What’s going on at ChimoWhat’s going on at ChimoWhat’s going on at ChimoWhat’s going on at Chimo From From From From

the Head Honchothe Head Honchothe Head Honchothe Head Honcho!

CHIMO IS

40 YEARS OLD

Actually, to me, that does not seem like all that big a

deal. At my age anything under 55 is still pretty young.

But it is a huge deal!!!! From a small decision by a

Lutheran Church and its then Reverend Glen Carlson to

what Chimo is now. I think we are certainly much

larger than what the originators might have imagined

but it is not size that makes Chimo special.

It is clearly the people. The Board, the kids, the staff,

the families, the past clients (still referred to as kids

even in their forties), Social Workers/Case Managers,

our partners, our funders, the volunteers, all focused on

improving the lives of our young people and in the end

loving them.

Here, in my palatial ivory tower, I get to watch you

guys do the work. Take this kid to an appointment, help

deliver a new baby today, scrub the toilets tomorrow.

Everything we do is always watched by a pair of young

eyes who at some point in their lives will likely emulate

some of what they have learned here. The best part!

The learning is a two way street. Every interaction that

I have with our young people teaches me something.

Sometimes its patience, others it is impatience with

systems that exist primarily to serve themselves.

The best job I ever had with Chimo was my first as a

relief staff. I spent time with the kids just caring about

them and learning. They were and are great. The time I

spent learning from seasoned staff was also

unforgettable.

I have not been here for all of these forty years but a

large part of it. I cherish every moment. Don’t forget to

be a part of the 40th anniversary on June 5

th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIMO!!!!!

Recipes that are

SuperDeDuper Easy!

From master chef Mr. Chimo!

Tater Tot Casserole

1lbs of beef

1/2 medium chopped onion

3/4 cup sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom with onion

soup. If you cannot find this soup, simply

use mushroom soup and add onion soup

mix.

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 lg. bag tater tots

salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef and chopped onion.

Season with salt and pepper. Drain. Mix

sour cream, soup and cheddar cheese with

beef mixture. Top with tater tots.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until browned

and heated through.

Need a bit of inspiration?Need a bit of inspiration?Need a bit of inspiration?Need a bit of inspiration?

"There’s no elevator to success.

You have to take the stairs."

Unknown

SprinSprinSprinSpring 2010g 2010g 2010g 2010

What’s What’s What’s What’s happening at the Transition Homes?happening at the Transition Homes?happening at the Transition Homes?happening at the Transition Homes? Chimo 2Chimo 2Chimo 2Chimo 2 With the arrival of spring, Chimo 2 staff are excited to welcome another arrival for the month of March – a brand new baby boy! Congrats to the new mom! Chimo 2 staff also welcomes a new young mother to our home, along with her two month son – Mr. G, as some people affectionately call him. Mr. G and our newborn will soon have the company of yet another baby, as our pregnant youth in the home will be set to have her baby in the next month! It will soon be very busy indeed at Chimo 2. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Chimo 7Chimo 7Chimo 7Chimo 7 Hello there from Chimo 7 Parenting Home. We have some great updates to share with you!!! The last few months have been very exciting and memorable for us. We have been celebrating a birth of a beautiful baby girl in February…yay more PINK!!!! The baby and her mommy are doing great and fully enjoying each other. We all can’t wait to see how fast she will grow and what pleasures she will bring to our house. We also had to say goodbye to another young lady that has done such a remarkable job at the parenting home that she has moved on to her own place within SOLO. Her son and her are doing great, growing well, and keeping up the remarkable work! And the most recent, we have greeted a new young girl who is soon to be celebrating her 18th birthday. She has been with us just a few weeks but is adjusting quickly. Welcome! As for our staff, we are all getting older, wiser, and stronger as a team. Lots of birthdays here at Chimo 7 for the last couple months….. but that also means MORE CAKE! Enjoy SPRING everyone! “Babies are always more trouble than you thought — and more

wonderful.” ~Charles Osgood

Chimo 8Chimo 8Chimo 8Chimo 8 Chimo 8 is looking forward to spring fever as our boys are feeling cabin fever from staying in from the cold with all us ladies. We have enjoyed watching both of our young men transfer back into the mainstream school system, with one boy in particular showing remarkable attendance. Our other young man did exceptional at teaching Chimo 8 staff how to ski at snow valley and didn’t even laugh at her when she went down the hill on her bottom rather than skis. Both of our boys have enjoyed a winter of skating, tobogganing and shoveling the snow. As the snow begins to melt they look forward to the changing seasons as they both look for jobs.

