Parkdale Parent Advisory Network

The Parkdale Parent Advisory Network presents an opportunity for St. Christopher House Community Parent Outreach Program participants, including other parents living in Parkdale community to get organized and involved in issues, public policies and services affecting children, their families and their communities.

Members of the Parkdale Parent Advisory Network are primarily newcomer mothers from diverse cultural backgrounds, such as China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Latin America.

The Parkdale Parent Advisory Network meets regularly once a month. The members meet more often if opportunities for civic engagement arise. Parkdale Parent Advisory Network presents opportunities for parents to: meet and interact with each other; build trust and support to each other; develop a sense of belonging; gain new skills, knowledge and experience; enhance their self-esteem and feeling of self-worth; advocate on issues that matter to them; develop their leadership skills and make a contribution to their communities. In addition, Parkdale Parent Advisory Network provides an opportunity for participants to be involved in St. Christopher House programs planning and implementation.

Vietnamese After School Tutoring

The St. Christopher House, Vietnamese After School Tutoring program provides free after school tutoring to Vietnamese children in Parkdale.  Volunteer tutors provide one hour of individual or small group (2 or 3 students) of tutoring per week. The program is offered twice a week on Tuesday and Wednesday from 5pm – 7pm throughout the calendar year.

Dinner Theather Program

Children and young teens from the Parkdale area participated in a 10 week program at 20 West Lodge. The program’s purpose is to teach children about healthy nutrition and give them a space to have fun with Improv. St. Christopher House, Shalom Food Project and Toronto Community Housing joined forces to create this program. Once a week, they cooked healthy meals from around the world and spent some time developing their self esteem through Improv. Shalom Food Project’s goal is to educate children about healthy meal choices in a fun and healthy way.  This program is very successful mainly because of the support of  9 Ryerson Student Volunteers and David Boyce, our own Improv instructor. David Boyce is a professional actor that teaches Improv at Seneca College. He has been in many shows such as: This is Wonderland, Doc, The Eleventh Hour, Due South and many others.  Improv, a type of theatre, has allowed the children to develop confidence and trust.  They also have the opportunity to work and learn from the Seniors from the building. 

A group of students, guidance counselours and teachers from Parkdale Collegiate came together in the fall of 2005 to discuss which topics would be relevant to discuss in regards to their community’s needs. This successful focus group had exceptional attendance and support from the school, which was a promising primary step for this pilot project. In the new year, the following workshops were planned to be delivered starting March 2006:

• Introduction Workshop
• Media Awareness: A Critical Look (by Jo Altilia; Director of Literature of Life)
• Drug and Alcohol Awareness (DMYS)
• Racism and Discrimination (St. Christopher House / Parkdale FOCUS)
• Breakdancing
• Violence and Gang Behaviour (Amy Keen; Black Youth Taking Action)
• Stress Relief: YOGA
• Healthy Sexuality / Homophobia (TEACH Program) and Evaluations

 These workshops were conducted for one hour during lunch on Fridays.