What's New

Through the generosity of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Family Service Windsor-Essex County has been awarded a grant to research a best practice model of support to children and parents of divorce.

Each year in Canada, more than half of the families are changed through divorce. When divorce strikes a family, both the parents and children usually suffer severe trauma. Windsor-Essex currently has a major gap in services providing support to children of divorce that also incorporates a parent psycho-educational model.

At any age, a child may not understand why parents separate and divorce. They experience a variety of emotions ranging from confusion, guilt, and abandonment to loneliness and uncertainty. A child may also feel responsible, and be unsure of the future.

For parents undergoing marriage breakdown, divorce can be one of the most stressful life events a person can experience, whether it is the person who has sought the divorce or the person who was unprepared for divorce. For some, divorce may feel like a liberating new beginning. For most, it is not so straightforward, bringing numerous difficult emotions connected to the same grieving process one experiences when a loved one dies: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Identities change and new responsibilities and challenges emerge. The more sudden and unexpected the announcement, the more stressful the initial emotion reaction.

Parents who are divorcing have much to consider. Research has shown that the ongoing health and mental well-being of the children of divorce often depends on whether or not their parents are able to work together following the end of their marriage.

There are many models of such support for children of divorce and their parents in Canada and the United States.

This proposal will research current programs across Canada and the United States in order to determine a comprehensive best practice model incorporating the diverse nature of the community.

This research will ultimately culminate into a future funding application for a "Children of Divorce" program with the primary focus being to offer service to the children with a secondary aim of supporting parents in successful co-parenting.

OUR FUNDRAISERS

Family Service Windsor - Essex County Foundation has embarked on a fundraising project.

Check our websites at:

www.windsoronboard.org

www.essexcountyonboard.org

To Our Valued Friends & Colleagues:

It has been our privilege to provide quality counselling services to this community since 1950.

We have always been very proud of our ability to be very flexible in how we offer those services, especially never turning anyone away based on inability to pay. When people come for counselling it is a deeply personal matter and we work hard at making that process as simple as possible.

We have been able to do that in part, because of partial financial support for our counselling service from United Way. In fact, we were one of the first 10 United Way member agencies in 1950 in Windsor Essex. The association with United Way was a very longstanding one which helped us serve the community. However, United Way has developed some new priorities and established a different funding model. They have chosen to allocate their counselling dollars to a different organization based on those parameters.

Unfortunately, the lack of those dollars effective April 1, 2008 does mean some changes here at Family Service. It does not change our commitment to the people of Windsor and Essex County, nor does it change our commitment to provide quality services. What it does change is our ability to continue to be as flexible as previously when it comes to fees.

Many people may not be affected where there is eligibility for other subsidies or coverage under a workplace benefit package. Where that is not the case there will continue to be a sliding fee scale. Our aim is still to be as flexible as possible. It is just that what was previously possible is now severely compromised by a reduction of $180,000 in annual funding from United Way. We truly wish it were otherwise.

If you have been a supporter of our service in the past or if you would like to become one, donations can be directed to Family Service Windsor-Essex County Foundation at:

235 Eugenie W. – Suite 105A, Windsor, Ontario N8X 2X7. (registered charitable organization).

We look forward to continuing to serve the community in partnership with all of you.

Sincerely,

Ruth Orton-Pert, President

Board of Directors

Family Service Windsor-Essex County

Family Service Windsor-

Essex County

Experience – Accreditation – History

Counselling Services responsive to a changing community

including the areas of aging, diversity, resettlement and unemployment.

NOW OPEN IN LAKESHORE!

Family Service Windsor - Essex County now has a fourth satellite office to better serve our Essex County clients. In addition to our offices in Essex, Leamington and Amherstburg, we are now open on Mondays at 571-B Notre Dame. Please call the main office at 519-256-1831 to schedule an appointment.