About Us

 

Making a Better Place For All of Us

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(705) 759-5989

About
Algoma Family Services

Algoma Family Services is a provider of specialized services for children, youth, adults and families in the Algoma District.  Our services are evidence-based, client-centered, family-focused and delivered by a team of skilled professionals.

Our work is focused in the following key areas:

  • Child and youth mental health services.
  • Specialized programs for youth substance use, young offenders and family violence.
  • Community Partnerships, as a lead sponsor for a number of programs with local collateral agencies.

Our Vision, Our Mission, Our Values

We will inspire hope, wellness, and equity in all of our services.

An integrated pathway to extraordinary and timely services.

Active
Listening

The potential of every individual

Diverse
people and
perspectives
Dynamic
teamwork
Tenacious
resolve
Breakthrough Innovation

Strategic Priorities

Level Setting

Reconciling our Future

Finding a Better Way

Connecting the Dots, Closing the Gaps

Investing in our Awesome Team

With Your Help, We are Making The Algoma District a Better Place

Ali Juma, CEO.

Johnson, William

President / Chair of the Board
Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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William joined the board in November 2019. He worked in the Crown Attorney’s office for 36 years before retiring in 2015. He has experience with youth court, mental health court and domestic assault. William has most recently been the chair of the AFS Board Governance Committee.

 

Lofstrom, Patricia

Vice-Chair of the Board
Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Patrica joined the board in November 2019. She works with the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. She is proficient in both official languages and has experience in strategic planning and community engagement.

Kuzbari, Dania

Secretary of the Board
Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Dania Kuzbari has been a board member since March 2022. She is an employment advisor at the Sault Community Career Centre. She speaks English, French, Arabic and Spanish, and has experience in employment and settlement services.

Lavergne, Wes

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Wes joined the board in October 2023. He is a lawyer in Sault Ste. Marie and focuses his law practice in the areas of corporate/commercial, real estate, and wills/estates law. He provides advice to corporations and not-for-profit entities in his practice.

Bernard, Megan

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Megan has been a Board member since fall 2018. She is a Professional Practice Lead and Registered Dietitian at the Sault Area Hospital. She has experience in clinical nutrition and change management.

Agnew, James

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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James is presently employed by the Algoma District School Board in a specialized role, dedicated to leveraging technology in innovative and purposeful ways to aid educators and the system. He has specialties in Special Education and Literacy, as well as a background in facilitating adult and youth development.

Swystun, Daniel

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Dan has been a Board member spring of 2023. He is a Health and Safety Coordinator for the Public Works and Engineering department with the City of Sault Ste. Marie. He has experience in various areas of Human Resources and Health and Safety.

Hamilton, Rick

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Rick has been advocating on behalf of injured workers for more than 30 years, beginning in the mining industry. He has been a union activist serving both his Local executive and Algoma Manitoulin District Labour Council as President. Rick then moved to the public sector, representing injured workers through the Office of the Worker Adviser. He continues to serve injured workers at all levels of the WSIB/WSIAT, specializing in occupational disease and mental stress claims. Since 1991, Rick remains an instructor with the Prevention Links (previously OFL WCB committee). Fulfilling his civic duty, Rick has held the positions of City Councilor, Deputy Mayor, and Mayor of the city of Elliot Lake.

Geenen, Jennifer

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Jennifer Geenen was born and raised in Sault Ste Marie, She has a degree in disability studies. Jennifer works at Nogdawindamin in their ABA program. She is a new mother to baby Harper. 

Petersson, David

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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David joined the Board in October of 2023.  He obtained his Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation in 1999.  Over 30 years’ experience within diverse segments including industry, public accounting, government, and not-for-profit has led him to his current role is as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSMSSAB) where he has been since 2012.

Omollo, Jane

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Jane is an active and passionate community leader with 20 years of experience working in cross-cultural environments to champion equitable inclusion for equity-deserving groups at both the organizational and community levels.

Jane is the Manager of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Algoma University. Before assuming her current role, she worked as the newcomer manager of programs at the Sault Community Career Centre.

As a community builder, Jane is the founding and president emeritus of the African Caribbean Association of Northern Ontario (ACCANO),  a not-for-profit community organization that was established in 2011.

O’Conner, Lucia

Director – Sault Ste. Marie

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Lucia joined the board in May 2022. She is an Indigenous Arts Educator and teaches at Algoma University and The Art Gallery of Algoma. Lucia is an active member of the First Nations community in Bawating and strives to strengthen land-based and cultural learning.

 

Senior Leadership Team

Ali Juma

Chief Executive Officer

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Stephanie Fetherston

Sr. Director of Service

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Stephanie has been the Director of Services at AFS since January, 2023.

