If I had to use one word to describe the way we work at Kinark, it would be partnerships. And that’s the way it should be when we are looking to find more effective ways to serve children and youth! Whether we are trying to support children and youth living in foster care or delivering parenting programs or trying to figure out how we coordinate services with other agencies, partnership is essential.
 
I like this about Kinark. I like that our staff and our managers and our senior leadership team work hard to team up with staff from other local agencies. I like that we sit on regional coalitions to create a coordinated approach to serving child and youth needs. I like that we seek out partnerships with academic institutions to make sure we are using their good research and playing our part in building the evidence for what works in child and youth mental health.
 
And I really like that partnerships are the cornerstone of our efforts to engage children, youth and families. I have spent the last two years seeking out people and organizations that are eager and experienced in working with parents and young people and all this connecting has resulted in what feels like a growing family!
 
The mothers and fathers that run Parents for Children’s Mental Health are partnering with us and together we are stronger in our search for improved services that support families in the mental health system.
 
The young people of The New Mentality are partnering with us to create unique and lasting chances for youth to express themselves, to be a significant voice in our agency and in their communities.
 
The staff at other community mental health agencies are partnering with us to help parents create more robust Parent Support Groups.
 
And then there are our friends at CMHO, Autism Ontario, the Child Advocate Office, the Centre of Excellence on Child and Youth Mental Health, mindyourmind, Workman Arts…the list goes on and on. All of us joining together to draw on each other’s expertise, improve programs and services and create opportunities for parents and youth to truly be involved and bring progressive change to the way we serve children and youth.
 
Kinark is all about partnerships for kids!