Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre

Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre — Carleton

This DSYTC Carleton Place campus is a 14-bed facility for males. There is a McHugh teacher at this campus with academic class time from 9 – 12:30 each day. The teacher is supported by clinical staff in the classroom. The teacher offers students a broad range of courses at all academic levels in multiple disciplines. Students can also be supported to maintain progress in courses from their community schools, and are eligible to earn credits that are co-facilitated with the treatment centre, such as Food and Nutrition, Learning Strategies and Health for Life.

A McHugh Itinerant Technology Teacher spends time at this site as well and teaches woodworking, small engine repair, communications technology and photography. Students earn high school technology credits designing and building woodworking projects. Past students have built planters, Japanese tool boxes, and other items that benefit the site and the community. Students have learned roofing skills by constructing a roof for the neighbour’s golf course. They have also built a hockey rink that they enjoyed last winter. The itinerant teacher has also facilitated a music credit for a student who wanted to improve their guitar playing.

Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre — Carp

This DSYTC Carp campus is a 12-bed facility for females. There is a McHugh teacher at this campus with academic class time from 9 – 12:30 each day. The teacher is supported by clinical staff in the classroom. The teacher offers students a broad range of courses at all academic levels in multiple disciplines. Students can also be supported to maintain progress in courses from their community schools, and are eligible to earn credits that are co-facilitated with the treatment centre, such as Food and Nutrition, Learning Strategies and Health for Life.

A McHugh Itinerant Technology Teacher spends time at this site as well and teaches woodworking, small engine repair, communications technology and photography. Students participate in weekly activities to learn a variety of useful life skills tech lessons such as plumbing, basic electrical, drywall repair, fasteners, tools, measurement, and they have the option to earn tech credits, should they choose to extend their weekly lessons to fully developed course expectations. The itinerant teacher has also facilitated a music credit for a student who wanted to improve their guitar playing.

There are weekly teacher-led opportunities to develop pro-social skills such as knitting, sewing, crochet, arts, crafts, photography, video-making, and clay. Youth who have skills are encouraged to share with their peers; workshops have included making dream catchers and painted book covers. All the youth who come in have an opportunity to exercise their self-expression through our on-going Voices of Change project where they are able to take photos and find an inspirational quote and use Photoshop to create posters.