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Aunt Leah's works with teen boys and girls in the Support Link Program, as well as with moms and their new babies in the Thresholds Residential Program. Our Pre-Employment Training Programs are not only open to the youth and moms in our residential programs, but are also available to all youth from the lower mainland, and some adults with barriers to finding employment. If you would like to learn more about the youth and families we serve, please read the profiles we have posted. (Some names have been changed to protect privacy.) For more information on these programs, please go to our Programs Page.
Support Link Program
Thresholds Residential Program
Training Programs
Dennis ~ A young man’s journey through Aunt Leah’s Support Link Program
The Support Link Program is designed to provide lifeskills to youth who are preparing for independent living. Support Link program offers basement suites to youth that are 15 - 18 years of age who are presently in the care of the Ministry for Child and Family Development, and who are preparing to make the transition to independent living.
Dennis was born in 1985. His mom has addiction issues. He was exposed in utero to various drugs including heroin, cocaine and alcohol. When Dennis was born, the umbilical cord was twisted around his neck and he was blue and deprived of oxygen.
He was born with severly impaired hearing in his right ear. Dennis is also flatfooted and requires orthotics to enable him to walk.
As a toddler, Dennis was subject to physical and mental abuse.
Dennis’s mom was not able to care for him and his dad did not attempt any involvement in his life. Dennis’s Aunt took care of him and his younger sister.
When Dennis was 5 years old, his Aunt decided she could no longer provide the kind of care he needed because he had many barriers. He was taken into care by the Ministry for Child and Family Development.
Over the next 10 years, Dennis lived in approximately 30 foster homes.
Dennis has FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), and ADD (Attention Defecit Disorder).
In 2001, at the age of 16, Dennis was also diagnosed with Separation Anxiety Disorder, Mild Mental Retardation and Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder. Dennis is also functionally illiterate. He has been assessed at a grade 2 level.
When Dennis was 15, his Aunt tried once again to care for him but after two years, she again reached out for help as she did not know how to help Dennis in light of his barriers.
In June 2003, Dennis’s Social Worker at MCFD decided to allow Dennis to try Aunt Leah’s Support Link Program to help him with the transition of going on to independent living. At this time, Dennis was 17 years old. There was a lot of doubt on behalf of the many professtionals who had worked with him over the years that he would succeed in this program.
Dennis did really well in our program. He does not understand written direction but takes verbal direction very well. He attended the ILFFY Workshops (Independent Living For Families and Youth) and with a little support he was able to learn how to budget his money, plan a variety of meals, shop and cook and was a good tenant and neighbour.
He also attended Aunt Leah’s Restaurant Training Program and received his Food Safe and Super Host Certificates.
Dennis has celebrated two birthdays at Aunt Leah’s and attended two camping trips. He got along well with the other youth and demonstrated leadership skills.
In August 2004, Dennis turned 19 and therefore was no longer in care of the MCFD.
It was time to put everything he had learned in the Support Link Program to the test. He found himself a place to live that was within his budget – a shared apartment with his older sister.
He was off to a good start. Unfortunately, this lasted only a few months as his sister took financial advantage of him. He then moved in with friends for a few more months. He was again taken advantage of and he reached out to Aunt Leah’s for help. We were able to help him with contacting the police in order to get some of his belongings returned. There were many things they were not able to recover for him, including money lost in this situation.
Living alone seemed like the only alternative for Dennis as he could not trust room-mates. However, living alone is a lot more expensive. Aunt Leah’s was able to help Dennis find his own basement suite. His new landlord is a contact in the Aunt Leah’s community. She is a long time supporter and donor. Her suite had been previously used as a Support Link suite. She is very understanding and supportive of Dennis’s situation. He has successfully lived in this suite for a year and a half and is a good tenant and a good neighbour.