She graduated in 2008 with a Masters Of Social Work from Grand Valley State University.

Prior to working at AFS, she worked in a variety of leadership and clinical positions including mental health and addictions, health care, developmental services and child welfare.  Stephanie is very passionate about community outreach and collaboration and meeting clients and families where they are at using a strengths-based perspective.

F. Brian Kelly

Sr. Director of Services

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Arlene Smith

Director of Human Resources

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Arlene joined the Awesome Team at AFS on August 1, 2023, as Director of Human Resources.  She holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources Management from Florida International University and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Advanced Project Management and Strategic Leadership from Lambton College, ON.  Arlene brings over twenty-five years of experience in the Human Resources field from the Caribbean and most recently in Canada.

Jacob Bruzas

Director, Finance and Admin.

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Brenda Clarke

DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY SERVICES AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

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Brenda has a background in education and is also a certified project manager with over 25 years of experience with AFS. She has skills in proposal writing, program development, strategic planning and evaluation.

Natalie Young

DIRECTOR, ANALYTICS & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

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Our Memberships

Children's Mental Health Ontario

Working to improve the mental health and well-being of children and youth and their families, with a core membership of 81 community-based children’s mental health centres that serve some 150,000 children and their families annually.

www.kidsmentalhealth.ca

Family Service Ontario

Family Service Ontario is a trusted voice on the issues that impact the daily lives of families in Ontario. Using the wealth of experience at our table, we work directly to strengthen families by recognizing the challenges and opportunities within our sector and taking action.

http://familyserviceontario.org

AFS Office Locations

Algoma Family Services Client's Bill of Rights and Related Responsibilities

CLIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS AND RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES

As a client of Algoma Family Services, you have the following rights and responsibilities:

RIGHTS

  1. To be treated with courtesy and respect in a safe, supportive environment.
  2. To receive service that respects your dignity, independence, privacy and confidentiality.
  3. To receive service that respects your individuality and your values, and responds sensitively to your needs and preferences.
  4. To be fully informed, including receiving information about your services and your personal client record.
  5. To consent to or refuse a service, based on having the information needed to help make an informed decision, including the intervention/treatment options available to you and the likely benefits and/or risks of participation or non-participation.
  6. To withhold or withdraw consent to collect, use, or disclose your personal health information.
  7. To participate in assessment and service planning.
  8. To have your support network involved in your service.
  9. To receive quality services that comply with professional standards.
  10. To express your concerns, make a complaint, appeal a decision.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. To work with us to plan your care and meet your service goals.
  2. To keep appointments and be on time, or give us at least 24-hour cancellation notice.
  3. To respect our staff and our property; treat us as you wish to be treated.
  4. To respect the rights and confidentiality of others.
  5. * To tell us if you need more information or don’t understand something.
  6. * To tell us if you believe you have been treated unfairly or received poor service.

* Please speak to either your AFS Counsellor or call the AFS Executive Director at (705) 945-5050 or Toll Free 1-800-461-2237.

À titre de client des Services aux familles d’Algoma, vous jouissez des droits et vous acceptez les responsabilités qui suivent:

DROITS

  1. Être traité avec courtoisie et respect dans un milieu sûr et positif.
  2. Recevoir des services qui respectent votre dignité, votre indépendance, votre vie privée et votre confidentialité.
  3. Recevoir des services qui respectent votre individualité et vos valeurs et qui sont sensibles à vos besoins et à vos préférences.
  4. Être pleinement informé, notamment en ce qui concerne les renseignements sur les services que vous recevez et votre dossier personnel.
  5. Consentir à un service ou refuser un service, après avoir obtenu les renseignements nécessaires pour prendre une décision éclairée, y compris les options d'intervention/traitement disponibles à vous et les avantages et/ou les risques probables de la participation ou de la non-participation.
  6. Refuser ou retirer votre consentement à la collecte, à l’utilisation ou à la divulgation de vos renseignements personnels sur la santé.
  7. Participer à l’évaluation et à la planification des services.
  8. Faire participer votre réseau de soutien à la prestation de vos services.
  9. Recevoir des services de qualité qui sont conformes aux normes professionnelles.
  10. Exprimer vos préoccupations, porter plainte et contester une décision.

RESPONSABILITÉS

  1. Collaborer avec nous pour planifier vos soins et réaliser vos objectifs en matière de services.
  2. Vous présenter à vos rendez-vous à l’heure, ou nous donner un avis d’annulation d’au moins 24 heures.
  3. Respecter nos employés et notre propriété; nous traiter de la façon dont vous aimeriez être traité.
  4. Respecter les droits et la confidentialité des autres.
  5. *Nous le dire si vous avez besoin de plus amples renseignements ou si vous ne comprenez pas.
  6. *Nous le dire si vous croyez avoir subi un traitement injuste ou reçu un service médiocre.