Chimo 9 Chimo 9 Chimo 9 Chimo 9 Spring is about change and that is certainly true for Chimo 9. In the past 3 months we have seen three youth move out to Chimo’s SOLO program with staff remaining in regular contact with them all, Lisa left our wonderful team to further pursue her career (and we miss her a lot), Chimo 9 was empty for 5-6 weeks (a big THANK YOU to Greg and Jennifer for being so accommodating to Chimo T-Sil and assisting in the other houses while we were empty and for the many other tasks that they did and then four new youth moved in within a three week period!!! And much to the delight of our team and especially Greg, two of those youth were males. Hannah moved in at the beginning of February and it has been a delight having her here;

Chimo 9 Chimo 9 Chimo 9 Chimo 9 Cont’dCont’dCont’dCont’d she has become fast friends with some of Chimo’s other T-SIL youth, and has been working hard to learn how to snowboard in preparation for the Jasper trip. Renea and Raymond the sister and brother duo joined us in early March. They’ve been busy familiarizing themselves with the city and our program, and it has been a pleasure getting to know them. And last but not least, Justin joined us in early March and he has been on the go ever since; he likes all things sports, keeps busy with his hockey team, and found a job after his first week with us! So a big welcome goes out to all our new youth, who are fast becoming friends with the other T-SIL youth.☺

Chimo 10Chimo 10Chimo 10Chimo 10 Yea! Spring has arrived and Chimo 10 is looking forward to bringing out the BBQ and cooking all the good things that comes along with outside cooking! We have three youth in our program! Chad is working hard at school and looking for a part-time job. He is also counting down the days until his 18th Birthday! Tasy is hard at work at school and her part-time job. She also just celebrated her 16th Birthday! Jessica is hard at work completing her grade 12 at school and will be celebrating her Graduation in the upcoming months! Chimo 10 is VERY VERY PROUD of their kids! Chimo 10 front line ladies have enjoyed their vacations over the past few months! Terri went to Costa Rica and Tia to Mexico! Casey has been manning the fort making sure that the house is bouncing along! Maybe her time will be soon! Chimo 10 said good bye to Devery in March and is looking forward to a new member of the team when they arrive! Our GMCC student Ashley is accomplishing wonderful things and we look forward to her involvement within the CYC field and hopefully Chimo!

Chimo 11 Chimo 11 Chimo 11 Chimo 11 As usual things are very busy at our home. We have 4 wonderful young people currently residing with us. One young lady will be graduating grade 12 this spring….a big CONGRATULATIONS to you Jenelle! We also have Tyree who is on the Eagle Football team. Tyree has also been asked to practice with the Edmonton Huskies on a few occasions. Just a reminder to Tyree, we expect free tickets once the Eskimo’s sign you on to replace Ricky Ray. Brandon is looking into applying for the RAP program to assist him in the construction field. We welcome Kimberley back to our program. Our student Margaret successfully completed her practicum with us, we wish her all the best. Hopefully she will join us as relief. As Margaret leaves we welcome Jenna also a student from GMCC. Jenna’s placement will be very short and sweet. If you notice a few more grey hairs on me, I can not blame our kids, they are coming from my staff. Both Kim and Erin informed us that they are both going to be mommies and are due a few weeks apart in September. Congratulations to you both! Needless to say, Naomi and I preparing to brace ourselves for the upcoming hormonal change at our house. Just kidding. ☺ Happy Spring and Happy Easter to all.