Besides his low IQ and developmental disablilities, one of Dennis’s greatest obstacles to living independently is his literacy issues. He is embarassed to admit this problem and often it is assumed he can read. He guesses at words and finds creative ways to get around this barrier but isn’t always successful. This really limits the kind of work he can do.
With a little help and encouragement, Dennis applied for and now is receiving disability assistance. He manages his income and is responsible for his rent, utilties, food and all other expenses.
Dennis wants to work and wants to be involved with community. Through Aunt Leah’s, he has found several work and volunteer opportunities. He has assisted our Maintenance Manager with gardening, worked with the coordinator of our Christmas Tree Lots painting signs and doing set-up and clean-up, he has volunteered at the Tree Lots, and he has helped to prepare food for the Community Meals we provide in partnership with churches.
Dennis’s brother passed away from cancer in February 2004. Dennis still has an older sister and a younger sister. Although his mother’s health is not good and she continues to struggle with addictions, he has rekindled a relationship with her. His father continues to have no contact with him. Dennis has reached out to his father and he feels that he embarrassed his father and that is why he was beaten as a child and now is being rejected as an adult.
He tries hard to please people and longs for acceptance. Dennis has expressed to us that we are more of a family to him than he has ever had before and he would do anything to help Aunt Leah’s. He really values his connection with our staff and is appreciative of the support he has received from us. Many of us at Aunt Leah’s have a strong bond with Dennis.
Dennis continues to stay connected with Aunt Leah’s. We have attempted to give him the safety to learn and grow and he has proven himself to be a wonderful young man with a generous heart who can succeed.
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Cheylynne
"Generous and understanding people make Support Link a success"
 Cheylynne
with the Project Goal collage she created that expresses her passion for music
and her goal to perform one day.
"The
thing I remember most about Support Link
is how generous
and understanding
the
people were.""Enjoy
the time that you have here - the time flies by - lay back and enjoy the experience
and deal with the pressures later," Cheylynne Snow says of her time in Support
Link. "I'm glad I never took my time here for granted."
Cheylynne
was a resident in the Support Link program for eight months beginning in November,
2003. She moved out a month before her 19th birthday and she is now living
independently and working at the Real Canadian Superstore.
Support Link is a residential
semi-independent living program for
children under 19 in care of the government. They are young people on the
verge of independence who are ready to live on their own in a supported environment.
The youth are paired up with a Support Worker as well as an understanding
landlord who lives upstairs. The Support Worker provides one-on-one assistance
with lifeskills such as grocery shopping, recreation, obtaining identification
and other skills necessary for independence.
"The
thing I remember most about Support Link is how generous and understanding
the people were," she says. "I miss my suite very much - having my own space
and the landlord was so sweet. I was really sad to move out of the program."
Cheylynne was paired with our Support Worker, Natasha Twersky. "She helped
me find a job and do my resume, which was wonderful and I am still using it,"
Cheylynne says. "She helped me find an apartment when I moved out."
When
Cheylynne was in Support Link she participated in ILFFY, our workshop series,
Independent Living for Families and Youth. "The workbook on jobs and resumes
was useful," she says. "The people from the bank came and taught us about
credit and now I am able to put $5 into a savings account every month." Also
in an ILFFY workshop Cheylynne created a Project Goal collage that expresses
her passion for music and her goal to perform one day.
Cheylynne's
best memory from Support Link is her trip to Manning Park. "Natasha and I
made a videotape and Sarah and I were the last skiers off the mountain," she
says. "I tried my first black diamond run - I still have the picture and it
is framed." Cheylynne also participated in our Tree Lot training program.
"I wanted to do it again this year," she says. "I met new people and had a
blast. We had a competition to see who could sell the most trees and we (Cheylynne
and another youth) got a bonus for our personality and sales skills. If I
have time I will definitely volunteer at the tree lot next year - I loved
it."
