Amal Youth and Family Centre provides supportive services, across Newfoundland and Labrador, to adults who are diagnosed with an Intellectual Disability, Developmental Disability, have mental health concerns, and/or are experiencing difficulties in their lives. Adults who are referred to Amal for services are usually considered to have complex needs and challenging behaviours, and require an intensive, therapeutic service option. All programs are individualized to meet the needs of the specific adult.
Amal is committed to providing high quality standards of care for all adults. Amal provides supportive, nurturing, and therapeutic environments for adults based on the following:
• All behaviour is purposeful and needs-based, and all individuals have needs that must be met in order for healthy development to occur. These include, but are not limited to, needs for safety, security, trust, belonging, affection, recognition, power, competence, self-esteem, generosity, and autonomy.
• Assessment and intervention is developmental, trauma informed, and focused on providing a rich array of diverse and reparative experiences to stimulate growth in all functional domains.
• There is a strong focus on relational practice, providing positive social interactions, and facilitating the development of healthy relationships and a sense of belonging.
• Intervention is needs-led, focused on identifying the needs underlying adult’s behaviours, and helping them to meet these needs in healthier ways.
• Intervention is strength-based, individualized and focused on promoting resiliency, competence and opportunities for adults to experience success.
• Families and/or guardians are considered an integral part of the therapeutic process.
• Amal will respect, promote and protect the rights of all adults in its care. Adults and their families will not be discriminated against on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion, culture or sexuality.
• Amal will employ highly trained, skilled and competent staff while also providing ongoing staff development and training opportunities.
To deliver a truly therapeutic environment for adults availing of our services, a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach is required. At Amal, we value a person-centered approach which includes having our adult clients actively involved in setting their own goals, whenever possible. We honour the individual’s right to choose which type of service and programming they engage in.
Areas of Service Provision
Alternate care: Individuals are cared for in individual or congregate living arrangements by trained staff who provide a supportive and therapeutic living environment.
Respite: We provide breaks for family members, in a planned and supportive manner, either in the family home or an alternate location.
Coaching/Mentoring: One-on-one support focused on skill development and the acquisition of socially significant behaviours.
Family Engagement: We offer mentorship and training to families to help them prevent and manage challenging behaviours and increase skills in a multitude of areas, all while keeping the wants and needs of the adult in mind. We also offer activity programming, recreation, and crisis intervention within the family home.
Amal provides training to all staff in the following areas:
• First Aid/CPR
• Understanding and Dealing with Challenging Behaviours
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
• Trauma
• Life Span Development
• Understanding and Managing Aggressive Behaviour (UMAB)
• Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI)
• The PersonBrain™ Model
• Vicarious Trauma
• The Purposeful Use of Daily Life Events (DLE)
Training is ongoing throughout the employment period and tailored to meet the developmental needs of staff, and the special needs of individual adults and families in areas such as FASD, sexualized behaviour, and intellectual disabilities. All efforts are made to ensure that the staff are informed and educated in areas that are relevant to each adult. Additionally, employees are sponsored to attend local, national and international workshops and conferences in relevant areas.
For additional information contact supportiveservices@amalnl.ca or (709) 770-8098