Stabilization Support

Learn More About the In-Home Stabilization Unit

Options at Inspire for support:

1. Free over the phone and email support
2. Subsidized occasional virtual and -home support
3. Stabilization support for families that include children aged 3-29, whose needs are not currently being met through existing social services and mental health systems, and are in high levels of distress.
4. Organizations can hire us on contract for specialized support.

Our family needs support, what next?

1. Complete the online intake. This helps us keep track of your family because what you are going through is important to us. There is no obligation to work with us after completing the registration document.
2. We will email or call you to set up a time to learn more about how we can help. All families start at a rate of $0 for consultation and phone support.

We would set up an in-home intake meeting to see how best we can work together, to provide support to your family. You lead the process and can pause or stop at any time.

The priority for families is given to those who are not getting help from other services, may not have a diagnosis, and those youth who have aged out of support at 18-21 years of age. All families are welcome to register, and we can support you along the way, no matter what your journey.

THE HISTORY BEHIND IT

Inspire Community Outreach Inc. is an incorporated non-profit social services charity providing evidence and culturally informed, family-centered education and programming, designed to meet the needs of those living with mental health issues and neurological/cognitive differences.

Since 2013 we have worked to fill service gaps for some of our most vulnerable community members. To date this has included:

• caregiver learning opportunities in the areas of self-care, advocacy, and disability in the family
• inclusive recreation programming such as art for wellness for children and youth fostering healthy self expression, and the development of coping strategies
• customized trainings for front line staff who support exceptional families such as childcare workers
  the creation of an easy to understand children’s book about neurodiversity
• one to one phone and email resource navigation support and guidance for caregivers in distress
• facilitation of peer support groups for caregivers of children with differences
• acting as an amplifier for the mental health concerns of exceptional families through the creation of awareness events and contact with policymakers.

Our organization experiences an overwhelming amount of communication from families who have children aged 3 to 29 years old with significant mental and physical health concerns. A frequent concern brought to us is confusion with navigating or accessing support from currently existing program and agencies. Occasionally families are not fully informed of options, but in more cases, the help needed is not available because existing supports are not equipped to accommodate the most complex mental health and neurological needs. Families share that their difficulties with access include children not diagnosed despite significant documented challenges, not being able to leave their home due to risk of children bolting or high levels of anxiety, being transitioned out of needed services due to age, and the inability to effectively communicate due to physical and neurological differences.

Even when programs exist and are known to families, waitlists are long, and caregivers are at a loss for what they should do while they are waiting. In fact, community-based children’s mental health service providers are reporting that the demand for their services is increasing.

It is estimated that 10-20% of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder – the single most disabling group of disorders worldwide. The impact of mental health concerns also reaches beyond the individual, into the home, the classroom, and the world.

Beyond creating just day to day struggles, mental illness is increasingly threatening the lives of our children; with Canada’s youth suicide rate the third highest in the industrialized world. 4,000 people die prematurely each year by suicide.

Being told our family had to wait for an indefinite amount of time to get very basic supports really put me into depression and into a panic. I felt afraid for my son and for all our children. For my marriage. I wasn’t sure how we would survive this.

Program Details

At Inspire Community Outreach Inc., we believe that parents and caregivers are the experts in their child, and in their lives. They are the best ones to identify which approaches work for them, because they will know what is possible within their own families. Through sitting with and listening to them, we seek to build alliances, valuing their hopes and dreams for their children and working together to build those futures. Our evidence-informed, family-centered, custom curriculum provides a unique and catered experience to every family we stand alongside.

Goal Outcomes:

• To increase the family’s ability to access existing resources.
• To improve the ability of the family to engage in tasks of daily living and child-rearing.
• To teach effective and evidence-based coping strategies to all family members that are a good fit for their ages and abilities.
• To move with family members from distress and inaction to one where they feel confident and equipped to meet their specific challenges and advocate for themselves.

With the In-home Family Support Program, we will reach out to families with children aged 2-29 here in Winnipeg who are in distress, and whose needs are not currently being met through existing social services and mental health supports. The program runs as a 3-month intensive crisis stabilization intervention, with a focus on building community access and individual core competencies and coping skills.

In the 48 hours after stating our in-home support launch, 43 families stated they require this service and despite their distress and need, they either do not receive any service for their family or are underserved. Additional families will be recruited through our work with existing partnering agencies unable to serve the needs of families. Together we can help families grow in both ability and self-sufficiency, making that transition from surviving in isolation and crisis to thriving as members of their own communities.

What Families told us:

Practical In-Home Support

Beginning during the intake process and continuing throughout the program, participants will access practical in-home support to benefit all family members. Staff can provide coaching and support as frequently as families request it, and coaching will be individualized to each family’s specific situation.

Areas where families need this support include:

• Crisis management
• Safety concerns
• Locating supports while they wait
• Nutrition, activity and immediate wellness issues
• Budgeting, scheduling and routines

Caregivers will be oriented on how to navigate the supportive services sector.

They will learn:

• about their program roles and responsibilities as well as the expectations that professional and the system generally have of families (ie. advocating, communication, participation, etc.)
• strategies related to “surviving” (achieving success during) waitlists
• strategies to deal with grief and changes in expectations.

Staff will work with the entire family with the aim to develop resilience and reduce stress. Ultimately, all participants will gain a taste of success as they overcome individually identified difficulties, and will be able to transition to being more self-sufficient.

Therapeutic Connection and Resiliency Building for Children and Caregivers

Individualized therapeutic support planned for 12 hours per family, with the ability to extend where circumstances warrant. Our primary contact will be with the caregiver(s), improving their advocacy skills, core capacities, and ability to self regulate, set goals, and engage in functional daily living tasks and health care for themselves. Other direct support can be provided to the child with complex needs themselves, their siblings or extended family as the need is identified during support hours with the caregiver(s). Therapeutic support will also address and strengthen family dynamics through facilitating team building activities with the objective of developing understanding, mutual respect, and trust among family members.

Therapeutic outreach is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness, mindful self-compassion and other evidence-based interventions, such as Attachment and positive psychology. Clients will identify their own goals and work with a therapist to create individualized plan to address areas of distress.

Staff will model an informed, respectful and supportive culture, coaching participants about how to create healthy relationships within their family unit, as well as any professionals they might encounter. Utilizing specialized supports, such as yoga, mindfulness, circle of security, cognitive behaviour and trauma-informed care principles will be employed.

Areas where families may need this support include: