Being a parent with a teenager can be difficult at the best of times and when your teen is in crisis it can be heart breaking; it can also be bewildering and make you feel powerless.

Often you feel there's something wrong, without being able to put your finger on it. It can be hard to understand the changes in your teen's behaviour and the factors that are causing them. Even when the problem seems clear; discovering what's causing it can be anything but. Before you know it, the whole family dynamic has worsened and everyone is affected.

But the vast majority of teens do eventually grow into productive adults. Some just get a bit lost on the way. It's not that surprising when you understand the pressures teens face every day. From their peers, the media, temptations like drugs or gangs, or coming to terms with sexuality. It's not an easy time to be growing up. On top of all of that, mental health problems often show up first in adolescence and go unrecognized because so much else is happening and changing.

We're here, to help teens, parents and families get back on track.

We can help in two ways, through programs we provide ourselves, and by referring you to programs provided by other organizations.

We can help with most issues; things like:

• School problems: your teen won't go or suddenly is failing
• Mental health: your teen seems depressed, or has moods that go from way-too-happy to way-too-sad, is always anxious or is hurting themselves
• Drugs: your teen comes home drunk or high on a regular basis
• Who am I?: Your teen wonders about gender and/or sexual orientation
• Complex special needs: your child or teen has a series of very complicated problems including a developmental disability and another issue that makes it hard for you to manage or to find help.

So you've come to the right place to start turning things around.

And if we've learned one thing, it's the importance of not giving up.

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