WHO WE HELP

Case management is the heart of our work at Chai Lifeline Canada. Case managers provide immediate help, information, emotional and psychological support, and access to Chai Lifeline Canada’s program and services. They deliver bespoke services based on the needs of individual families and the resources that are available.

Jennifer Barkin z”l Arts and Culture Fund
The Jennifer Barkin, z”l Arts and Culture provides arts and cultural experiences for clients of Chai Lifeline Canada. As iIllness often negatively impacts Chai Lifeline client families financially, attending participating in cultural events and activities is often the first item cut from the family budget. Attending a cultural performance provides the rare opportunity to transport clients away from the stresses of illness, provides the opportunity to socialize with others who understand what they are going through, and brings gladness and joy to their hearts. Through the Fund, Chai Lifeline clients have attended concerts, plays, museums and continued with music and dance classes.

Family Events
Chai Lifeline Canada families are invited to events approximately once a month; this includes holiday-related events for Purim, Pesach, and Chanukah. For families battling serious illness, this program provides a much-needed distraction and for others, this is an opportunity to create shared family experiences with a terminally ill family member.

Family Getaways
Joyful family memories were created as five families greatly in need of a respite from their daily situations traveled to the Bahamas, Florida, Niagara Falls, San Diego, and a cottage in the Kawartha region.

Chai Lifeline Canada case managers and volunteers ease the stress of child’s hospitalization by visiting the child and their family, bringing games and toys, and helping the family navigate the hospital. Additionally, Chai Lifeline Canada may provide transportation assistance, meals for patients and caregivers, and an ipad for children to ease the boredom of an extended hospital stay.

When a child or spouse is in treatment, families are under tremendous stress; shopping and putting healthy meals together is not a priority. Volunteer cooks prepare fresh nutritious meals and frozen meals to be used at the convenience of families. Chai Lifeline Canada provides dinners including pizza, home cooked meals, and catered meals. Depending on the circumstances, some families receive meals weekly, some twice weekly and some on an emergency basis when they are stuck in the hospital unexpectedly and the kids at home need dinner.

Penina’s Helping Hand provides support to children who have a seriously ill parent. Case management, counseling, special trips, toy drives, family retreats, and crisis intervention services all bring help and hope to children, families, and communities. Offerings also include an annual trip to Orlando theme parks.

Chai Care is a community clinic to support the emotional wellbeing of Chai Lifeline clients and their families. Chai Care is a welcoming, safe, accessible, affordable and nonjudgmental space. At Chai Care we offer counselling and psychoeducational support and connection by fostering the client’s strengths and building capacity and resilience. We offer care through evidence-based practice, therapeutic connection and of course play and creativity. 

Bringing Joy, Comfort, and Healing on Four Paws

​Medical journeys can be overwhelming, filled with scary clinical environments, stressful treatments, and a loss of regular childhood routines. The Scrappy Salmon Memorial Pet Therapy Fund is dedicated to bringing the unconditional love, warmth, and distraction of trained therapeutic animals directly to children and families navigating illness.
​Whether at home or during recovery, these special animal visits provide a powerful therapeutic outlet—turning stressful days into moments of pure joy, connection, and comfort.

​How It Helps
​Reduces Stress & Anxiety: Interacting with a friendly animal significantly lowers cortisol (stress hormone) levels, helping clinical environments feel less intimidating and restoring a sense of normalcy.
​Boosts Emotional Well-Being: Spending time with animals increases feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, leaving children feeling happier, calmer, and less isolated.
​A Welcome Distraction: Focusing on petting, brushing, or playing shifts a child’s attention away from physical discomfort and medical procedures.
​Restores a Sense of Control: In a world governed by medical schedules, a pet visit gives kids the freedom to make their own choices—whether they want to play, talk, or just quietly cuddle.
​Builds Social Bridges: Animals act as natural icebreakers, often helping children open up and communicate more freely with parents, healthcare staff, and peers.
​Supports Physical Recovery: Gentle physical interaction can lower heart rates and blood pressure, while naturally encouraging kids to sit up, move, and engage during recovery.
​Encourages Compliance with Care: Children are often much more willing to participate in tough treatments or therapy sessions when a furry friend is there to cheer them on.