Blog

Pride - Voices of Our Youth Advisors (Steph)

We asked our 1Call1Click.ca Youth Advisors to tell us what Pride means to them. Thank you, Steph Dinsdale, for sharing your voice!

“Pride is about community, finding your best friends, allies and partners that love you unconditionally! Accepting myself has opened up my life to so many beautiful moments, friends and a newfound confidence! Love yourself, love others and happy Pride month!”

 - Steph Dinsdale, 1Call1Click.ca Youth Advisor

Denise and her family

Thank you to Denise and her family for sharing their 1Call1Click.ca success story. Meet Jake and hear about how he is looking ahead to summer and a bright future. 1Call1Click.ca: Restoring Hope and Making an Impact. 

Denise and her wife Dana are each the mothers of two children and two stepchildren. Denise and Dana are the grandmothers of two little boys, Jake, age nine, and Jaxsen, age five. 

Starting in 2019, Jake and Jaxsen came to live with Denise and Dana for about a year and a half. After...

Michelle March’s story

Michelle March, 19, and her mom Amélie moved to Ottawa hoping for better access to health care. Michelle is an articulate, self-aware young woman who understands that her health needs are complex. She needs support dealing with depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia and dissociative personality disorder. Mom, Amélie, is loving and supporting.

Michelle’s first family doctor in Ottawa was not well versed in the supports available for a young woman dealing with issues like Michelle.

“It was a...

Stephanie Paravans story

Stephanie Paravan wants more time to just be a mom to Matthew, her 12-year-old son with complex and serious health issues.

“I spend too much time navigating Matthew through the health-care system,” says Stephanie. “There are lots of programs but too many points of access. Some days I feel like I’m an administrator, not a mom.”

Matthew is a Grade 8 student in Ottawa. Cognitively, he is a typical 12-year-old boy, but he has an autoimmune condition and an undiagnosed neurological condition which...

Christie Kopczyk’s story

“Some days I feel like I am his case coordinator, instead of his mom,” says Christie Kopczyk of her 14-year-old son Troy.

“As a parent, you have to learn about all of the care you can get for your son to give him his best opportunity to thrive.”

Before birth, Troy was diagnosed with hydrocephalus. By the time he started Grade 1 Troy had seven brain surgeries and hours of speech language therapy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. More recently, he has had some mental health challenges with...