Through our specifically trained Community Support Workers, the participants are given access to treatment and support throughout the community.

As each participant is different, the Community Support team tailors the treatment/support around the person’s needs, risk, strengths and challenges.

The main goals of this program are to help the participant use his/her strengths to:

1. Manage his/her at-risk or high risk behaviour
2. Overcome challenges
3. Learn how to meet his/her needs

The specific kinds of things our Community Support team do are innumerable and all of them invaluable. It can be anything from advocacy with legal issues, employment or living arrangements to fundamental living habits such as meal planning, grocery shopping, basic hygiene and personal presentation. We help our participants develop the necessary money-management skills. We provide access to appropriate and healthy recreation and leisure options.

Primarily, the Community Support team’s goal is to engage the participant in such a person-centered manner that allows for healthy, secure and trusting relationships to develop.

Operating between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, the Day Service offers life-skill building activities, social skill building opportunities, vocational skills training, volunteer opportunities and recreational options.

These activities focus on skill building while providing the participant with a sense of accomplishment, ownership, group membership and self-esteem.

Overall, the goals of this service are to:

1. Provide the exposure to skill building and healthy activities during the day time hours,
2. Provide support to residential service providers by engaging the participant in activities that impact healthy residential living, and
3. Facilitate participation in ongoing vocational activities.
4. Assist in job skills training, resume and interview preparation.

At times, many of the people coming to Turning Leaf for help are at a place in life when their ability to cope with life’s stress, acute mental health symptoms and problematic behaviour is compromised and no longer effective. This is when the Crisis Stabilization Team is called to help the participant in need.

The goal of the Crisis Stabilization team is to attend to and manage crisis scenarios 24 hours/day.  This team is asked to support either new participants to Turning Leaf or those participants receiving residential treatment or community support but are unable to maintain emotional/behavioural stability while receiving service.  The task then is to assist these participants in achieving emotional and behavioural stability and reintegrate them back into regular residential or community services.

Therefore, the Crisis team’s intervention is intended to be brief and have a transitional outcome (e.g., crisis supports should assist the participant through crisis and into stability).

What does a crisis intervention process include?

The crisis stabilization process, though not likely to be a linear process, includes the following sequence of events:

1. Plan and conduct a bio psychosocial and lethality/imminent risk assessment
   1. Bio-psychosocial review is based on the premise that biological, psychological (which entails thoughts, emotions, and behaviors), and social factors, all play a significant role in human functioning in the context of disease or illness.
   2. Imminent risk refers to immediate risk to self or others.
2. Develop collaborative rapport
3. Identify the major presenting issue as well as those involved
4. Who is involved that serves as a positive factor in achieving stability?
5. Encourage dialogue about the impact of issue including feelings about presenting issue
6. Generate and explore alternative coping strategies
7. Develop safety/control plan
8. Restore functioning by implementing a plan (e.g., connect participant to psychiatric, medical or Turning Leaf treatment housing)
9. Plan for follow up contact
10. Complete necessary documentation and reporting requirements

This service emphasizes the importance of hope, relationships and perseverance when helping individuals deeply impacted by street life and mental health crises.

Turning Leaf Residential Support service is designed to provide, in facility, person-centered treatment and supports to adults (or individuals transitioning to adulthood) who are living with intellectual challenge and/or mental illness.

Our Residential Services offer a unique approach to providing a 24-hour in home supported living environment.

Among our priorities is meeting with individuals seeking support, prior to engaging in service, in order to gain a sense of their personal goals, support wishes and personal preferences. This is one of many processes that allow us to tailor our program, and support environment, in such a manner as to ensure the delivery person-centered supports.

Additionally this allows us to reduce anxiety, establish a rapport, and answer questions that individuals or family may have prior to engaging in transition.

Our Residential Support Program is designed to deliver a variety of supports to individuals in a manner that engages their strengths and reinforces their ability to strive for positive change.

Generally, Residential Supports focus on a number of key support objectives that assist the individual to develop skills that will apply to healthy and successful independent living, whether it involves meals and food, financial matters, daily living, safety and of course health.

Additionally, depending on the needs of the individual the Turning Leaf Residential Support Program may also focus on a number of specific areas identified as goals for support:

1. Conflict with the Law
2. Family Systems
3. Addictions

Individuals receiving this service are currently demonstrating desire to receive and engage in supports and acknowledge that attendance and commitment to positive change is essential to success in the program.

The Guided Living program provides one-on-one residential services to those experiencing intellectual challenge and/or mental illness.

By pairing participants with families in the community, the guided living program assists the participant in fostering life skills, healthy decision-making as well as providing them with a sense of family and access to that family’s community.