UP CLOSE CLASS ACT
Janice Kaiman Holding the hope
“I read the job posting and I really thought this job had my name on it.”
The Grade 8 girl was habitually absent from school, lacking in self-esteem and ne- glecting both her studies and personal appearance. Plagued by troubles at home, she was spiraling downward. However, things started to turn
around for the girl once she transferred out of her public school for grades 9 and 10 and enrolled in the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre. By the
time she re-entered public high school, she had become independent, making friends, joining student council and becoming a good student. Success stories like this are
why Janice Kaiman loves her job as manager of the Dia- mond Centre. With a social work background in her back pocket (she spent 16 years as a child and fam- ily therapist at Integra Foundation) Kaiman helps kids battle the mental-health issues
they may face growing up, while at the same time providing them
with strategies to succeed in the classroom. “Kids who come here need more than
what a regular school can offer,” she says. “Tis setting gives them both in a very safe structured setting.” Established 36 years ago by Jewish
Family and Child Service of Toronto, the Diamond Centre today occupies a spa- cious renovated mansion in mid-town Toronto. It has an enrollment of 34 stu- dents in grades 8 to 11, from a variety of circumstances: Jewish and non-Jewish, from public, private or religious schools. Classes are small, offering core curric-
ulum alongside treatment for students’ individual educational, emotional and/ or behavioural challenges. “Te goal is always to transition the stu-
dents back to a regular school,” says Kai- man. “To give them the skills they need, to build confidence, to help them learn how to manage themselves so that they can function in their community schools.” Kaiman also maintains a private fam-
ily therapy practice that keeps her close to the challenges faced by her staff. Says Kaiman, “Families are oſten despairing. It’s our job to hold the hope.”
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friday night Winter 2011
Photography by Tracy Cox
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