"Natasha
still visits me at work, or calls and invites me to outings with Support Link,"
Cheylynne says. "I went to see the Vancouver Giants hockey game and we're
going bowling on May 3 to celebrate youth week." Cheylynne is well on her
way to a successful independent life. Her ongoing relationship with the staff
at Support Link is one example of the caring nature of the service provided
at Aunt Leah's.
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On His Way To A Positive Future
 "It
didn't really
sink in until about
a year after I left
Aunt Leah's that
what they were
giving me were
tools that I didn't
even realize
I needed."Shawn Humchitt is a young
man on his way to a positive future. Shawn was an Aunt Leah's youth as a participant
in the Support Link Program and the Restaurant Training program. Like many
young people in government care, Shawn had many personal issues and struggles
to overcome. "I thought I deserved nothing," he says. When he realized that
he deserved better, his whole life changed.
He is now working for
the Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society, in the TeePee Construction Project
and as the leader of a youth basketball program. The youth were working on
a 30ft tall teepee on the day that Brian and I visited the Centre. This teepee
can hold 100 people and can accommodate a fire in the middle. Aboriginal youth
under the umbrella of the Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society do the sewing,
cutting, styling, designing and painting of the teepees.
When Shawn was living
in a Support Link suite, Brian Wandler was his support worker. Brian and I
recently visited Shawn at the Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society. He remembered
that "Aunt Leah's helped me even though I didn't ask for help. It didn't really
sink in until about a year after I left Aunt Leah's that what they were giving
me were tools that I didn't even realize I needed." "The budgeting skills
have made me keep money for emergency needs," Shawn said. "My brother recently
needed $200 to repair his car, and I was able to help him out with that."
"The only thing I had
for community in the past was Aunt Leah's," he says. "They actually showed
me how to socialize with other people." He remembers that the structure of
Support Link was helpful to him. Shawn remembers working with the chef in
the Restaurant Training program and trying out making the willow furniture.
He is currently planning
to attend the Employment and Educational Access for Aboriginal People (EEAA)
at Kwantlen University College. This is a full-time, 16-week program designed
to provide Aboriginal women and men with an opportunity to identify values,
resources, and personal objectives in order to establish realistic short-
and long-term educational and/or employment goals. Students learn to negotiate
cultural value systems and develop the employability skills necessary for
long-term success in the workplace and/or post-secondary education.
Shawn's goal is to become
a youth worker who supports young people who have been foster children after
their nineteenth birthdays. "I really enjoyed working with Shawn," says Brian
Wandler. "I am glad to see that he has done a lot of self discovery, that
he has a nice sense of himself and that he is committed to helping others."
Written
by Tracy Sherlock
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Carlie ~ A young woman’s journey through Aunt Leah’s Thresholds Program
The Thresholds Residential Program is a supportive housing and lifeskills program for moms who are working on establishing a positive community for themselves and their young child.
We first met Carlie when she was 23 and needing help to be able to have custody of her 4 month old daughter, Amanda. Amanda was taken into government care primarily because there were some concerns about her safety with her father. Carlie also had to suffer the consequences of this and prove that she could be a good mother. Not only was Carlie a young and unprepared mother, but she was also in an unstable relationship and she had some drug and alcohol issues.
Carlie entered the first stage of Aunt Leah’s Thresholds Program in November 2005. She lived in the Thresholds Residence with 2 other moms and had regular staff support.
When Carlie started with Thresholds she was only able to have visits with her daughter twice a week. Shortly after her visits increased to three days a week.
Carlie enrolled in a parenting program and by January 2006 she had earned the right to visit with her daughter 5 days a week.
Carlie was required to regularly submit to drug and alcohol testing with hair samples.
Carlie was committed to doing everything she could to get her baby back. By February 2006 she was able to have unsupervised visits with her daughter.
In April, Carlie was allowed to have her first overnight visit with Amanda. Things were going very well for Carlie and Amanda and she was able to have more overnight visits throughout the month of April.
Finally, in May, Carlie was able to care for her daughter full-time. Amanda was now 10 months old.
