FAMILIES ARE YOUNG, ISOLATED AND STRUGGLING TO COPE

Geography: Built on a former horseracing track, Thorncliffe Park was planned as a car-dependent suburb during construction of the Don Valley Parkway. The high-rise community is relatively isolated by the parkway and ravine to the south and east, and the CN rail corridor to the north. The only access in and out is through four roads, including the pedestrian-unfriendly Leaside and Overlea Blvd. bridges. Women: Thorncliffe Park has the highest birthrate in the city and twice the proportion of children under age 4 — 10.6 per cent versus 5.4 per cent. Women are younger and tend to be married with children, but there are also significant numbers of older women living alone. Challenges include social isolation for newly arrived women with limited English, stress related to caring for children and elderly parents, and domestic violence. Women have difficulty accessing reproductive and sexual health care, pre-natal, post-natal and post-partum care, and care for diabe- tes, high blood pressure and mentalhealth problems, including depression and substance abuse. Young families: About two-thirds of households have children and almost 20 per cent have more than five members. Newcomer families experience stress related to loss of social status, low-paying employment, cramped living conditions, language and cultural barriers as well as discrimination. Many juggle more than one job to support their families. Many families double up in apartments. Children and youth: Almost one-quarter of the population is under age 14, compared to the Toronto average of 15 per cent. Youth experience intergenerational conflict, stressful living conditions due to overcrowding and lack of quiet places to study. Health challenges for youth include lack of early identification for mental health and substance abuse problems. Appropriate sexual health and healthy relationship programs are also needed. Seniors: Many immigrant seniors are dependent on their families, do not speak English and are not familiar with Canadian culture. Concerns include elder abuse and lack of culturally sensitive health care, mobility challenges, caregiver burnout and mental health problems. Although the proportion of seniors is relatively low at 10 per cent, 40 per cent are living alone with serious medical conditions. They have higher than average visits to hospital emergency departments pointing to the need for ongoing, coordinated primary health care. Newcomers: Urdu, Farsi and Gujarati are the three main languages spoken in Thorncliffe Park. About 7 per cent of residents don’t speak English. The top three ethnic origins are East Indian (26 per cent), Pakistani (20 per cent) and Filipino (8 per cent). Post-traumaticstress disorder and trauma-related mental illness, diabetes among the South Asian population and lack of culturally appropriate primary health care are the most pressing health-care needs. A significant number do not have Ontario health insurance.