In a presentation at the Peaceful Communities Forum on Wednesday, October 23, Susan spoke about the necessity of supporting vulnerable families as a form of violence prevention.

"Many families have less support than they truly need to parent effectively," says Susan.

Without that support, whether it be in the form of parenting programs or resources such as housing, child care and employment supports, a downward spiral can occur with young children, which ends in the escalation of anger and perpetuation of problems.

She suggests that families need to be able to access information about their child's needs and how they can facilitate healthy, emotional development, and they need to be able to make connections with other parents. "When parents start to feel at their wit's end and don't know what to do, we've got to be there to help out."

Government also needs to be engaged in discussion about providing more supports for families, such as housing, child care, parental leave, employment, respite and income supplementation.

Christine Post, health promoter in the Injury Prevention Program at the Peterborough C C Health Unit, says she agrees that there are many families in the Peterborough area who require more support. "I think we're doing better in some areas than others," she says. "We've gone a long way in providing parenting programs. But at the same time, a huge need has been identified around affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, and obviously other areas. We have a long way to go."

Darrin Gaudreau, with the Salvation Army, also agrees that parenting programs in the Peterborough area seem to be plentiful, although perhaps they aren't accessed as much as they could be. "I think parents need the time to go, something they don't always have," he says. "And then, parents often aren't aware of what's out there."

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