Carlie and Amanda moved into the second stage of the Thresholds Program into their own semi-independent furnished basement suite. Regular staff support continued and upstairs from her suite lived and Aunt Leah’s Overseer who was there for emergency support.
Carlie did weekly Baby-Safe drills to ensure that Amanda was protected from any potential hazards.
In addition to the parenting skills she was learning, the Thresholds Program also enabled Carlie to do some nice things for herself. She joined us on one of the Program’s more luxurious outings to a spa where she was treated to a manicure, pedicure and a facial.
Kids Up Front has partnered with Aunt Leah’s to provide tickets to a variety of events. Thanks to this partnership Carlie was able to attend a Vancouver Canucks hockey game, a BC Lions game, a performance of Cirque du Soleil, and an Aladdin play.
The staff, moms and babies in Thresholds also joined together to celebrate Carlie and Amanda’s birthdays, Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day.
In the time she has been with Aunt Leah’s, Carlie has worked very hard, has gained confidence in herself as a woman and mother, and has experienced significant growth.
Carlie was willing to listen to advice and receive constructive criticism while in the program, she has learned to set clear boundaries with others, and she has also been clean for over a year. She takes great pride in these accomplishments.
Carlie bonded extremely well with her daughter and does an excellent job taking care of her. Her daughter is thriving in her care and has grown from a child that was shy and leery of others to being friendly and outgoing.
Carlie’s father passed away and she has not had family support. She has been on her own taking care of herself and her daughter. She has been angry about the circumstances of her father’s death and was appointed power of attorney. Through this trying time Carlie continued her sobriety.
In November 2006, a year since Carlie entered Thresholds, her supervision order was finished. Carlie applied for and received sole custody of her daughter. Today, they are living independently and are doing very well.
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Trina – Aunt Leah’s Thresholds Program
My name is Trina and I am twenty-three years old. I had a daughter Isabella one week ago. She is my life. I am so scared right now.
I had my first baby when I was seventeen it was a boy and the ministry took him at birth. I don’t blame them really, I mean I was just seventeen and I was high on crack and living on the streets. I was being pimped by my boyfriend at the time too. That was a bad time. I try not to think too much about that time. I was a different person.
My mom took off when I was three. I don’t remember her. I lived with my dad and my grandma. My dad drank and hardly ever worked – my aunty said its because he’s so depressed over my mom leaving. My grandma cleaned hotels and was hardly ever home. I have a little brother too. He’s nineteen now and in jail. When my grandma died he started to sell drugs and that’s how he ended up in jail. I don’t know where my dad is anymore.
I found out that I was pregnant with Isabella by mistake. I was going in for an HIV test and the nurse asked when my last period was and I couldn’t remember so she gave me a pregnancy test too. Surprise, surprise. The nurse told me that I had to stop crack immediately and I did! I surprised myself, but I did it, I stopped. I’m proud of myself, I hope its okay to be proud of not doing something that you shouldn’t have been doing in the first place.
I had an ultra sound shortly thereafter and I was just two months pregnant. When I told my boyfriend he left. I don’t know where he is.
What I liked best about being pregnant was talking to my belly. Don’t laugh, I really did this, I would talk to my belly and then I wouldn’t feel so lonely.
I wish my grandma was alive, I wish my mom would come back, I wonder if she ever wonders about me. I wonder if she ever wonders if she is a grandma now.
Isabella looks like me and my father used to say that I looked like my mother.
I’m attending drug and alcohol counseling here in the hospital. I am learning how to feed and bathe my daughter. But the ministry is worried that I will go back out and use, they won’t release the baby to me unless I have a safe place to go.
I feel sick, very sick, the deep in your belly aching sick at the thought of leaving Isabella at the hospital when it is time for me to leave.
I know I can be a good mom. I long to be a good mom. I will do anything to keep my daughter. She is my life.
