FUTFS Newsletter 32 (November 2023)

For You Telecare Family Service (FUTFS) assists individuals and families from all walks of life to overcome cultural, emotional, and psychological barriers through a wide range of counselling and educational services and programs. In collaboration with other social service organizations, we raises awareness of social issues and supports clients in the community through the progression of a healthy lifestyle and gradual integration into Canadian society.The projects we provide at FUTFS are for anyone who is willing or interested in participating. Anyone can easily register through our website (www.futfs.org).

Programs & Services in Nov 2023

1. Family Interview

• Join us for an interview where youth and families can spend time together and openly discuss about daily activities and their influences on the physical and mental health of youth. Become involved in an open and accepting, non-judgemental environment facilitated by 3rd year nursing students who will conduct the interview. This interview will ask general mental health-related questions such as physical activity and overall mood. The data will be used as insight to develop statistics and useful programs for youth health.
• Make an appointment by registering on the website.
• 30 minutes session.

2. Parenting Workshop with Children

The Parenting Workshop with Children is a lecture on parenting procedures and sharing opinions and values with parents who have felt difficulties in conversation and relationships with youths. This is a gathering of parents to seek and improve relationships and communication with their children. 4 nursing students will be participating.

3. EAHA Project: Society Where Seniors Smile

EAHA is a project that allows seniors to look back on their lives where they could not participate in activities because of the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This project allows for seniors to partcipate in balanced education, training and activities. We aim to create a healthy community that alleviates difficulties seniors face. EAHA project will be running untill March 2024.

4. Expressive Art Workshop

Expressive Arts Workshop for youth provides an opportunity to unlock their creativity and start their journey in self-discovery and personal growth. Through art, youth have the opportunity to:

• Express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences
• Release emotions and gain clarity
• And more!

5. Youth Interview

You can choose any Tuesday or Wednesday, between 4:30 - 7:30 PM for conducting Youth Interview. Each session lasts 60 minutes. Join us for an interview where youth can spend time together and openly discuss about daily activities and their influences on the physical and mental health of youth.

6. Youth Leaders Group

We are looking for Youth Leaders Group Members. Youth Leaders Group is a small group activity, and a group in which leaders gather together to practice their skills as leaders through the process of planning, execution, and evaluation of how to implement youth activities and projects. Volunteer hours, certificates, reference letter, and dinner will be provided.

7. FUTFS Bazaar 2023

Great for yourself or as a gift!

Donations of items are also welcomed! To volunteer on the day of the event or donate items to be sold during the bazaar, please apply through the “FUTFS Bazaar 2023” webpage on the www.futfs.org website so that our staff will contact you as soon as possible.

Negative emotions are a normal fact of life

Negative emotions are a normal fact of life. They usually serve a purpose and are our body's way of telling us what is wrong. Anger or fear may not be a pleasant emotion, but they exist to protect us against danger. They activate a fight-or-flight response and prepare our body to fight or run away. Hormones such as adrenaline would increase, also increasing our heart rate. This pushes more blood to the muscles and organs of the body also providing them with more nutrients and energy. This enables us to fight harder, run faster. Our bodies are designed to respond to threats through our emotions. However, when these negative emotions run rampant and get severe enough to interfere with our lives, that’s when they become a problem. Our bodies are designed to handle these intense negative emotions in short, acute segments of time but not chronically over weeks, months, or years. Loneliness and anxiety, if chronic, can have lasting negative impacts.

South Korean culture can impose systemic barriers for the healthy management of negative emotions such as loneliness and anxiety. One survey from a study identified a lack of information about available services, prejudice about mental illness, and misconceptions regarding severity being the main obstacles to accessing services (Park et al., 2022). The study results from Park et al. (2022) show similar problems as well as additional difficulties related to immigration from a traditional Asian culture to a Western, English-speaking country. Attitudinal barriers from parents, stigma regarding mental health, Denial/normalization of children and young person’s behavioural and emotional problems, Fear of family disempowerment leading to adolescents attempting to manage by themselves, and General mistrust of Western mainstream systems are a few structural barriers for Korean-Canadian adolescents. These can negatively impact the education and resources Korean-Canadian adolescents have to manage symptoms of loneliness and GAD.

With the advances of technology and the internet, the world has never been more connected. People from across the country can send information to each other in a matter of seconds. However, it also isolated people. People’s worlds are slowly becoming the internet. Face-to-face interaction has become less and less important in our time. This can lead to decreased in-person contact with others, leading to unmet social needs in adolescents. This study is from participants who identified problematic or excessive internet usage but with the increasing merge of internet usage into our daily lives, it is a factor worth considering.

Jenny Lee (Field Placement Student)