Homeless in Whitehorse!!

“A Time For Change” was a project created by the Youth Outreach Team to raise community awareness of challenges Whitehorse youth face in the midst of a housing crisis.  The project allowed youth and youth advocates to express their frustrations and concerns according to their experiences, as well as to offer up suggestions for change.     

This video was produced locally by Many Rivers .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 26th, 2011

National Family Week

Playing and building things together. Teaching self reliance!

Whitehorse – This year, the week leading up to Thanksgiving, families in the Yukon can join people and organizations across Canada to celebrate the many ways families nurture themselves through fun and activities.
From October 3rd to October 9th, 2011, Canadians in communities across the country  will come together for local celebrations during National Family Week.  This week provides an opportunity to celebrate families and to reflect on their importance in our lives.

This year’s theme is Turning Your Family’s Values into Action. This theme celebrates all the many values that families have, and encourages us to think about how we follow them in our daily lives. Special activities are planned in Whitehorse, Watson Lake, and Dawson as a number of community minded organizations offer free events.

Through these activities, family members of all ages can take part in rediscovering the spirit of family. Events include a free family dinner and recreation evening at Whitehorse Elementary School on Wednesday October 5th from 5-7pm. and on October 13th in Watson Lake; a free public swim at the Canada Games Center, bedtime storytelling at the TD Canada Trust Literacy center at the Canada Games Center, free drop in activities at the Canada Games Center; free programming at the Yukon Arts Center, Beringia Center, and Yukon Transportation Museum. There are many other free and exciting events located around town. Please watch for the schedule of events in the local papers this week, and during National Family Week.

Visit www.manyrivers.yk.ca for a full schedule of events.

Please join Many Rivers and its partners in celebrating families in all our communities during National Family Week, October 3rd to October 9th.

Holistic Expressive Therapy

Marie José Dhaese Ph.D., RCC, ATR, CET, RPT-S

“It’s the spirit and the passion of the instructor that has had the most impact and inspiration, and it’s the essence of the work that has really sunk into my bones”

“Marie-Jose is a very wise woman who practices her wisdom through play therapy. Her presence is a gift.”

“Stages of grief and (the) images of those stages were helpful. I enjoyed (her) ability to answer questions and ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the group.” Master teacher, really welcomed questions, and gave opportunity and security to ask questions.”

“I think it should be more often and more open to teachers, parents, anyone dealing with children and adults.”

“(Found it helpful) awareness of milieu, holding the environment as conceptual model for the work” “(Found helpful) supported integration of knowledge of treatment for children & youth with chronic traumatic stress as well as attachment theory.”

“Thank you very much for the opportunity to participate. This was a wonderful reminder of the importance of being fully present in our work and creating a safe space.”

Many Rivers was pleased to offer a specialized training in Holistic Expressive Therapy with Marie Jose Dhaese in March/11. The opportunity was funded through the generous support of Yukon Government. Fifty participants from communities in the Yukon attended the first two days on The Healing Journey of Grieving Children. Seventeen people attended the next two days on Play Therapy Training. Certificates were provided to all who completed the training days earning credits towards Association for Play Therapy Registration and Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy Certification.

The training focused on the use of expressive therapies to the self healing process as developed by the presenter. Her approach is child centered and focuses on the immediate needs of the child.  It also addressed the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual needs of children, as well as, therapeutic components such as: the relationship, the milieu, expressive therapies and family therapy.

Marie Jose shared some of her insights into the issues of attachment, loss of attachment, the impact of unresolved grief and the healing function of the grieving journey. She gave an overview of the theoretical principles underlying her approach and its therapeutic components. She showed slides of the healing environment she has created for this work. She also shared case examples of when and how to use such methods in order to help children deal with the challenges of each stage of the grieving process. Participants were also given experiential exercises so they could have the opportunity to experience and explore the image making process (using metaphors, visualizations, art, assemblage, and storytelling, with a focus on addressing issues of loss.