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Marrissa – Aunt Leah’s Thresholds Residential Program
My name is Marissa. I’m 21 years old now. When I first moved into Aunt Leah’s house I was 15 years old. I’ve been in care most of my life. My mom and brother live in the downtown eastside. I phone the needle exchange almost everyday to see if I can find my mother. The staff there know us. Sometimes she calls me back.
I lived in about 10 other homes before a moved into Aunt Leah’s house. I moved their when I found out that I was pregnant. I didn’t want to live there. I didn’t want to live in another group home. I had my baby. She’s beautiful. As soon as I was able to moved out of Aunt Leah’s house and lived on my own. I was given $920 a month to rent an apartment, buy food, and buy clothing for my baby and myself. My boyfriend helped me out. The Ministry had some concerns about my boyfriend and who I was hanging out with so they took my baby away.
I worked really hard to get my baby back. I did everything they asked me to. All I wanted to do was be with my baby. They weren’t able to find a group home or foster home where me and my baby could live. I had kept in touch with some of the staff at Aunt Leah’s. I hated living in the group home but I lived the staff. One of them told me about a new program they started called Thresholds. I told my Social Worker about it and set up a meeting with her and Aunt Leah’s. I moved into the Thresholds Program when I was 17 years old and my baby was 1.5 years old. I loved my suite in the Thresholds Program. I was so happy to be living with my baby. My long term goal when I moved in was to be able to take my baby to my grandparents for Christmas. It was the nicest Christmas I have ever had.
I lived in Thresholds for almost one year. I loved my staff. I was sad but happy when I moved out and into my own place. I found a job. My baby went to daycare. I phoned and talked to the staff at Aunt Leah’s regularly. They were always interested in what I was doing. One day I told them that I had reconnected with my dad. He wrote me a letter. I phoned him one day and we had one of the longest conversations in my life. I spent the next year reconnecting with my dad. I told the staff at Aunt Leah’s all about it.
Now I am living down the street from where my dad lives. I love having him in my life. We live about 20 minutes from my Grandparents. I’m working. I love having my dad and grandparents nearby. It was scary moving from Vancouver…and sad. The staff at Aunt Leah’s took me out for dinner a few days before I moved. I’m sad about leaving my mother and brother. I worry about if something were to happen to them and that I should be there to help them.
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Tom – Aunt Leah’s Restaurant Training Program
Tom came into the restaurant training program with special needs that made it difficult for him to communicate or even function at the most basic level. Tom was unable to speak, so his mother spoke for him. He was able to say hello to one of our staff members with a high five, but did not communicate with anyone else.
His mother accompanied him and helped with every task – even placing the buns on each plate for him. Gradually, as Tom began to feel more comfortable in the training setting, he made unexpected progress. Within a few short weeks Tom began to greet the other staff members and his fellow students, and before too long he was telling stories through sign language about his favourite things—Hallowe’en pumpkins and Christmas trees.
About half way into the training program, Tom’s mother was able to sit in the other room while Tom did his work. Soon the other youth were helping Tom with other tasks such as filling the kettles or putting salt and pepper on the tables. Before long Tom and the other boys were seen playing basketball with crunched up paper and the garbage can.
His mother told us that Tom was beginning to do more things on his own at home as well. He was brushing is own teeth, putting away his dishes and even helping to set the table. He asked his dad to buy him a basketball hoop for practice—a request his father happily granted.
The family really cherished the restaurant training graduation ceremony because Tom’s disabilities made it difficult for him to attend similar celebrations at school. The opportunity to celebrate how far Tom had come through the training program was appreciated by his entire family.
