.

Images retrieved from www.janestreethub.ca
Jane Street Hub www.unisonhcs.org

COSTI provides Employment Resource Centre, a variety of employment services counseling settlement post settlement services for newcomers, students, youth and people with disabilities.

Helping Mothers Move Forward The Single Mother

Macaulay Child Development Centre runs an Early Years Centre to provide children 0-6 and their parents (or caregivers) with parent-child and parent education programs. Midaynta Community Services provides settlement services family support for newcomers, especially for the Somali community.

North York Community House (NYCH) provides a range of womens programming with child minding in several languages. Yorktown Child and Family Centre offer Counselling youth programs parenting programs

Jane-Trethewey 1541 Jane Street Toronto, ON M9N 2R3

www.janestreethub.ca

Tel: 416-645-7575

Helping Single-Mothers shape positive maleattitudes in their childs perception.

One of the primary concerns in single -mother parenthood is answering a childs questions about his absent father. 1. Say something good about the father for your child to hold onto. This can provide the child with a sense of connectivity to his father and understand he is loved. It can be valuable for a mother to share with young children something good about the relationship. 2. Say nothing bad about him. This will determine the childs outlook on his parents relationship. 3.But do not lie about him ---- or for him. Children deserve truth as opposed to lying as it helps them grow with positive attitudes. This will strengthen the trust between the mother and child in later years to come. 4. Acknowledge his absence and the childs feelings. It is important that the mother validate the childs feelings. Trying to cover for the absent father is likely to backfire: as in Im sure your father would be here if he could. The mother can simply say, I know its hard to not have your daddy in your life, and its okay that you get sad and mad sometimes. 5. Say you dont know why hes absent. When a child asks why the father is not involved, it is best for the mother to not try to offer an explanation that could be proven false by the father, leaving the children confused and unable to trust his parents. 6. Emphasize that the absence is not the childs fault. The mother must explain that, when a parent

leaves it is not because of what a child has done, and that in fact the child is wonderful and lovable in all aspects and will never be alone. 7. If the father is minimally or inconsistently involved: Be supportive of his involvement and help the child look forward to it rather than comment on the infrequency or inconsistency. It is a big mistake to punish the inconsistent father by ending his contact with the children.

Friends and Family

1. Have good men active in your life who are not romantic partners. Men who are responsible and will actively be involved with the mother and her children. 2. It is important to have boys involved with men they can emulate, particularly if their father is not in their lives. 3. Give children the message we are valued by men. it is possible, through deep relationships with men in family and community, to let children know that there are men in this world who cherish them and their family. This may be the ultimate male-positive message that mothers can give their children.

Mothers Relationships with other Men

Children learn not just from what mothers say but from what they do, and in particular, how they form and manage relationships with men. We distinguish between men who are romantic partners and those who are family members and friends. 1. Look for opportunities to be positive about other men. 2. Talk about the qualities of good men in general and particularly. 3. Avoid general put downs of men. 4. Actively contradict negative stereotypes. 5. Choose men who respect and care for you and your children. 6. Choose men willing to share you with the children, who can love women and children at the same time. 7.Tell the children the good reasons why you chose this man.

Jane Street Hub

Jane Street Hub brings together six organizations to offer community services and health care to residents of the area by providing space for community groups to use, including a kitchen and meeting rooms. The agencies with permanent space at the hub offer the following services: Unison Health and Community Services provide: health care preventative health services counselling