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Therapeutic Support

Support groups are clinically proven to be a powerful method of supporting individuals facing similar challenges by creating a compassionate space to connect and find strength in one another. Through mutual understanding and meaningful connecitons, participants feel less isolated, develop healthy coping stratagies and find comfort in knowing they are not alone.

A large group of teens in matching t-shirts at an amusement park

Chai Lifeline Canada offers a number of support groups in Toronto, as well as at our home in Camp Simcha

  • 75 Family members participating in support groups

  • Dad’s Group

    A recreational monthly meetup where dads can relax, unwind, and learn from each other. Leisure, psychoeducational and creative programming in a supportive environment to encourage the ‘often forgotten’ parent to invest in self care.

  • Parenting a child with Children with Chronic Health Issues

    A A.C.T driven group designed to tackle the lifelong issues affecting every member of the family when a child has ongoing medical needs. Group members explore topics such as “enforcing boundaries when parenting children with medical needs”.

  • Living with cancer, and finding comfort in the presence of others who understand fully

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  • Altered Book Group

    An Art Therapist lead group where narrative therapy is employed with the directive to “change a part of the story so that you change the outcome” empowering participants to reauthor the book. No artistic acumen is needed and no two stories ever look the same.

  • “Walk in the Park” Group

    A weekly meetup of peers together outdoors, with the warm of coffee and the unconditional positive regard to like minded individuals who are experts at multitasking. Mosquitos and drizzle don’t stop this group from lacing up their shoes and hiking the paths of Toronto’s local parks. Community is created and protected and newcomers are always welcomed.

Retreats and Respite Services

  • Camp Simcha campers and counsellors waving from a speedboat on a lake

    The Annual Winter Retreat

    More than 500 family members, staff, and volunteers together for inspiration, information, and support. Because the medical and social needs of children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses differ, each retreat focuses on one of those conditions. Parents discuss the reality of their lives, hospital stays, early intervention plans, therapies and treatment schedules, while their children bond with one another and their counselors.

  • Two volunteers DJing with a smiling boy

    Mothers to Mother & Father’s Retreat

    Retreats designed specifically for mothers or for fathers respite, friendship, strategizing, and training for what lies ahead. In the company of those who truly understand them, parents give themselves permission to pay attention to themselves.

  • A young man carrying a smiling boy on his shoulders by a lake

    Respite Vacations Relax, Renew, Reconnect

    Caring for a sick child can strain marital bonds at the very time couples most need each other. A chance to recharge their relationship, knowing their children are well cared for in their absence.

  • Volunteers in costumes giving high fives to a boy on a mobility scooter

    Donald Alan Harris Healing Hearts Bereavement Retreat

    Intense peer and professional support enables grieving mothers and fathers to find a voice for their sorrow and move forward. Afterwards, parents may join an online chat room that extends the retreat year-round.

  • A large group of girls in red rain ponchos cheering at Niagara Falls

    SibTrip Retreats

    Weekend retreats for children whose lives have been upended by the illness or loss of a sibling. Volunteer counselors and staff help brothers and sisters find normalcy and companionship.

“As the parent of a newly diagnosed child, I felt so overwhelmed when I came (to the Annual Winter Retreat). In just a weekend, I learned so much, but most of all, I feel like I’ve made friends who I can talk to about what’s happening. I am leaving here with hope.”

A boy smiling out of a bus window
Smiling counsellors carrying girls on their backs at camp
Two kids in face paint dancing at a glow party
Three girls in orange shirts and pink tutus by a lake
A laughing boy in a wheelchair wearing blue glasses
A large group of girls in red rain ponchos at Niagara Falls
Boys playing soccer with a volunteer in a park
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