I'm back JA Nursing in Toronto Streets August 22 2014
Growing up in Rexdale other wise known as Etobicoke has been quite the journey, stemming from being a graduate of one of it's well known high schools West Humber Collegiate located on Martingrove Rd.
One of the many journeys that I faced was being pregnant at the of age 17 that was 1994. Seems like many moons ago. No groups, no community centers and not many resources for the place we called home "Rexdale". Let's flash forward to August 22 2014 I was able to give back to my community by attending a much needed and appreciated Back to School Health Fair. It was brought to us by what I would consider a gem of a organization for our community and it's diverse residences.
As the founder of Ja Nursing my organizations strives to partner with other organizations to give the community at large an overall advantage of having advocacy at it's best.
Partnering that day with The SickleCell Association of Ontario, we were able to give valuable lessons and health tips to the community about SickleCell and other health issues.
So many children having fun it was a great day.
Organized by Rexdale CHC which provides a range of medical, dental, physical and mental health services and community programs to individuals and families in north Etobicoke. There services and programs are free, and are available to everyone, including individuals who do not have health coverage.
That point and accessibility is awesome. Our community has come a long way. I am still an existing resident of Rexdale I'm glad that such organizations exist.
You can find them
Monday to Friday - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday - 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
With the following locations
Rexdale Community Health Centre is located at 8 Taber Road.
They also also offer select programs and services at these following locations:
Rexdale Community Health Centre Satellite
2267 Islington Avenue, Unit 14
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Jamestown Hub, 21 Panorama Court, Unit 3
Monday - 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday to Friday – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Burnamthorpe 427 Community Centre, 609 The East Mall, Unit 32
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Pathways to Education
Kipling Plaza, 2141 Kipling Avenue, Unit #206
Monday to Friday - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The services are available in multiplelanguages. For more information about
call 416-744-0066 or email info@rexdalechc.com.
What did this day really entail
They had other organizations their let me share with you.
The Children's Aid Society was there offering information regarding abuse and supports? I put a question mark because it's been a known fact that a community that is generally considered marginalized tend to have more interactions with The Children's Aids Society; thankfully as a social advocate my organization is able to advocate for families who can't do it for themselves.
A Speech language program provided by the city of Toronto giving supports to parents and children who have delayed speech. I spoke to the representative and offered my opinions on the fact that I'm aware that their is a lengthy wait list for this program; but the solution to this is by having our Doctors and parents more in tune with the developmental milestones that children between ages 0-5 years should fall into by doing this parents will be able to truly utilize the services. As we get back to school my advice will be to recognize challenges early In children In order to help get better out comes.
Toronto Preschool Speech and Language Services (TPSLS) is a strong network of community partners providing three community-based programs:
1)Preschool Speech and Language Program
2)Infant Hearing Program
3)Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention
The three programs are funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and Toronto Public Health, the lead agency for TPSLS. Services are free and also available in French to qualifying infants, toddlers, preschool children and their families living in the City of Toronto experiencing challenges with communication development, hearing loss, and visual impairment.
Toronto Preschool Speech and Language Services
Toronto Public Health
416-338-8255 (voice)
416-338-0025 (TTY)
tpsls@toronto.ca
Monday – Friday
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The city of Toronto dental program was there, giving information on how to attain and maintain dental care for the family. You can get that information by dialing 311 or looking it up online.
Another organization that was present was Pathways to Education. Did you know that In October 2005, Toronto City Council designated Rexdale (Jamestown) as one of 13 priority neighbourhoods, requiring infrastructure investment and improvement of community services.
As such, in August 2007 the Rexdale (Jamestown) Pathways to Education Program was launched across more than 30 different high schools. The Rexdale Pathways program is offered through an alliance between United Way of Greater Toronto and Pathways Canada.
Of course it has been noted that certain areas maintain to have challenges with respect to having our children graduate and succeed. The challenges are real for many and this program helps youths see a future with education.
If you know a youth that my be having difficulty I suggest sharing this program with them, or ask your school if they have programs that work to the benefit of the student. Let's ends Labeling and encourage social advancement amongs our youths.
As a advocate my goal is to offer and share resources in our community for our community. It's great to be able to see the many changes that has taken place in my City Rexdale.
This has been your dose of JA Nursing in Toronto Streets stay connected for help navigating what you have read please call Michelle Smith
