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  • COSTI problem gambling calendar contest award recipients announced

    06 February 2012 / Uncategorized / Comments Off

    This past Fall, COSTI Immigrant Services and its community partners collaborated to produce a youth-illustrated calendar to raise awareness about problem gambling. Funded by the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network, the objective of the project was to produce a resource that could be a springboard for family discussions about gambling as a form of entertainment and not a way to make money. Children are more likely to gamble if they see adults in their lives gambling or hear their family members talking about winning at gambling. Studies show that an interest in gambling may be observed as early as the age of eight. Parents who talk about responsible gambling with their children help them to understand that there are risks to gambling that may lead to problems with their school work, and their relationship with their family and friends. Encouraging discussions about gambling does not mean that parents are encouraging gambling. In actuality, open and respectful conversations about gambling help children make informed choices about their own behaviour.

    The calendar art work was selected by a panel of judges from entries received through an Art Competition open to youth attending schools and learning centres in the greater Toronto area. Youth were asked to explore various ideas to come up with a concept for their artwork on the theme of “problem gambling”.

    Congratulations to the twelve students whose artwork was selected for publication:

    • Arusa Schedina, Age 17
    • Eric Cheung, Age 16
    • Evan Ji, Age 9
    • Fernanda Sousa, Age 11
    • Harrani Uthayasegaran, Age 12
    • Helen Kurnevich, Age 14
    • Jamielyn Mariano, Age 17
    • Nicole Di Biasio, Age 16
    • Parisa Fani-Molky, Age 13
    • Tajuana Payne, Age 15
    • Talitha Ling, Age 11
    • Winnie Phuong, Age 11

    All twelve award recipients were presented with certificates and a $100 monetary award at an Awards Dinner held on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. COSTI would like to acknowledge the support received from the following project partners: Abrigo Centre, Addiction Services for York Region, Chinese Family Services of Ontario, For You Telecare Family Service, iDream Entertainment and Education, Tamil Eelam Society of Canada, and Vietnamese Association of Toronto.

    Abrigo anuncia os premiados do Concurso de Arte sobre o tema do Jogo organizado por COSTI

    Este Outono, COSTI Immigrant Services e seus parceiros comunitários colaboraram na produção de um calendário ilustrado por jovens a alertar sobre o problema dos jogos de azar.

    Este projecto foi providenciado com fundos de Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network. O objectivo foi produzir um recurso que pudesse ser um tema de conversa em família sobre a questão do jogo como entertenimento e não uma maneira de fazer dinheiro.

    As crianças estão mais prontas a jogar se veem os adultos do seu conhecimento a jogar ou se ouvem os seus familiares dizer que ganharam no jogo.
    Os estudos indicam que as crianças podem começar a ter interesse no jogo a partir dos oito anos de idade. A mãe ou o pai que fala em jogar com responsibilidade, ajuda a criança a compreender que há riscos associados ao jogo que podem resultar em problemas com as tarefas da escola, relações com a família, e com as/os amigas/os. Quando a mãe ou o pai incentiva o diálogo sobre o jogo, isto não quer dizer que está a incentivar a criança aos jogos de azar. Na realidade, o diálogo aberto sobre jogos de azar ajuda a criança a tomar decisões apropriadas sobre o seu próprio comportamento.

    Um concurso de arte foi lançado em várias comunidades para solicitor os trabalhos de jovens nas escolas e centros de ensino na área grande de Toronto. Pedimos aos jovens para elaborar vários temas, focando no vício do jogo. Um painel de juízes seleccionou as peças de arte a publicar no calendário.

    Parabéns aos seguintes estudantes, cujas obras de arte foram seleccionadas para publicação:

    • Arusa Schedina, Age 17
    • Eric Cheung, Age 16
    • Evan Ji, Age 9
    • Fernanda Sousa, Age 11
    • Harrani Uthayasegaran, Age 12
    • Helen Kurnevich, Age 14
    • Jamielyn Mariano, Age 17
    • Nicole Di Biasio, Age 16
    • Parisa Fani-Molky, Age 13
    • Tajuana Payne, Age 15
    • Talitha Ling, Age 11
    • Winnie Phuong, Age 11

    Todos os doze premiados receberam um certificado e um prémio de $100 durante um jantar de gala no dia 13 de Dezembro de 2011.

    COSTI gostaria de reconhecer o apoio dos seguintes parceiros Abrigo Centre, Addiction Services for York Region, Chinese Family Services of Ontario, For You Telecare Family Service, iDream Entertainment and Education, Tamil Eelam Society of Canada, e Vietnamese Association of Toronto.

