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new life for troubled teen economist suntribune june 4 1986 bl fourteenyearold bill was a classic loner a shy and with drawn youngster he had no friends and few interests at school he kept to himself although he was bright he was barely making c grades he never participated in sports or other extracurricular activities his teachers were worried his parents were too so was bill he knew something was wrong his parents suggested that he enroll in phoenix an afternoon program run by the york center for children youth and families and bill agreed he does not regret his decision today almost a year later bill is a different person says pat meadows program supervisor at phoenix bill seems to be more confident more spontaneous and is spending more time in the com munity his school work has also improved bill not his real name is still at phoenix but will be leaving soon when he does the staff hopes to integrate him into the community or extracurricular activities where he can continue his person al growth and development bill is one of many york region youngsters with behavioural emotional or learning difficulties who have benefitted from phoenix since it was started in 1979 by the center a mental health facility for children and adolescents the program is housed at the centers youth ser vices division in the loyal true blue and orange home on yonge street in richmond hill but serves all of york region its name aptly describes the programs overall objective ex plains the centers executive director alice frey we chose the name phoenix because just as the mythological bird rose from the ashes so we are helping adolescents with problems to have a second burst of life to give them a second chance phoenixs staff design programs tailored to each youngsters spe cial needs the programs feature both peer group and individual activities and are based on a care ful assessment of each applicant we meet with the youngster and his or her parents several times says frey specific goals are determined by both the staff and the youngster and we work within that framework frey ex plains bills goals were to overcome his antisocial behavior and raise his selfesteem recreational peer group activities gave him the opportunity to develop his social skills he was put on a fitness program because he had a weight problem that was contributing to his low selfesteem as well he was able to focus on his problems in individual counselling sessions although bill has been in phoenix for almost a year the average length of stay is nine months the program is run by the york centers youth services staff a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists psychologists teachers family and youth work ers program supervisors and support staff phoenix can accomodate up to 20 youngsters between the ages of 13 and 18 at one time they come from all over york region for those living in isolated areas transportation can present a problem because it is not pro vided by the center right now the center is looking for a volun teer to provide transportation for a youth from keswick frey says referrals to phoenix are usual ly made by the school system family doctors or other mental health facilities however youngsters and their parents must make a direct application parents are expected to take an active involvement in the prog ram by participating in regular family counselling sessions with a youth services family worker the program operates on an annual budget of 26000 over half of which came from the united way in 1985 in 1986 the program hopes to get 16000 from united way this funding is extremely im portant frey says it allows us to provide a service that we couldnt provide otherwise the service has made an impor tant difference in many young lives in york region like bill a lot of youngsters who come to phoenix are loners who just cant seem to fit in often they have trouble at school according to frey a small minority are delin quent the difficulties experienced by the programs youngsters may be linked to troubled family situa tions or learning disabilities but staff members are interested in the causes only insofar as they re late to a resolution instead of focusing on the cause we focus on where the problem lies and whatj can be done about it says frey4 helping these youngsters can require patience and perseverj ance especially because they arej not always cooperative j when bill first came to phoenix he continued to be a lonv er meadows says he refused to participate in group activities and kept to himself six weeks into the program his attendance began to drop off the staff was concerned andj met with him to discuss his prob- lems bill agreed to make a spe cial effort for the next six weeks and soon his attendance became regular it was what was needed to make progress j according to meadows bill has gone from being a loner to a lead er he welcomes new kids into the group and shows them the ropes he says like many others bill earned his wings at phoenix 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