Children
The Mental Health Commission of Canada reports that fully 70% of mental health issues in adulthood have their onset in childhood and early adolescence and that 20% of Canadians suffer from a mental illness. This translates to 1 in 7 children needing our help now. The symptoms for these children are not physically visible, they manifest in behaviour and become apparent more slowly. Difficulties getting along with peers, adults, teachers, poor performance in school, difficulties with emotional self-regulation are often exacerbated by reduced opportunities due to family financial and spousal relationship pressures. These children are most at risk as they grow to adulthood and benefit from our services. Helping them today has positive benefits that will last a lifetime. This is the reason The Children’s Foundation carries on its work.
Families
Families are at the core of what we do. We work with families, assessing their needs and bringing hope and help to them. We work with them individually and in groups to teach, coach and support them so that they can be the very best resource for their child’s development. We help to create strong and resilient environments in the home for the benefit of the entire family.
COMMUNITIES
Communities are safer and have a higher quality of life for its citizens when children receive the support they need for their development early in life. Left unattended, these children’s issues become greater and more costly to our communities and neighbourhoods. In fact, the World Health Organization has published that for every dollar spent on helping young children seventeen dollars are saved on services for these same children in adulthood. In addition to the economic benefits, our homes and streets are safer and the quality of life in our communities increases.