Join School Mental Health Ontario’s Parent & Caregiver Collaboration Group
We recognize, more than ever, how important it is for parents and caregivers to be engaged with their child’s school. This engagement enables parents and caregivers to gain a deeper understanding of what resources are available to them to support their child’s mental health and wellbeing. For this reason, School Mental Health Ontario (SMH-ON) launched a Parent and Caregiver Collaboration Group (PCCG) in 2022.
The collaboration group provides a platform for parents and caregivers to interact with SMH-ON. They can share their experiences and provide feedback on what they feel is necessary to improve the success, mental health, and overall well-being of Ontario students.
What is the PCCG?
The Parent and Caregiver Collaboration Group is a group of parents and caregivers from across the province working alongside School Mental Health Ontario to:
- share their ideas to inform resources, tools, and messaging to support Ontario school districts as they enhance student mental health
- help amplify the voices and experiences of parents and caregivers in supporting their children’s mental health
- be a place of reference, offering ideas on how to best reach and support parents and caregivers in the province and share emerging needs
- support our ability to amplify the diverse voices of parents and caregivers to inform the work we do in creating culturally responsive resources
Why join?
- Collaborate, share, and network with a diverse group of parents and caregivers from across the province of Ontario.
- Make a difference in school mental health.
- Learn more about the education system and school mental health in Ontario.
- Have your experience and the experience of your peers/community impact and influence school mental health programming, directions, and tools.
Who is eligible?
All parents and caregivers with children in publicly funded schools in Ontario (i.e., public and Catholic, English and French) who are interested in child and youth mental health can apply. Both English and French speakers are welcome; the group will be facilitated in English.
At this time, we are strongly encouraging parents and caregivers from diverse communities and experiences across Ontario to apply. For example, those who:
- have children experiencing mental health challenges
- are a part of, and/or have children that are a part of, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
- live with disabilities and/or have children with disabilities
- identify as Black, Indigenous or another racialized group
- are newcomers
- come from northern and rural communities in the province
- have children connected to community services and spaces such as the children’s aid society, youth justice system, treatment or rehabilitation centres, etc.
- lack supports to access culturally appropriate mental health services
Your experiences are powerful, and together, we hope to create school mental health programming that reflects you. The PCCG aims to be a supportive space for everyone where we can learn from one another. An honorarium is provided to PCCG members in recognition of their valuable contributions to the group.
Want to learn more? Come to our open house!
We will be hosting an open house over Zoom on May 3rd from 12-1 pm EDT. This is an opportunity to meet some members of the team, ask questions, and learn more about what we do.
Apply now
Click here to apply to join the Parent and Caregiver Collaboration Group.