What’s happening at SOLO? It is almost hard to believe but we made it through

another dreary winter season. Finally though, the wait

is over and all the telltale signs (and smells) of spring

are in the air! It is time to look forward to a new season

and put the old one to rest. Chimo enjoyed an

awesome Christmas with an even more awesome

Christmas party at the Edmonton Coast Plaza. With

well over 80 youth and guests on hand, we celebrated

with a lip-smacking buffet, riveting aboriginal dancers,

great dancing and of course a visit from Santa.

Staff worked hard to develop a new set of workshops

for our youth which will be running until the end of

May. The youth turnout at these workshops so far is

great!

Last year’s camp trip to Yowochas was so much fun, we

are planning another camp this May 14 – 16th. Anyone

wishing to go and not registered, should talk to their

coordinators right away as spaces are limited. This

camp will be a family friendly camp so mom’s with

children are encouraged to come.

We are almost upon Easter and planning a HUGE

event with over 100 people invited on March 31 from

1pm to 5pm. We will be honoring many Eggstra

special people with our Good Egg awards. To top off

the evening, a special visit from the Easter bunny is

planned.

Some staff have been busy working on their masters in

psychology and Child and Youth Care certification.

Others have been vacationing in Mexico! I’m a little bit

jealous of both but a good balance of fun and hard

work is what we should all be about. So here’s wishing

EVERYONE a Happy Spring filled with happy new

beginnings!

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT LIFE

MANAGEMENT TRAINING?

It’s been a busy few months for the LMT program with vision planning and all sorts of goodies on our plates as we strive to stay current! Onwards and

upwards as we prepare for year end!

Sandra and Debbie spent time in Mexico during the month of February. Both returned tanned and

relaxed. Sybil is planning a trip to the west coast in the very near future and Brenda is headed down east to watch her granddaughter graduate in June. Mel

continues to hold out hope that her new home will be ready soon.

What’s Happening at the Healing Home?What’s Happening at the Healing Home?What’s Happening at the Healing Home?What’s Happening at the Healing Home?

The ‘biggest’ news right now is that we are welcoming a new full time staff member to the Healing Home on April 12, 2010. We are pleased to announce that Carrie will be joining us. We sadly say goodbye and thank you to Steve who worked almost 3 years at the Healing Home in a dual role as Recreation Therapist and Child Care Counselor. Steve accepted a supervisory position overseeing a Recreation Therapy program for seniors. (Hubert’s dream of having the Healing Home guys – Fred, Tim, and Steve - form a ‘boy band’ with him has been shattered by this departure…..maybe Carrie can be the lead singer and Hubert can set us up like, “Gladys Knight and the Pips”!!???). The bestbestbestbest news is that we hear Jess is doing well in school and rugby after moving from the Healing Home to Chimo 10 in February. WAY TO GO JESSICA!! We are proud of her success and wish her a happy graduation!

What’s Happening at What’s Happening at What’s Happening at What’s Happening at

CHIMO CHIMO CHIMO CHIMO 5 PDD TRANSITION HOME5 PDD TRANSITION HOME5 PDD TRANSITION HOME5 PDD TRANSITION HOME?

Is busy welcoming new staff to the team!

Chimo 5 welcomes new staff Farren

and Dena to the team- Welcome Aboard!!

House Hold Maintenance…

Time again to complete

your Taxes!

All taxes need to be into the

government by the end of April.

What’s hWhat’s hWhat’s hWhat’s happening at SOLO with Supports?appening at SOLO with Supports?appening at SOLO with Supports?appening at SOLO with Supports?

Spring has sprung, and SWS continues to have new and exciting changes. This season brings about lots

of changes to our program. We will sadly be replacing two of our Coordinators, Tanya and Monica, as they are both

expecting a new addition to their family. This means we are able to invite two new

Coordinators into our SWS family. In addition to this, we are also very sad to be saying goodbye to

Chimo 5 Team Leader, Dominique, as she is venturing into new opportunities. Thank you for all

your hard work and dedication to this position.

We welcome new youth and our newest Mentor, Jeanette to our team as well.

Additional changes within our program include our potential expansion into Adult Support Services.

Due to the hard work of the staff at Chimo 5 PDD Transition Home, this pilot project has proved to be a success. Our vision to reach out and create new

phases to support more individuals with this transition to PDD is now a project underway. We are very enthusiastic to be expanding our community

connections!

