Ottawa, Ontario, Wednesday, April 24, 2013

I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak to you here at the National Conference of the Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs.

The theme of this conference—family well-being—is not only vital, but also very personal for me. As a mother of five married daughters and now grandmother of nine grandchildren, I am a strong link in the chain of family support.

In the sixties and early seventies (when most of you weren’t even born), I worked as an occupational therapist in the area of child psychiatry, a time of great innovation with respect to children and families.

Hundreds of children, whose mothers had taken thalidomide and were thus born with truncated limbs, inspired a generation of engineers and therapists to develop agile prostheses. As well, children with physical handicaps (previously educated in special schools) were being integrated into regular schools.

Another change occurred at this time—hyperactive, inattentive children (the precursor to ADHD) were being treated as having a systemic disorder rather than as badly behaved, uncooperative children requiring discipline. Helping a child to function better has a great impact on his or her family.

Last month, my husband and I were honoured to be at the Vatican to attend the inaugural Mass for His Holiness Pope Francis. There, we heard his message not just for Catholics, but for those of all beliefs.

He spoke to the leaders of nations, asking that they use their position not to rule, but to serve. He urged the church and all mankind to work with the vulnerable and poor.

Everyone in this room has already answered this call.

Since becoming governor general, my husband has spoken about his vision of a smarter, more caring nation, focusing on three pillars in which both of us strongly believe.

They are: encouraging volunteerism and philanthropy, strengthening learning and innovation, and supporting families and children.

Society is built on support beams, or pillars, as we call them. During our travels to all corners of our country in the first two years of this mandate, we have been both amazed and heartened by the pillars of innovation and caring that have shored up disadvantaged and vulnerable children and families.

David’s and my travels across this wonderful country are organized to be complimentary. He often meets with boards and organizations that raise in part philanthropic capital, while I visit the places where the funding is used. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to meet and talk with people like you who are at this conference today.

Allow me to take you on a quick cross-country tour, and to share with you four examples of caring and effective organizations. 

First, let us start in Saskatchewan, where we visited the communities of Prince Albert and Regina. I had requested to visit Ranch Ehrlo and I was not disappointed with what I saw.

In 1966, Geoff Pawson, its founder, (who I had the privilege to meet before he passed away in January 2012), had the innovative idea that a troubled young person’s behaviour could be changed for the better without ever being subjected to physical force.

The Ranch, through physical and emotional rehabilitation, provides quality assessment (triage), timely intervention, tailored education and, finally, connection to the community and its support services.

The Ranch uses holistic approaches (including horses) in dealing with the challenges faced by each youth—which, in some cases, have been horrendous—and in so doing, they create an environment in which they can grow, thrive and overcome.

Ranch Ehrlo has taken on cases so complex that no other jurisdiction could accept them. It is indeed a great Canadian resource and I am deeply honoured to be a patron.

During an evening meal with students and staff, I was able to observe the obvious trust that existed between the young people and their social workers, teachers, spiritual and indigenous advisors, physical and outdoor instructors, and, finally, their beloved chef and cook.

The entire team at Ranch Ehrlo makes it possible for these troubled young people to succeed and to make the necessary changes in their lives that will improve their future and help them reintegrate into their families.

For my second example, let me highlight another success story where the help is delivered in the home—namely the HIPPY program, which stands for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters. This program helps parents in need who live in poverty or with literacy difficulties (particularly indigenous and immigrant families) to improve the early education of their children to prepare them to enter school with the building blocks necessary to succeed.

In particular, I had the opportunity to speak to the parents from the Huu-ay-aht reserve who had participated in a HIPPY program in the Vancouver area. Not only did they express happiness in seeing their child develop preparedness for school, but they also believed they had become better parents by working in a constructive way with their child. Many of the parents became HIPPY teachers themselves and thus had gainful employment.

For my third example, I hope that you will forgive me, for I am indeed biased when I speak of my hometown, Sault Ste. Marie. During the 100th anniversary of the town’s incorporation, we visited the Soo. While David met with community leaders to discuss the formation of a community foundation, I met members of Algoma Family Services, to discuss their Algoma Model.

This model uses an integrated collaborative approach to community services geared to troubled youth. It uses schools as hubs of opportunity to support youth mental health. The leaders of this broad initiative stated that, before developing a network of partners, they deemed it an essential precursor to build friendships with organizations that then led to trust and finally collaboration.

This simple, yet profound message has led to the Algoma Model being replicated in ten cities in Ontario. And the key elements are early intervention at the source, and seamless collaboration of specialized agencies and people.

And finally, let me take you to the City of Québec, where some members of my family visited Maison Dauphine—a shelter for disaffected and troubled youth. Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Maison Dauphine during their visit to Canada. They remarked, that such a centre was essential for any city, a boon for both the youth who get help and the community itself.

Thanks to one family’s philanthropy, the shelter is now in a fully renovated stone house, located near Youville Square, where many homeless youth hang out.

Adolescent drug addicts, pregnant teens, school dropouts and homeless youth make up the clientele. Some even suffer mental health problems. Maison Dauphine is a place to stay, to get clean and to be safe, and, for some, the only place where getting an education seems possible.

Maison Dauphine provides youth with a hand up by giving them an outlet for their creativity, and a chance for their voices to be heard.

As you begin your discussions here, I want you to keep in mind that as much as I have seen and expereinced successes, there is still lots to be done. You’ve done well in caring for the vulnerable in our society. I have every confidence in your ability to build on your already hard-won gains.

Families are the heartbeat of our society. As Pope Francis has asked, treat them with tenderness and love. You, who are here today, will meet that challenge. Thank you for what you do to improve Canadian society every day.