Distress Centres Ontario
Meet our Board Members
Distress Centre Ontario is governed by a board of directors, each elected to a three year term. Board members may be selected for an at-large position or represent one of the four regions: Western Ontario, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario and the GTA.
Meet some of our Board Members and hear what they have to say below!
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Debbie Bonselaar - DCO Board Member
Debbie Bonselaar was very pleased to accept the position of Eastern Region Representative to Distress Centres Ontario in 2003. She has been involved in the Distress Centre movement for the past twelve years. As Administrative Assistant for Distress Centre Lanark, Leeds & Grenville, she is responsible for the organization and management of the program for Lanark County. Debbie is a graduate of the Management of Volunteers Program at Algonquin College and is a Master Trainer for Living Works, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. She is currently Chairperson of the Lanark County Mental Health Support Project and Chairperson of the Mental Health Support Project of Lanark, Leeds & Grenville, as well.
Debbie talks about the value of active listening:
"The most important gift we can give another person is to actively listen to them because people need to be heard. Volunteers trained in the art of active listening report improvements in their home and work relationships. Our callers often express their gratitude that someone is out there, and someone is listening to them. Distress Centres are an integral and important role in our society because they improve the lives of others."
Sheena Carpenter - DCO Board Member
Sheena Carpenter was excited to join the board of Distress Centre’s Ontario this year. Sheena is a graduate of the Honours Business Administration Program at Wilfrid Laurier University and has completed her Chartered Accountant designation. Sheena has worked for Ernst & Young LLP in the audit field serving several government-regulated not-for-profit organizations. Currently she works in financial reporting of ATS Automation Tooling Systems in Cambridge.
Sheena speaks about the DCO movement:
"In today’s society, more and more members of our community suffer from emotional stress. DCO organization provides tools, fosters education programs and shares information/knowledge to empower and encourage the dedicated volunteers and staff of the member agencies to make a difference in our community. DCO’s success in their mission has been amazing. But this is just the beginning. DCO is actively pursuing growth on all fronts with many important projects underway. I am proud to be a part of the DCO movement."
Victoria Kehoe – Board of Directors
Since 1994 Victoria has served the Durham community as a member of Distress Centre Durham. Joining the centre as a telephone helpline volunteer, she has served as Executive Director for the last two years. A graduate of the Volunteer Management program at Humber College and the Human Services Counseling program at Durham College, Victoria is also an Adult Education Specialist. She supports the DCO membership as an ASIST suicide intervention trainer and has served on the DCO Board since 2007.
Staff supporting volunteers is a model Victoria champions
"One of the most unique attributes of Distress Centres is that our staff teams support the specially trained volunteers in delivering our frontline helpline service, rather than the volunteers supporting staff to provide the program. Having a networking provincial body like Distress Centres Ontario enables the centres to share information, resources, develop best practices, and to enhance the ability of the individual Centres across Ontario to provide emotional support, crisis / suicide management and links to community resources for hundreds of thousands of callers each year."
Charles Laframboise - DCO Board Member
Celebrating 20 years working with not-for-profit organizations, Charles has particularly enjoyed the last 9 years at the senior management level. Graduating with a Master’s Degree from the University of Ottawa, Charles began his career working for national governing bodies before migrating to the local scene as Executive Director for the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region. He joined Distress Centre Ontario’s Board of Directors in 2005.
Here's what Charles has to say about Distress Centres Ontario:
“A provincial body which rallies like-minded agencies across Ontario offers an excellent networking tool that is so beneficial to each individual agency and to the distress centre movement as a whole. Distress Centres Ontario offers a forum though which local centres can exchange ideas for the purpose of better serving the clients who need us.
How can you be involved?
Distress Centre Ontario is currently seeking leaders to join its Board of Directors. Who are we looking for? If you have a strong commitment to helping in issues of mental health and suicide, and have proven leadership or organizational experience, you can apply for a position on the board. All board members are volunteers, and the time commitment is approximately four hours a month.
Your application and current resume should be received by October 10th for consideration by the Nominations Committee prior to the Annual General Meeting held in late October of each year. However, please submit your application at any time during the year and it will be considered for the next nomination round.
For a copy of the Call for Board Members, click here.
For an application form, click here.