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Maria – Aunt Leah’s Restaurant Training Program
Maria immigrated to Vancouver Canada in 2000 with her five children. Her husband was not able to move to Vancouver. In the Congo Maria assisted her husband in running a restaurant. She enrolled in ESL immediately and at this point is at grade 8 English. She has been living with the aide of her sponsors for the last year. She first enrolled in the Restaurant Training Program in 2001. She was about half way through the program when a combination of events occurred that forced her to withdraw from the course. The transit strike occurred which made it extremely difficult for Maria to attend the course, however ultimately her sponsors we able to assist her with transportation to the course. That was set-up and everything was going smoothly when the unexpected happened. While crossing the street at a signalled crosswalk on evening Maria was hit by a car. Her right leg was broken from the accident and she was not able to complete the course.
Aunt Leah’s staff kept in contact with her telling her when the next session was starting and if her leg was healed enough there was a space for her. One year later Maria’s leg healed enough for her to begin her training again. She had to walk using a cane to the program but when training she did not use it. She was not able to lift heavy objects so her practical training hours were restricted to bussing and working in the kitchen putting the food to plate. During her second time in the program Maria was struggling with depression (around her accident and now having a disability that restricted her activities) as well as focusing on her five children and working with her lawyer around a settlement for her accident. Maria was running out of money. She was not able to work due to her injury and was not ready to settle with ICBC because her injuries had not fully healed. Aunt Leah’s was able to connect her with the advocate at St. Mark’s church who was able to assist her in filling out the disability application form through income assistance. With new policies being put in place by a new government it proved to be a very difficult and convoluted procedure that was probably even more frustrating when English is your second language. Maria at one point decided she would go and find a part time job instead of dealing with the disability application form. Aunt Leah’s was able to help Maria out by providing her with some food service shifts within the Society. She was able to feed her children with the left over food from the event and the honorarium she received.
Maria was very interested in the Canadian style food that was served at the meals and enjoyed learning what the ingredients were and making the meals at home for her children. She loved assisting in the kitchen and learning the recipe’s served at the community meals.
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Henry – Aunt Leah’s Restaurant Training Program
Henry enrolled in Aunt Leah’s Restaurant Training Program in 2001. He was accepted into the program but never completed it. In 2002 Henry re-applied and started his training in the program. Henry enjoyed teasing the other kids in his session when they asked what race he was. He would tell them that he was Spanish or East Indian. He would then start laughing and tell them that he was 100% “Indian”.
Henry would go out of his way to sit beside the training staff in the Restaurant Training Program. He especially enjoyed talking and joking with a male training staff who was Haida First Nations. Henry would tell the staff that he was a good “Indian” and that he was going to be the first member of his family to complete high school and go to college.
It finally came to the point in the course where the students attended the foodsafe workshop. This workshop is a total of 8 hours and has a test at the end of it that is made up of 50 multiple choice questions. The instructor who leads the class donates her time to the Society and understands the challenges facing the youth we service. When the students hand in their exams the instructor marks them immediately and if the student had too many incorrect answers the instructor marks a tick besides each question that is wrong and hands the test back to the youth and allows them to work on the questions again. The students have the option to write the test on their own or to have someone read the questions to them and help them understand what each questions is asking. Henry chose to write the exam on his own.
Henry’s test had a lot of incorrect answers. He went back to the table to start working on the questions again but gave up. Just before he walked out the door Henry stopped and told a training staff that he quit and he wasn’t going to finish the test. The training staff told him to sit down and that they would complete the test together. Henry slouched in his seat and looked everywhere except at the test and the staff member. The staff member read out the first question and realised that Henry didn’t know what the word “poultry” meant. She re-read the question to him using words he understood.
“So you have some frozen chicken and you want to cook it tonight. How would you thaw or make it unfrozen?”
a) leave it out on the counter over night
b) put it in the microwave
c) put it in the fridge to thaw
d) answers b & c
Henry immediately knew the answer “D”. At this point Henry’s body language changed. He sat up and started following along with the staff member while she read the questions and adjusted the words so that he knew what they meant. Henry answered all of the questions correctly and received his foodsafe certificate. This was quite possibly one of his first positive experiences around asking for help.
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