* Veuillez vous adresser à votre conseiller des SFA ou appeler le directeur des services cliniques des SFA au 945-5050, poste 2044.

Algoma Family Services Privacy Policy

Algoma Family Services, in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act of Ontario November 2004, recognizes the importance of the privacy of your personal health information, and is committed to respecting, safeguarding and protecting your personal health information.

COLLECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION

We collect personal health information about you directly from you or from the person acting on your behalf. The personal health information that we collect may include health history and records of your health care. When we have your consent, or the law permits, we collect personal health information about you from other sources.

Before collecting personal health information from you, we will explain to you the purpose of collecting the information. We will only collect, use and disclose your personal health information with your consent, except where otherwise permitted or required by law.

USE AND DISCLOSURES OF PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION:

Algoma Family Services uses and discloses your personal health information to:

  • treat and care for you in the community,
  • plan, administer and manage our internal operations,
  • conduct risk management activities,
  • conduct quality improvement activities, teach,
  • conduct research,
  • compile statistics,
  • comply with legal and regulatory requirements, and
  • fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law.

SECURITY:

Your personal health information is kept confidential and secure and used only by those directly involved in your care. We take steps to ensure that everyone who performs services for us protects your privacy and uses your personal health information only for the purposes you have consented to.

Algoma Family Services has policies and procedures that outline:

  • Security practices to protect your personal health information from theft, loss and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure and disposal.
  • Conducting audits and completing investigations to monitor and manage our privacy compliance.

YOUR ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You have a right to access and request corrections to your personal health information by contacting your treatment team at (705) 945-5050.

You may withdraw your consent for some of the above collections, uses and disclosures, subject to legal exceptions/restrictions and.

*- with reasonable notice, by contacting your treatment team.

UNLESS YOU TELL US NOT TO: we will disclose your information to other health care providers in the “Circle of Care” who need to know this information to provide you with care or help provide you with care.

The “Circle of Care” includes agencies funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to provide you with voluntary children’s services, health care professionals, pharmacies, laboratories, ambulance service, other hospital health care personnel, nursing homes, Community Care Access Centres (CCAC’s) and home service providers who provide you with health care services.

UNLESS YOU TELL US NOT TO: we will disclose your name and address to our Foundation, which may contact you for fundraising purposes. You may ask that your name not be given to the Foundation.

HOW TO CONTACT US

The AFS Privacy Officer can be reached at (705) 945-5050 or (800) 461-2237.

COMPLAINTS

You have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. The Commissioner can be reached at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

2 Bloor Street East – Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8

Telephone: 1-800-387-0073 Fax: (416) 325-9195 Email: info @ipc.on.ca

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information about our privacy practices, or to raise a concern you have with your practices, contact us at:

Algoma Family Services

205 McNabb Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6B 1Y3

Telephone: 1-800-461-2237 Fax (705) 942-9273 Email: afs@algomafamilyservices.ca

 

 

Francais:

Conformément à la Loi de 2004 sur la protection des renseignements personnels sur la santé, les Services aux familles d’Algoma reconnaissent l’importance de la confidentialité à l’égard de vos renseignements personnels sur la santé et s’engagent à respecter et à protéger le caractère confidentiel de ces renseignements.

COLLECTE DE RENSEIGNEMENTS PERSONNELS SUR LA SANTÉ

Nous recueillons des renseignements personnels sur la santé à votre sujet directement auprès de vous ou de la personne qui agit en votre nom. Les renseignements personnels sur la santé que nous recueillons peuvent comprendre vos antécédents médicaux ainsi que les dossiers relatifs aux soins qui vous ont été fournis. Il nous arrive aussi de recueillir des renseignements personnels sur la santé à votre sujet auprès d’autres sources si nous avons obtenu votre consentement au préalable ou si la loi le permet.

Avant de recueillir des renseignements personnels sur la santé à votre sujet, nous vous expliquerons pourquoi ces renseignements sont recueillis. Nous recueillerons, utiliserons et divulguerons des renseignements personnels sur la santé à votre sujet seulement si vous y consentez, sauf si la loi le permet ou l’exige.

