Altadore

The Altadore program is designed for adolescent males (14-17) with Children’s Services guardianship status who require support and life-skills training in order to live independent, semi-independent or fully-supported lives. These young men are often challenged with issues such as neglect, abuse and family disconnect. Located in the community of Altadore, this program that celebrated 20 years of service in 2012, serves an average of six youth at a time.

This program provides youth with opportunities for a safe and appropriate transition from treatment settings into adulthood. This occurs by offering a structured and progressive series of activities and experiences that help build social, emotional, and physical health as well as cognitive competence and ethical behaviour. The program activities are designed to give young people ‘real world’ skills in a structured and supportive environment. Some of these activities include budgeting, resume building and interview preparation, cooking, housekeeping, and social skill capacity building.

The program serves youth who have extensive histories of Child Welfare involvement reflective of serious maltreatment issues including neglect, physical, emotional abuse and sexual abuse.The program operates from a trauma-informed perspective that recognizes the importance of healthy attachments, emotional regulation and building competency.

The Altadore Program operates within a framework of positive youth development – a process which prepares young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences which help them to become socially, morally, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent.