Berry Road Food Co-op
Help Bring Healthy, Local & Sustainable Food To South Etobicoke!

Meet the newly formed Berry Road Food Co-op.  They are a not-for-profit food cooperative that will be opening at 150 Berry Road in the Stonegate-Sunnylea neighbourhood in spring 2018.  More than just quality local food, they are also excited to bring community education and food access programs to our culturally and economically diverse community.  Show your support for their healthy-food-for-all values and contribute to the Berry Road Food Co-op; they need your help to make this exciting project a reality!  Learn more at: www.berryroadfood.coop

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Something New Grows Here 

Red Dress Productions is pleased to announce Something New Grows Here, a community-arts project with Stonegate-Parklawn residents and those who pass through, play, garden, picnic in and enjoy Bell Manor Park.

Community arts organization Red Dress Productions along with community partner Stonegate CHC and Councillor Di Ciano’s office invite community members to join together to create a new pebble mosaic artwork for Bell Manor Park. The project is supported by the Toronto Arts Council's Arts in the Parks program.
 
In July, Red Dress Productions will explore stories of the Stonegate-Parklawn neighbourhood and those living here. They will then present a pebble mosaic design inspired by this work and invite your feedback. In August, we’ll build the pebble mosaic together, and, in September, unveil it! All workshops are free, and no experience is required. You’re welcome to drop-in to one or all workshops. All community members are invited to join in!
 
Since 2005, Red Dress Productions has created 15+ visual public artworks in Toronto, Etobicoke, and across Ontario, working with 4000+ community members. To learn more about the organization, please visit their website.

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Women's Program Updates

This fall, the Health Centre applied for and received funding from Shopper’s Drug Mart. The  grant, “SHOPPERS LOVE YOU. - Putting Women's Health First” is their  commitment to helping women stay focused on being their best in body, mind and spirit. It shares the expertise of their many partners and works to connect women with others in support of local women's health initiatives across Canada.

The Women’s Program was fortunate to receive $3000; and with this funding we would like to develop and  increase the opportunity for women living in the Stonegate community  who are in need to have increased access of ways of healthy eating in safe, supportive environments .  The program will focus primarily on women who face various barriers to obtaining nutritious food (such as poverty, lack of accessible transportation, lack of education) and will include such activities as cooking classes, a Supper Club as well as a meal delivery program.

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Grocery Bus

The Toronto Central LHIN recently worked on a project about population health and featured Stonegate Community Health Centre's partnership with ESS Support Services to coordinate weekly bus trips for seniors to No Frills. The link to the story about the Grocery Bus is here:  http://www.torontocentrallhin.on.ca/west

Or listen to the audio recording. 

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Chronic Disease Self-Management Workshop

Stonegate CHC will host a Chronic Disease Self-Management Workshop on Thursday evenings starting February 23^rd.  This session is full,  but please click on the link to find other programs across the city.
 
The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program is a six-week workshop that helps people with chronic conditions to better manage their symptoms and their daily lives. The workshop provides information and teaches practical skills. It gives people the confidence and motivation they need to manage the challenges of living with chronic health conditions.  For an overview of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, click here. 
 
Adults experiencing any type of chronic health conditions, as well as their family, friends and/or caregivers. The program is available in communities throughout Ontario. In Toronto Central LHIN region, the program is available in Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Participants must be able to function in a group setting.

The program is FREE to participants, and participants receive the Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions course book. Participants must pre-register for the program and are encouraged to attend all six sessions.
 
Workshop groups meet once a week for 2.5 hours, over six weeks. There are ten to fifteen participants in each workshop. In the workshop, participants will learn about:
• healthy eating
• starting and maintaining exercise
• pain and fatigue management
• stress management
• communicating with your healthcare professional
• managing medications
• planning and problem solving
• goal setting
Participants take an active role in the workshop by setting weekly goals and providing feedback on how they managed.

The workshop is led by two individuals who have taken special training. The leaders are volunteers, many of whom have chronic health conditions themselves.
 
The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program is a licensed program developed and researched at Stanford University. It follows a standardized format that is proven to help people learn to better manage symptoms. It is considered a best practice program in self-management.

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Pre and Postnatal Massage

Stonegate CHC and Humber College Massage Therapy program will be offering a specialty clinic for women in any trimester of their pregnancy, infants from birth to 24^th months and women that have had a baby in the last 8 months.
 
Student massage therapists will conduct an assessment to determine your goal for treatment and teach you techniques that you can use at home to massage and soothe your baby.
 
The Humber Massage Therapy students will be here Tuesday afternoons until April.  If you are interested contact us at 416-231-7070 extension 307 to register for a free session for either you or your child.

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Child Support Changes for parents receiving Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP):

As of January 2017, there are changes in the treatment of child support for parents that are receiving OW or ODSP. Until recently child support was considered income and child support received  had been deducted dollar for dollar from your benefits. Beginning January , you will still need to report child support payments, however  child support will be exempt as income and therefore will no longer be deducted from your benefits. The child support exemption will apply only to money for periods after the exemption comes into effect. Child support that is received for periods before the exemption starts will still be deducted from OW or ODSP benefits.
These changes do not apply to spousal support. Spousal support will still be deducted dollar for dollar from OW and ODSP benefits.
  
For more detailed information visit our website.