Who We Are
Oolagen is an accredited mental health centre helping Toronto youth and their families. Highly-respected for the work it does, Oolagen serves as a University of Toronto teaching facility and is long-term partners with the Toronto District School Board, the Children’s Aid Society, Catholic Children’s Aid, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, as well as other children’s mental health agencies and community groups.
Our Mission
To listen, engage, assist and empower youth and families in recognizing their strengths, expanding their capabilities and enhancing their wellbeing and mental health.
Our Vision
The hopes and aspirations of Oolagen Youth Mental Health are based on our vision for:
- Healthy relationships between youth and their families that recognize and build upon strengths
- A community that works in partnership to enhance the social and emotional wellbeing of its citizens and in particular its youth
- A comprehensive, flexible service system that effectively responds to the challenging and diverse needs of youth and their families
Our Values
While each program at Oolagen is unique, the following values are common throughout:
- No matter how difficult their circumstances, we believe that all youth and families have skills and knowledge. We work with them to identify and build on their skills and knowledge to create positive change.
- We recognize the power of connection; that many people need to belong to families and communities. Our practices are aimed at strengthening natural helping systems. We recognize that many of the problems that youth and families experience are related to broader social problems such as poverty, racism, unemployment, and inadequate housing. We address these issues in our work.
- We recognize that each person brings a rich cultural and family history to Oolagen. Our programs honour diverse traditions and points of view.
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Through listening, we gain understanding
In assisting youth and families, we help them discover their own skills and knowledge for life
Through engaging, we encourage youth to adopt a new more hopeful view of themselves and their lives
Through this process, we support empowerment |
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