A message from our Director of Services
2020/2021 was a challenging year, due primarily to the Covid-19 pandemic. As we moved into the year, we saw an immediate and significant impact on agencies’ capacity to provide support to families, especially in terms of school programs, day supports, and respite availability. That said, the YSSN developmental and children’s services teams, including case management and case coordination, system-level coordination, Passport, and Developmental Services Ontario maintained its services throughout the year. We relied on technology, including videoconferencing, to enable us to do this.
In reflecting on the year, there are many things for which we are grateful. The statistics on service provision that are provided in this report emphasize the reach that we maintained throughout the pandemic. We saw significant service improvements across our case management services, in wait times for the DSO, in the utilization of Passport funding, and in the creation of the UpHub website and corresponding Up Your Life resource booklet! And in March/April, we were able to support an intensive outreach effort in York Region to help people with disabilities and their caregivers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
And on a personal note, I joined YSSN in July 2020 – and have now experienced, personally, the reasons for the great reputation that our agency enjoys in our community and provincially. As we move into 2021/2022, we look forward to continuing our support to families – now, with a range of in-person and technology-based service options that will help us stay flexible for our community in the future.
~ Gary Whetung, Director of Services
Highlights
The DSO Central East Region team received very positive feedback from applicants and families, despite the impact of the pandemic. Over 99% of respondents to our feedback survey found their worker to be knowledgeable and professional, and were satisfied with their response times from the DSO. 99% of respondents were also generally satisfied with the service they received from our DSO, overall.
Our children’s services and DS Access teams continued their work with families, in partnership with agencies like Children’s Treatment Network, Catulpa Community Services, Kinark, and many others. We continued to offer – and expanded – the Foundational Family Services that are funded through the Ontario Autism Program as we see a newly-redesigned OAP begin to evolve in 2021 and 2022
YSSN offers a diversity of supports and services to our community, with each playing an important role in our “service system.” These functions include crisis response (for people at point of urgent need), service solutions (for individuals who require support for stabilization and long-term planning), family peer mentors (who can share their experiences with families who are navigating services), and housing navigation, which focuses on supporting unique and individually-driven approaches to planning for housing.
Our Passport team continued to provide support throughout the pandemic, and participated in significant technological improvements to the program during the Fall. These will further support the efficiencies envisioned for the program by both Passport agencies and the Ministry of Children’s, Community, and Social Services.
We are preparing to launch our Up Your Life/Up Hub! Products by late Fall 2021, including the Up Hub! Website, the Up Your Life resource booklet, several public flag-raising community events, and our continued engagement with a peer team that is co-designing how we can best serve our community with information.
“In accessing our Intensive Case Management Services, an individual had been diagnosed with an Anxiety Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) They often remained isolated and withdrawn due to their anxiety. Today, with the support of their worker, they are moving forward with their life, committed to their recovery, open-mindedness, and patience with both the process and themselves.” ~ YSSN Staff
Our impact
Through our case management, we served 3,175 people.
Our mental health case managers helped 1,180 people by teaching them new skills and goals to get them through their mental health challenges. Of those, 776 people served had a dual diagnosis/intensive, up 26% from last year. In total, we had 30,015 contacts/visits.
We served 1,995 people in developmental services, with 10,014 contacts/visits. Of those people, 1,109 were adults and 799 were children. 87 children and youth with complex social, emotional, developmental and/or physical service needs, had access to case coordination services.
“Our United Way Respite Fund helped a family access in-home respite after a parent recently had a heart attack. Her son had significant needs, and required one-to-one support. With United Way funds, the family was able to receive respite hours from a support worker so that his mother could get the rest she needed during recovery.”