  • Annual Report 2010-2011 now available for download

    29 November 2011 / Uncategorized / 0 Comment


    Abrigo Centre's Annual Report 2010-2011 is now available for download, in Portuguese and English.

    2010-2011 Annual Report - English (PDF)
    2010-2011 Annual Report - Portuguese (PDF)

  • Dufferin Mall Youth Services (DMYS) re-opens September 7, 2011:

    02 September 2011 / Uncategorized / 0 Comment

    On behalf of the Dufferin Mall Youth Services (DMYS) partnership group, we are pleased to announce that St. Christopher House is now the new lead agency regarding the coordination and operation of the DMYS drop-in services located inside the Dufferin Mall in west Toronto. St Christopher House will be re-opening DMYS starting on Wednesday September 7 with doors opening for this first day back at 1:00pm and an employment workshop scheduled from 3:00pm to 5:30pm.

    Initially, for September, DMYS will operate on Wednesdays only with employment services as the theme. “The plan is to start slowly and re-build the Drop-in programming in a sustainable manner” said Lidia Monaco, St Christopher House’s Acting Executive Director. St Christopher House comes with a great deal of experience running drop-in spaces and they have an exemplary reputation in this community. We are all thrilled to have St Chris join the Dufferin Mall Youth Services team! Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

    Thank you,

    Ed Graça
    Acting Executive Director

  • Ed Graca appointed Executive Director of Abrigo Centre

    19 August 2011 / Uncategorized / 0 Comment

    Toronto, Ontario (August 19, 2011) - The Board of Directors of Abrigo Centre today announced the appointment of Ed Graça as Executive Director, effective September 18, 2011.
    Ed Graça is one of the original founders of Abrigo Centre and served as its Executive Director for 19 years until early 2010. “We were fortunate to have Ed return to Abrigo as Acting Executive Director while Cristina Santos was on a leave of absence, and are delighted that he has accepted our offer to lead the organization going forward. Ed’s experience and insights into the changing needs of the community will be invaluable to the organization. Abrigo Centre is in good hands with Ed at the helm,” says Kevin Perry, Chair of the Board of Directors, Abrigo Centre.

    Graça has more than 30 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, working as an Executive Director, Community Legal Worker, Counsellor and Volunteer Coordinator. As Executive Director for Abrigo Centre he helped the organization grow from serving 600 clients per year to almost 5,000 clients. Prior to returning to Abrigo, Graça worked as Executive Director of The Gatehouse Child Abuse Investigation and Support Site and of ACCES Employment Services in Toronto. Earlier in his career, he worked with Kensington-Bellwood’s Community Legal Clinic and Bloor Information and Life Skills Centre.

    “I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to return as Executive Director and I come to this new responsibility with a sense of renewed commitment and energy to serving our community. The people associated with this organization: the board members, staff, volunteers and clients are what continue to make Abrigo stand out. It was a pleasure serving Abrigo in the past and it is truly a privilege to do so going forward,” says Ed Graça.

    Abrigo Centre serves more than 5,000 people annually helping to improve the quality of their lives. Twenty exceptional professional staff offer individual in-person sessions and counseling within group settings. Programs include counselling for abuse victims and abusers, family and parenting counselling, pre-employment workshops, youth services, and community development programs that offer integration services for newcomers. Abrigo Centre has been serving the community for 21 years and is conveniently located in the Dufferin Mall.
    For more information, please contact: Abrigo Centre, 416-534-3434 or visit www.abrigo.ca/contact

  • Executive Director, Cristina Santos, leaves Abrigo Centre to pursue a new career.

    26 July 2011 / Uncategorized / 0 Comment

    Hello Abrigo Centre partners and stakeholders,

    I have some important news to share with you. Our current Executive Director, Cristina Santos, has decided to leave Abrigo Centre to pursue a new career. We wish Cristina well with her future endeavors and thank her for her 21 years of dedicated service to this organization. The Board of Directors has immediately started a recruitment process for a new leader.

    While our search is underway, Abrigo Centre is in good hands. Ed Graça will continue in his role as Acting Executive Director, a position he accepted in the spring when Cristina left for a short medical leave.

    Ed Graça is one of the original founders of Abrigo, and was the Executive Director for 19 years. He understands the mandate and mission of the organization as well as how critical partnerships are to the organization.

    Please contact me directly with any questions or suggestions. I am delighted to hear from you.

    Kevin Perry
    Chair of the Board,
    Abrigo Centre

  • 2009-2010 Annual Report

    22 December 2010 / Uncategorized / 0 Comment

    Abrigo Centre's 2009-2010 is now available for download, in Portuguese and English.
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