Victim Services Wellington

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced today that Ontario will receive $176 million for mental health & addictions services. This comes at very crucial time as COVID-19 may have people feeling anxious and afraid while they deal with the effects of this pandemic. This situation is stressful for everyone especially people living with mental illness and addictions who are finding it difficult to cope during these unprecedented times. According to the article from Guelph Today, the...se are some of the areas in which the grant will be dispersed: Community-based services in English and French, including services for children and youth; Mental health and justice services; Supportive housing for individuals with serious mental health and addiction challenges, and who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless; Community and residential addictions, including treatment and care for opioid addictions; Increased supports for Indigenous peoples, families, and communities; and More hospital in-patient beds for mental health and addiction patients. https://www.guelphtoday.com//live-ford-joined-by-associate If you are struggling with your mental health during this pandemic and need help there are resources set in place to assist you: https://www.camh.ca//health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19. #YouAreNotAlone #TalkAboutIt #EndTheStigma #Ontario #MentalHealth #Addiction #Services #VictimServices #Guelph #Wellington #Community #Support #HereToHelp #StaySafe #StayHealthy #PandemicAnxiety

October is recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Keeping the most vulnerable members of our community safe and well-cared for is a responsibility we all share. If you have any reason to believe that a child or youth is in need of protection, or is at risk of harm, use your voice to speak up for them and contact your local police service right away. Child abuse can take place in many different forms such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and even neglect.... Sometimes it can be difficult to know and identify the different signs of abuse. During COVID-19 child exploitation has dramatically increased as well. As a community we need to come together to learn the various signs of abuse and to speak up when we do. This is a link to Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies as they have created an informative guide to identifying signs of abuse and neglect. http://www.oacas.org/childrens-aid-child-pro/what-is-abuse/. All members of society, including representatives of the public and specialists who work closely with children, are required by law to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. If you have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is or may need protection, you must report it to a children's aid society. For more information visit the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services website, http://www.children.gov.on.ca//c/reportingabuse/index.aspx. #ChildAbusePreventionMonth #October #SpeakUp #Emotional #Physicl #Sexual #Abuse #Neglet #KnowTheSigns #Vulnerable #VictimServices #Guelph #Wellington #Community #Support #HereToHelp #StaySafe #StayHealthy

October 4th until the 10th is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Week. As a society we should use this time to reflect on our own mental health and check in on those who may be struggling with mental illness. The reason we identify the second week of October as Mental Health Awareness week, is to build recognition for those who are suffering and to create an understanding of all the different forms of mental illness. You may be wondering how common is mental illness among... Canadians? According to the Canadian Mental Health Association website: By age 40, about 50% of the population will have or have had a mental illness. Schizophrenia affects 1% of the Canadian population. Anxiety disorders affect 5% of the household population, causing mild to severe impairment. Suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds and 16% among 25-44 year olds. The mortality rate due to suicide among men is four times the rate among women At VSW we receive calls from victims affected by suicide and other instances related to mental health. If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental illness, we urge you to seek help. It is okay to ask for help, it is okay to talk about it, you are not alone! For more information on mental health and support options: https://cmha.ca/document-category/mental-health https://cmhaww.ca/programs-services/ https://www.wwhealthline.ca/listservices.aspx?id=10237 https://www.ementalhealth.ca/Wellingt/Depression/index.php https://here247.ca/types-programs-s/mental-health-services/ https://homewoodhealth.com//emergency-mental-health-service #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #YouAreNotAlone #TalkAboutIt #InvestInYourHealth #Canada #VictimServices #Guelph #Wellington #Community #Support #HereToHelp #LoveEachother #StayHealthy #StaySafe

Today, Wednesday September 30th, 2020, is recognized as Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day is a day used to commemorate the residential school experience, while also witnessing and honouring the healing journey of the survivors and their families. Here are some facts about Canadian residential schools: 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families. ... 90 to 100% suffered severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. There was a 40 60% mortality rate in Indian residential schools. Residential schools date back to the 1870s. Over 130 residential schools were located across Canada, and the last school closed as recently as 1996. Residential schools were government-sponsored religious institutions that were established to integrate Indigenous children into European/Canadian culture. Residential schools were created by Christian churches and the Canadian government as an effort to both educate and persuade Indigenous youth to assimilate into Canadian society. If you would like to learn more about Orange Shirt Day or the history of residential schools in Canada, we encourage you to visit these informative websites: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/ https://reconciliationcanada.ca/ https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca//residential-schools If you or someone you know is a victim of abuse we urge you contact Victim Services Wellington either through email, [email protected] or telephone (519) 824-1212 Ext. 7304. #OrangeShirtDay #EveryChildMatters #Reconciliation #Canada #VictimServices #Guelph #Wellington #Abuse #HereToHelp #Community #Support #StaySafeStayHeathly

The Guelph Public Library, in collaboration with Legal Aid Ontario and the John-Howard Society of Waterloo-Wellington are assisting those who need to attend court virtually but don’t have a way of doing so. The Guelph Public Library is helping those without smart technology, by lending them tablets to use so they can attend their court date. How it works: Tablets can be accessed only at the main Library at 100 Norfolk Street.... You must have your mask over both your nose and mouth and use hand sanitizer when entering the building. Find a library staff member and ask for a court tablet. You are not required to have a Guelph Public Library card; however, you will be required to provide some form of collateral, such as identification, to borrow the court tablet. If at anytime you require assistance, Library staff will be able to help with the issue. When your court appearance is over, you will return the court tablet to library staff in exchange for your collateral If you have anymore questions or concerns please visit the provided link: https://www.guelphpl.ca/Modules/News/index.aspx. #VirtualCourt #GuelphPublicLibrary #LegalAidOntario #JohnHowardSociety #Community #Support #HeretoHelp #VicitimServices #Guelph #Wellington #COVID19

Victim Services Wellington and Lakehead University have partnered on a research project exploring the opinions that survivors of sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence have about police use of body-worn cameras. If you’re interested in learning more about this project, and potentially participating, you can follow this link http://bit.ly/victim_BWC to complete the survey online. The survey will focus on your opinions of police use of body-worn cameras to promote the... development of victim-sensitive policy. To participate, you must self-identify as a woman, a survivor of sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence, a resident of Ontario, and be 18 years or older. You do NOT need to have had contact with a police officer related to your victimization to participate. Participants can choose to remain completely anonymous. Participation will involve completing a survey that is expected to take about 20 minutes. Participants will have the opportunity to win one of ten $50 pre-paid Visa cards (a draw for these gift cards will be held on Dec 31, 2020. If you have any questions you can contact the lead researcher, Dr. Alana Saulnier from Lakehead University via email, [email protected] or you can email VSW at [email protected]. All contacts will be completely confidential. #Survey #YourOpinion #Matters #SpeakUp #WeNeedYou #Community #Support #VictimServices #Guelph #Wellington #Lakehead #University #BetterTogether #Research #Project #BodyWornCameras #Trust #Service #Prizes #MovingForwardTogether