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Satori Homes grew from a desire and a commitment to ensure that when children and youth are unable to live at home with their families, they can be supported and cared for in a family-based setting where they can further grow and thrive. Having worked with children, youth, and families in various capacities, founders Stephanie and Lori saw a need for more foster homes where the care providers are intensely supported, receive ongoing training and mentoring, and most importantly, have a solid understanding of Trauma-Informed Care.
Stephanie and Lori started Satori in 2013, working closely with the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services to obtain a license. Satori officially opened in March 2014 after recruiting, approving, and training its first set of Foster Care Providers. Since day one, Stephanie and Lori have been strategic in their growth plan, as it has always been important to them that they remain small enough to ensure that they know each and every young person they support, as well as each and every foster family. Satori’s commitment is to provide quality, responsive, and individualized support and services.
Help People Now
At Satori, we go above and beyond to ensure that we provide quality care and support that is tailored to each individual young person. We are committed to ensuring that the supports and services we provide take into consideration the unique needs of the young people we are supporting. This includes honouring their culture, identity, religion, orientation, family connection, skills, interests and talents.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach at Satori. The supports and services we provide are just as diverse as the kids and families we work with.
experience and guidance
Keeping Caseloads low and manageable. We have strategically limited our growth to ensure that we can remain responsive to the young people we support, and to our foster care providers.
We have a small but mighty team committed and compassionate about the work we do. We work very hard to retain our staff so that young people and foster families don’t have to navigate staff turnover, changing roles, and delays in Resource Support
We know the impact that trauma can have on a young person. We ensure that all our foster care providers and direct support staff receive on-going training on Trauma Informed Caregiving. This includes pre-service training, as well as ongoing training through workshops, bi-weekly support groups with a Trauma and Attachment Specialist, and access to a library of resources.
Each young person and each foster family is assigned a Resource Supervisor This person is the go-to for everything including navigating the day-to-day ins and outs of foster care, helping with paperwork, debriefing and guidance, and a listening ear.
We are available 24/7 and we work hard to ensure the person on the receiving end is familiar to both the young people we support, and to our Foster Care Providers.
In addition to our Resource and Direct Support Team, we also have a full-time Clinical and Program Lead who fulfills a variety of roles including individual counseling for children and youth, direct support to Foster Care Providers, referrals to, and liaison with community services providers and coaching and mentoring.
We recognize that every family has their own unique needs and what is helpful for one family may not be helpful for another. The Self Care Allowance offers flexibility to meet your needs. This allowance can be used for things that help alleviated additional stressors. Options can include such things as respite care, babysitting, fitness programs, and/or house cleaning.
At Satori we believe that we never stop learning. We have access to a wide range of training programs and opportunities that are available at no cost to our Foster Care Providers and Support Staff.
Director of Service, Owner/Operator
Resource Supervisor
Resource Supervisor
Clinical and Programming Lead
Senior Office Manager
After completing a degree in Child and Youth Studies at the University of Guelph, focusing her studies on complex needs populations, Stephanie began her career as a frontline worker in a residential program for children and youth with moderate to severe emotional and behavioral difficulties. As her career progressed she went on to work as a member of the Community Prevention and Intervention Team at the Children’s Aid Society, managed programs for the John Howard Society and then returned to residential and foster care programs where she fulfilled many roles ranging from Resource Supervisor to Program Manager.
Stephanie brings more than 20 years’ experience working with complex needs children, youth, and their families as well as training adults, facilitating groups, and program management. She possesses specialized training in many areas including, but not limited to: Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, Trauma Informed Caregiving, Suicide Intervention and Prevention, Attachment Disorders, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Children’s Mental Health.
Stephanie has completed the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) program as well as the SAFE Supervisor Training. Stephanie is the lead Home Study Practitioner for Satori Homes.
Lori started her career in corrections after studying Community and Social Justice, working primarily with young people in detention and custody programs. Lori moved from corrections and began working as a frontline worker in a residential program for children and youth with moderate to severe emotional and behavioural difficulties. Lori’s career in the field of children’s services progressed as she moved from front-line worker to supervisor and then into a management role. She has over 20 years experience running residential and foster care programs.
Lori has had the opportunity to observe first hand the crucial roles of family supports, effective communication, and clinical services. She recognizes the need to build individual programs for each young person, drawing on their strengths and abilities. Lori is passionate about bettering the services for young people in care and is committed to developing effective youth and family-focused strategies, that are both engaging and empowering.
Lori possesses specialized training in many areas including, but not limited to: Trauma informed Caregiving and Leadership, Effective strategies for Autism/ASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, Suicide Prevention and Intervention, Attachment Disorders and is a certified trainer for NVCI (Non-Violent Crisis Intervention). Lori is also a Home Study Practitioner, having completed the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) training program in 2017.
