Programs & Services

Recreational Therapy Program

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Our Recreation Therapy Program is designed to improve and restore physical and mental health wellness among clients. This program is led by a Certified Recreational Therapist. Classes and activities focus on:

• Improving clients’ physical and mental health.
• Strengthening self-esteem and interpersonal skills.
• Encouraging healthy and active lifestyles and a greater sense of accomplishment.
• Realize the benefits of a healthy leisure lifestyle

Programs Offered:

A New Fit You & Stretching is an exercise program for residents that is designed to assist participants in achieving personal fitness goals. The program incorporates a variety of fitness assessments and practices to safely attain and track progress.

Creative Time is an arts and crafts program that provides clients with the time, space, and inspiration to express their creativity in a variety of forms via a variety of artistic media.

Drop-In Games is a sports-based program that incorporates a variety of recreational activities. The goal of this program is to give residents the opportunity to learn and develop their sports-related skills. Games are modified to accommodate the capabilities of all residents. Structured tournaments are scheduled for popular sports up to 3 times a year. The program provides improved physical and social health for clients.

Leisure Ed addresses the component of therapeutic recreation focused on the development of leisure skills, attitudes, and knowledge, with the goal of improving quality of life. Based on the Leisure Education Content Model, this program incorporates leisure awareness, leisure resources, social interaction skills, and leisure activity skills developed by Peterson and Gunn.

Striding Towards Change is a group walking/jogging program for residents. The group’s goal is to train towards walking 5km and entering a charity event together. Training will include incremental progression towards 5km distance; each session will include warming up, walking, and stretching. The program provides improved physical, social, and emotional health for residents.

Mind At Ease provides clients with a variety of relaxation methods. The goal is to produce the body’s natural relaxation response, characterized by slower breathing,
lower blood pressure, and a feeling of increased wellbeing. One relaxation method is taught at each session. Relaxation methods include (but are not limited to)
autogenic training, deep-breathing or breathing exercises, guided imagery, progressive relaxation, self hypnosis, yoga, tai-chi, and stretching. The program provides improved physical, cognitive, spiritual, and emotional health for residents.

Library Time gives residents the opportunity to access books, browse library resources, and access a computer at the local library. The goal of the program
is to encourage residents to explore their interests and develop new ones.

Cooking Skills is designed to give clients an opportunity to develop basic culinary skills as a group. The goal of the program is to get clients engaged in an activity that is both a practical life skill and used for recreational fun.

Paws to Relax is a pet therapy program that motivates relaxation and positive mood among clients through the exchange of play, warmth, and affection with the therapy dog.

The Birthday Project acknowledges and celebrates the life and achievements of clients on their birthdays. Social Outings provides residents the opportunity to interact and explore various sites and attractions in the community. Activities include movie nights, bowling, mini-golf, and other social outings.

Employment Program

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Our Financial Literacy and Meaningful Employment Program is headed by our Job Developer, who works with clients to determine their capacities, goals, and professional objectives. Clients are then provided assistance in connecting to potential employers and given one-on-one counselling sessions to strengthen their financial literacy, including the creation and maintenance of monthly budgets.

FAME (Financial literacy And Meaningful Employment) was developed to assist St. Leonard Place Peel’s clients in optimizing the prospect of sustainable independent living through employment and financial literacy.

While there is no single solution to the problem of chronic homelessness, job development and financial literacy are considered key strategies proven to create and maintain stable housing for those at risk. At SLPP, mental illness and substance dependency are the leading causes for homelessness among 63% of residents.

Without employment and financial development supports, these clients will continue to cycle through shelter and supportive housing systems.

Are You An Employer Interested in Partnering With FAME?

A partnership with the SLPP Fame Program offers employers an opportunity to perform a social good in giving new possibilities to men who face serious social disadvantages, while also benefitting from a dedicated workforce.

We’re confident that any relationship established through the program will be fruitful for both the employer and the new employee.

We want to build and maintain relationships with employers throughout our community. Our clients are hardworking and just waiting for an opportunity. Please contact us for more information.

Life Skills Program

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Our Life Skills Program is designed to equip and empower clients with the tools to live full and productive lives during and after their residency as SLPP. The educational workshops provide clients with the opportunity to learn about critical life skills in the areas of:

• Personal / Self-Care
• Understanding Oneself
• Goal Setting
• Nutrition and Healthy Living
• Effective Communication
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Leadership and Initiating Change

Meal Program

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Residents of SLPP have access to nutritious meals, three times daily.  Our full-time kitchen staff and professional-grade kitchen work 365 days a year to prepare hearty meals that follow the Canada’s Food Guide to ensure nutritional nourishment. Our excellent kitchen staff are also available to cater events upon request.

Psycho-Education Programs

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SLPP’s Psycho-Education Programs are evidence-based and provide clients with an opportunity to better understand their situations of mental illness or addiction and how to manage these conditions effectively over the long term. Psycho-Education Programs focus on mental health management, relapse prevention, treatment compliance, and many other topics that help to build the capacity of clients to effectively deal with situations of mental illness and addiction.

Speaker’s Bureau Program

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St. Leonard’s Place Peel (SLPP) relaunched the Speaker’s Bureau Program. This initiative evolved out of SLPP’s “community talks” series which shared the inspirational stories of our clients with students and professionals in a variety of settings. The revamped program offers a structured presentation outlining the complex set of personal and societal factors that precede situations of homelessness, addiction, and/or conflict with the law for so many within our communities. At the core of the presentation are SLPP clients who share their lived experience of challenge and change. It is our hope that these narratives will inspire audiences to join SLPP in creating and supporting systems that offer fewer barriers and more opportunities for men rebuilding their lives after periods of difficulty.

Our Speaker’s Bureau Program offers three presentation topics:

Homelessness:
Peel Region is reported to have one of the country’s longest social housing waitlists with a staggering 14,520 people accessing homeless shelters or transitional housing each year. 75% are men, many of whom would have never expected to be in a position of homelessness themselves. These presentations will share the difficulty of living without stable housing, and what housing stability means for those who have lived through the experience of homelessness.

Mental Health & Addiction:
1 in 5 Canadians live with a serious and chronic mental health condition that causes great disruption in their lives. Through this presentation, clients share their many challenges and successes on the road to recovery and stability.

Justice & Reintegration:
Clients share the obstacles and pressures that led to their conflict with the law, as well as the new pathways to success being paved through correctional plans. Life within the federal penitentiary and the important role that Community Residential Facilities (or “halfway houses”) like SLPP play in reintegration are also themes that will be explored.

To book a presentation, please download and complete the attached form. In order to maintain the sustainability of the Speaker’s Bureau Program, a small administration fee of $100 for each resident participating in each engagement is required. This modest charge is to recoup any client losses for having to take time off work, and to cover any travel costs associated with the engagement. If you have any questions about the program or you would like to book an engagement, please contact Ann-Marie Morris, Communications and Fund-Development Coordinator at info@slpp.ca.

H.A.R.P. (Housing & Retention Program)

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HARP is a new initiative of SLPP funded by the Region of Peel that will prioritize housing for homeless men with severe and chronic mental illness.

Some of the services offered through H.A.R.P. Include:

• Assisting clients with housing searches.
• Assist clients with independent searches.
• Eligibility based and referral focused.
• Time Limited Critical Time Intervention support.
• Service advocacy and landlord supports.
• Assistance accessing Affordable, Subsidized, Social and Rent Geared to income housing.
• Time limited rent supplement and housing allowances.
• Strengthen the connection to communities to minimize housing barriers for clients.