UTILISATION ET DIVULGATION DE RENSEIGNEMENTS PERSONNELS SUR LA SANTÉ

Les Services aux familles d’Algoma utilisent et divulguent vos renseignements personnels sur la santé aux fins suivantes:

  • vous traiter et vous soigner dans la communauté;
  • planifier, administrer et gérer nos activités internes;
  • effectuer des activités de gestion des risques;
  • effectuer des activités d’amélioration de la qualité;
  • enseigner;
  • faire des recherches;
  • compiler des statistiques;
  • nous conformer à des exigences juridiques et réglementaires;
  • parvenir à d’autres fins permises ou exigées par la loi.

SÉCURITÉ

Nous veillons à la confidentialité et à la protection de vos renseignements personnels sur la santé. Seules les personnes qui participent directement à vos soins y ont accès. Nous prenons des mesures pour nous assurer que toute personne qui fournit des services pour nous protège votre vie privée et n’utilise vos renseignements personnels sur la santé qu’aux fins auxquelles vous avez consenti.

Les Services aux familles d’Algoma ont mis en place des politiques et procédures qui décrivent :

· les mesures de sécurité servant à protéger vos renseignements personnels sur la santé contre le vol, la perte ainsi que l’accès, la reproduction, la modification, l’utilisation, la divulgation et l’élimination non autorisés;

· les vérifications et les enquêtes menées en vue de surveiller et de gérer notre conformité aux exigences concernant la protection de la vie privée.

VOTRE DROIT D’ACCÈS À VOS RENSEIGNEMENTS PERSONNELS

Vous avez le droit d’accéder à vos renseignements personnels sur la santé et de demander de les faire corriger en communiquant avec votre équipe de traitement au 705 945-5050. Vous pouvez également, sous réserve d’exceptions ou de restrictions légales et sur préavis raisonnable, retirer votre consentement à l’utilisation et à la divulgation de vos renseignements personnels pour certaines des fins susmentionnées en communiquant avec votre équipe de traitement.

À MOINS D’INDICATION CONTRAIRE DE VOTRE PART, nous divulguerons des renseignements personnels qui vous concernent à d’autres fournisseurs de soins faisant partie du « cercle de soins », c’est-à-dire les personnes qui ont besoin de ces renseignements pour vous prodiguer des soins directs ou indirects.

Le « cercle de soins » inclut les organismes financés par le ministère des Services à l’enfance et à la jeunesse pour fournir des services volontaires aux enfants et les professionnels de la santé, les pharmacies, les laboratoires, les services ambulanciers, les hôpitaux, les maisons de soins infirmiers, les centres d’accès aux soins communautaires (CASC) et les fournisseurs de soins à domicile qui vous fournissent des services de santé.

À MOINS D’INDICATION CONTRAIRE DE VOTRE PART, nous donnerons votre nom et votre adresse à notre fondation, qui pourrait communiquer avec vous à des fins de collecte de fonds. Vous pouvez demander que votre nom ne soit pas donné à la fondation.

COMMENT NOUS JOINDRE

Vous pouvez joindre notre agente de protection de la vie privée au 705 945-5050 ou au 1 800 461-2237.

PLAINTES

Vous avez le droit de porter plainte auprès de la commissaire à l’information et à la protection de la vie privée de l’Ontario. Vous pouvez la joindre à l’adresse suivante:

Commissaire à l’information et à la protection de la vie privée de l’Ontario

2, rue Bloor Est, bureau 1400, Toronto (Ontario) M4W 1A8

Tél.: 1 800 387- 0073 Téléc.: 416 325- 9195 Courriel: info@ipc.on.ca

RENSEIGNEMENTS SUPPLÉMENTAIRES

Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements sur nos pratiques en matière de protection de la vie privée ou pour nous faire part de vos préoccupations à ce sujet, n’hésitez pas à communiquer avec nous à l’adresse suivante:

Services aux familles d’Algoma

205, rue McNabb, Sault-Ste-Marie (Ontario) P6B 1Y3

Téléphone: 1 800 461-2237 Télécopieur: 705 942-9273 Courriel: afs@algomafamilyservices.ca

Algoma Family Services PIPEDA Privacy Policy

Sault Ste Marie

205 McNabb Street (Main)
Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6B 1Y3

Contact

Tel (705) 945-5050
Fax (705) 942-9273
Toll-Free 1 (800) 461-2237

Hours

Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. –4:30 p.m.

Elliot Lake

31A Manitoba Road
Elliot Lake, ON P5A 2A7

Contact

Tel (705) 848-0790
Toll-Free 1 (800) 461-2237
(Connects to AFS Head Office Reception)

Hours

 Monday - Friday - 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.   (Closed for Lunch 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.)

 

Wawa

26 Ste. Marie Road
Wawa, ON P0S 1K0

Contact

Tel (705) 856-2252
Toll-Free 1 (800) 461-2237
(Connects to AFS Head Office Reception)

Hours

Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Closed for Lunch 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.)

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