PLEA has been opening doors for children and families facing challenges since 1979.
PLEA is a CARF accredited community service organization that provides tailor made services to meet individuals needs and circumstances.
PLEA adheres to the principles of service & employment equity.
About PLEA
PLEA MISSION
"Through unique services tailored to individual strengths and needs, PLEA helps children, youth, adults and families who face significant challenges to lead fulfilling lives within their communities."
PLEA VISION
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to have a “good life” and that everyone counts.
We believe that each of us has a right to:
• Be treated with dignity and respect,
• Rewarding relationships with the important people in our lives,
• Connections with family and community,
• Be able to live our lives to the fullest extent of our strengths,
talents and abilities,
• Be able to have access to services, when we need them, to assist
us to be the best we can be.
PLEA PROGRAMS
We value diversity within PLEA. Our personnel (employees, family caregivers, volunteers, students, and board members) reflect the communities we serve. We are proactive in improving our cultural competence and accessibility to services. We recognize that the persons we serve come from various backgrounds and circumstances, and that the issues they face are complex. We tailor our services to the needs and circumstances of individuals, and we make every person comfortable to the best of our ability.
We strive to be responsive to the social realities of our program participants, recognizing their individual diversity and complexity. Developing relationships that are based on mutual respect and trust is fundamental to every aspect of our work with individuals, families, communities, organizations and systems.
We acknowledge culture and identity as crucial elements of healthy development throughout the lifespan. We attach great importance to ensuring that services are provided in ways that are culturally sensitive and appropriate; to providing access to interpretation and translation services wherever needed; and to increasing knowledge and access to resources for all personnel.
We work in the youth justice, child welfare, addictions, health, mental health, community living and education systems, delivering residential and non-residential services in the community. Our origins are in the 1973 Detention and Recreation Extension (DARE) one-to-one intensive support program and a 1982 PLEA Family Care residential program, both designed for youth in the justice system. They emphasized the potential of each person, the importance of adult role models and learning through positive activity. We have continued to adapt these models in order to tailor effective, high-quality responses to the diverse strengths, needs and circumstances of individual children, youth, adults and their families.
We work closely and collaboratively with referring and funding authorities, and build robust partnerships with other service providers. We work openly in the community, and make extensive use of a wide range of community resources, while generally maintaining a low public profile. We support one another to provide effective services to consistently high standards.
Our services are comprehensive and are supported by research and known best practices. We continue to seek better ways to meet individual and community needs. We enjoy the creative process of adapting existing services and building new programs.