Presentation by Andy Leggett (BARTS)

Last week in class, we had the opportunity to hear from Andy Leggett who is the co-founder of Broken Arrow Residential Treatment Services (BARTS). BARTS was established in November of 2004, and according to Andrew Leggett, the program was developed to support children of the First-Nations and Aboriginals who are living in high-risk situations that is beyond their control. Andy says that the goal of the program is to provide a safe and secure environment within a community setting that is stable, in the hopes of bettering young people and preparing them for a safe and healthy transition back into their communities. According to Andy Leggett, BARTS is a treatment foster care program that operates specialized foster homes that use the support of clinicians and psychologist to ensure that the needs of the children and youth are accurately assessed, that they have developed goals for themselves, and that an appropriate treatment plan is developed and implemented

Broken Arrow is licensed under the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in Ontario, and they accept referrals from a variety of community agencies including Children's Aid Societies. Andy also told the class that there were a variety of employment opportunities available, and that he would be more than able and happy to sit down with anybody from our program that was interested in learning more about possible career opportunities. I really enjoyed Andy Leggett’s presentation, and I felt that his slideshow really showed just how poor and secluded some of these Northern reservations are in Canada.    

                                   

Broken Arrow can be contacted by phone at (905) 377-0490 or emailed at brokenarrow@bellnet.ca. Broken Arrow also has a very informative website (www.brokenarrowtreatment.com) that contains a variety of useful information. One of the aspects of the website that I really enjoyed was the section entitled "Useful Information," which defines a variety of disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and also the definitions of terms such as attachment resistance and learning disabilities.