Events to look forward to include Chimo’s 40th Anniversary Celebration and a summer BBQ. Our Easter dinner was a huge success and enjoyed by

many. Many thanks to all of the staff of the SOLO and SWS programs for all their hard work.

QAC….QAC…. What’s new on the Quality Assurance Committee?

The QAC Committee is busy getting the Vision

Plans ready for the programs at Chimo!

What’s happening at Life Skills?What’s happening at Life Skills?What’s happening at Life Skills?What’s happening at Life Skills?

Wow…what a world wind experience this has been. I

started as the new Life Skills coach in October and it has

been a wonderful rollercoaster ride filled with steep

leaning curves and great experiences. I enjoy the fast

pace and new experiences this role has to offer and

absolutely love the fact that everyday is a new adventure.

I have now run 2 full 6-week groups and am looking

forward to seeing the 3rd graduate.

The first group ran from Nov 9th too Dec 17th and

consisted of 5 superb youth. We had many great

experiences including a lot of learning, a few challenges

and an amazing graduation. Four of the 5 youth

graduated with a Living Awareness Certificate and the

other achieved an Attendance Certificate. They all made

huge progress with their personal goals and put in a huge

effort during the program. I am very proud of all of them

for their accomplishments.

The second group ran from January 25th to March 5th

and was equally as exciting as the first and yet very

different. We started with 7 participants and ended with

5. Loosing 2 members was certainly a challenge for the

group, but provided a good learning experience for

everyone. One unique thing we were able to do was to go

to Vertically Inclined to do some rock climbing. The group

had an amazing time and learned a lot about trust, team

work and communication. Out of the 5 group members

that graduated 3 received a Living Awareness Certificate

and 2 received a Full Living Awareness Certificate. They

we all able to met or exceed their own personal goals and,

once again, I am very prod of their accomplishments.

For anyone that is interested in the Life Skills program

the next group will be running from May 24th to July

2nd, call Keith to book an interview. I wish you all a

great spring and I hope you enjoy this fabulous weather.

Have any suggestions

let us know by contacting the QAC Committee.

MILESTONES

Congratulations to the following youth who will be Graduating this June!

Maureen Nimo Bernadette Cassie Christina Dixi Melanie Samantha Cody Dominique C.C.S & Chris

Tyree playing for the Eagles Football league and

practicing with the Edmonton Huskies.

Congratulations goes out

to Andrew who received

his letter of acceptance

to GMCC! Congrats to Congrats to Congrats to Congrats to Aaron who Aaron who Aaron who Aaron who

received his letter received his letter received his letter received his letter of acceptance to of acceptance to of acceptance to of acceptance to

Norquest Norquest Norquest Norquest CollageCollageCollageCollage....

Get well!

To Daniel who is

recovering from

a successful

surgery.

Miranda played the

flute flawlessly during

her band’s performance.

Way to Go!

Layla’s school progress exceeds expectations, and she is well on the road to graduate next year.

Kaylen saved enough money to travel to Jamaica in May!

Tasha has been accepted

to the Special Needs

Educational Assistant

program at Grant

MacEwan Shawn – Impressive first progress report – his smile is contagious!

Levi has been

employed with

Superstore for 6

months. Well

Done!

Happy 20th Birthday

Jonita!

Mark did great on all of his diploma

exams!

Jacob opened a bank account!

Jen completed all the Yoga sessions!

Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan finished finished finished finished his RAP his RAP his RAP his RAP modules. modules. modules. modules. Way to go!Way to go!Way to go!Way to go!

Jeremy L got a part-time

job!

Chris Z. started

school and loves it!

Brendan got a

Merit Award in

Math, English,

Science, and Social.

Way to go!

Nick got his Workplace safety and forklift certificate.

DD has moved out of DD has moved out of DD has moved out of DD has moved out of Chimo 5 and into Chimo 5 and into Chimo 5 and into Chimo 5 and into independent living.independent living.independent living.independent living.

Samantha is sharing her story at the promising

futures breakfast on April 29th and is graduating from

Braemar.