After completing a degree in Sociology at the University of Guelph, Karen was drawn to work with vulnerable young people. She began supporting probation for young offenders and from there moved into front-line work at a residential program for adolescents; young people trying to cope with moderate to severe mental health and emotional/behavioural challenges. Karen moved through the supervisor and later program manager roles in this setting and when the opportunity arose, Karen and her partner became foster parents to three, complex young people. Karen is a strong believer that the consistency of care offered by in-home parents is crucial towards forming the attachments that can really make a difference in a child’s life.
Karen moved from the residential and fostering settings to work as a Support Coordinator for Developmental Services in Guelph Wellington. There, she had the opportunity to connect families with the necessary resources including respite and support for the caregivers themselves. This role required strong advocacy and collaboration.
Karen is thrilled to join the Satori team as Resource Supervisor. Being able to support families who are opening their homes and hearts to young people who need both, speaks perfectly to her passion and skill set.
To further her skills, Karen has attended a number of specialized training programs in Autism/ASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Trauma-Informed Practices, Conflict Mediation, Effective Specialized Responses for individuals with developmental disabilities & complex support needs, Violence Threat Risk Assessment, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, Suicide Prevention and Intervention, Attachment Disorders, and NVCI (Non Violent Crisis Intervention).
Emilie joined the Satori Team in 2018. She is a graduate of the Child, Youth, and Family Studies Program at the University of Guelph. Prior to joining the Satori team, Emilie held various roles with increasing responsibility in the field of social services, including experiences in school settings, group-based care, and supporting vulnerable and at-risk children and youth experiencing homelessness. Although Emilie began her time at Satori as a Foster Family Support Worker, she later found her true calling as a Resource Supervisor, as supporting both families and young people has always been a passion for her. Emilie values continuous learning and has taken many workshops and training including Trauma-Informed Care and Practice, Relationships and Attachment, and Culturally Competent Care. Emilie also became a certified Home Study Practitioner with Satori, after having successfully completing the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) training program.
Emilie brings an innovative and creative approach, and is committed and compassionate about providing quality care and services to the children, youth and families we support.
Julia is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). She is also a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW). Julia first joined our team as a Foster Family Support Worker in 2017. She has since obtained a Master of Social Work degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2021, and a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Child, Youth and Family Studies from the University of Guelph in 2018. Julia’s primary focus has been working with individuals, families and groups. She has worked with children and youth in a variety of settings including child protection, counselling agencies, non-profit community organizations and schools.
Julia is passionate about working with children and their families, bearing witness to their stories and meeting them where they are at in their healing journeys. In recognizing that caregivers play an integral role in a young person’s life, Julia strives to include caregivers as active participants in the therapeutic process. Julia utilizes an approach that is child-centered, strengths-based and trauma-informed. She believes that collaboration, flexibility and creativity are key to connecting with young people. Julia draws from a wide range of therapeutic modalities depending on the unique strengths and needs of each individual, child and family including, but not limited to: Play Therapy, Brief Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Family Systems Therapy and Mindfulness.
Julia believes wholeheartedly in the value of continuing education and as a new practitioner and lifelong learner, she is always looking for opportunities to expand her training and skill set. She is currently working towards obtaining a Child and Youth Mental Health Certificate from Wilfrid Laurier. She has completed specialized training in Trauma-Informed Practices, Suicide Intervention and Prevention, and Neuroscience-based Tools for Transforming Childhood Behaviours.
Karin joined the Satori team in June 2018 as a part-time Administrative Assistant. As the company continued to grow, so did Karin’s role. In 2019 Karin became the Senior Office Manager; responsible for the overall coordination of a broad range of services that allow the organization to operate efficiently. In general, Karin is the “go-to” person for the many administrative tasks that need to be completed. Karin plays a key role in maintaining files, ensuring all required documentation is completed and collected, keeping foster care providers informed of their paperwork requirements, implementing and maintaining procedures/office administrative systems, employee onboarding, attending meetings with senior management, and assisting the organization’s HR function by keeping personnel records up to date, .
Karin graduated from the University of Toledo with a Bachelor of Science degree. She went on to play basketball professionally in Finland, Spain, and Germany. After retiring from professional Basketball, Karin returned to Canada and began working with youth in a residential program for children where she advanced into a Supervisor’s role. In this role, she had the opportunity to learn the behind-the-scenes operation of a private agency supporting children and youth in care. Eventually, Karin would move on from this field and start her training business which she successfully operated for 10 years. Now as a member of the Satori team, Karin loves being a part of an organization that works tirelessly to better serve our youth and families