The 2 days of Play Therapy training, through a combination of lecture and 'hands-on' activies, offered an overview of what Play Therapy is and its guiding principles. The trainer covered the Intake process involving the family. She taught participants how to set up a playroom using space and toys, and how to introduce a child to a play therapy room. Role-plays were done so as to gain practice in creating a safe space, and establishing rapport. A video of a session was shown and a discussion of the role of the therapist- when to lead and when to follow; reflecting technique, and speaking to images; and, the issue of permissiveness and limit setting. Stories, song, role plays and open discussion all contributed to a highly interactive rich learning environment for participants and the feedback was very positive. Some of this feedback is shown on the right and below.

The training was a wonderful opportunity for the team at Many Rivers to connect with other professionals who work therapeutically with children, youth and families. Some of the feedback received from outside professionals attending validated that we have a wonderful team and work environment.

"Another piece of Marie-Jose's that I appreciated was the image of each child having a 'seed' within them. No matter their diagnoses, behaviours or actions, your goal is to foster this wholesome goodness in each child."

" One statement that really struck a chord with me was when Marie-Jose stated that violence was a false sense of power, someone stuck in anger."

March 2011

The Gift of Nature

submitted by Youth Outreach Worker

Michael Knutson

It was a perfect sunny day in the middle of March, fresh snow laced the riverbed and sled dogs were howling in good spirits…eager to pull youth from the Working and Leading team.

On March 15th-17th the Working and Leading Team from the College as well as the Youth Outreach Team from Many Rivers joined forces for a three day winter camping and dog sledding event out at Muk Tuk Adventures.

Adventure it was indeed!  Inspired by Frank Turner’s teambuilding presentation, grounded in a theme of leadership, and blessed with a brilliant, clear day…we were all able to experience something magical, something transforming and something to remember for a long time.

People seem to bond being out on the land, where nature whispers of undiscovered potential, and visions of opportunity drift into creation.  The Youth Outreach team was fortunate to be apart of this bonding experience and witness an excellent group of youth working towards a healthy future.  This adventure gave us all an opportunity to display a variety of our unique gifts and leadership abilities.

Feb 2011

Housing Action Plan for Whitehorse released

Members of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition are pleased to be releasing A Home for Everyone: A Housing Action Plan for Whitehorse.  The plan, developed through workshops, research and input from community members, focuses information and ideas that will provide more and better housing options for all Whitehorse residents. 

“This is our invitation to the community to play an active role in solving the housing crisis in Whitehorse,” says Bill Thomas, chair of the YAPC Housing Task Force.  “It is time for us to take what we know and use it to provide more housing options to all residents as soon as possible.”
A Home for Everyone is based on the belief that housing is a human right, that as a community we have the ability to solve the crisis and that we have enough information to move forward.  By learning from other cities’ experiences, using a Housing First model and working together, we will see results quickly and Whitehorse will be a healthier community.

“I’m thrilled to have been a part of developing this strategy”, says Patricia Bacon, Executive Director of Blood Ties Four Directions.  “It’s a much needed step to providing options across the housing spectrum and direction on priority areas.”  Marilyn Wolovick, Executive Director of Many Rivers Counselling and Support Services agrees:  “A plan is long overdue.  Our hope is that now we can, as a community, take a coordinated approach to meeting the needs of families, workers and individuals who may be struggling with inadequate, inaccessible or unaffordable housing.”
Highlights of the action plan include recommended actions to fill identified gaps including the provision of emergency shelter, transitional housing, housing with long-term support, rental accommodation and affordable home ownership.

“We believe that whether we be a business person, a citizen, a council member, a department head or the Premier – we will find a role we can play in this plan,” says Charlotte Hrenchuk, Yukon Status of Women Council.  “We invite the whole community to make be Whitehorse a city where there’s a home for everyone.”
Copies of A Home for Everyone: A Housing Action Plan for Whitehorse, including appendices, are available at Yukon Learn and City Hall or below:

A Housing Action Plan for Whitehorse

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Please feel free to browse past news items

September - 2010 - National Family Week

June - 2010 - Annual General Meeting

January - 2009 - Young Women's Voices - Rise Up