(no subject)
May. 23rd, 2005 08:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kamomilaww, imagine feeling you had to abandon your wee perfect ikkle baby, leave her in a box in a parking lot.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1116798609764&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845
May 23, 2005. 08:31 AM
Abandoned baby 'beautiful'
SCOTT ROBERTS
STAFF REPORTER
She's an angel, gorgeous — a perfect doll.
Typical description of a baby, but tiny Rachel Grace isn't like most newborns.
Rachel was discovered Saturday morning, only hours old, abandoned in the far corner of a Scarborough church parking lot. She was wrapped in protective clothing and left inside a cardboard box. The seven-pound baby girl is in perfect health, named Rachel after one of the nurses taking care of her and Grace for the name of the hospital, Scarborough Grace.
"She looks like a perfect doll," said one nurse. "She didn't look malnourished at all. She's healthy and beautiful."
Rachel will remain at Scarborough Grace's special care nursery until tomorrow, when the Children's Aid Society will place her in foster care.
On Thursday, the society will go to court to seek temporary custody of Rachel. If the mother, or another family member, doesn't step forward in the next two months, the society will seek full custody of the baby in order to put her up for adoption.
Melanie Persaud, communications manager for Children's Aid, said finding a permanent home for Rachel wouldn't be a problem.
"At any one time, we have about 50 families on a waiting list,'' Persaud said.
Special prayers were extended from many parishioners of Scarborough Chinese Alliance Church, on Silver Star Blvd. near Midland and Finch Aves., where the baby, believed to be of Asian descent, was found.
"Our people will be praying for the baby," said Rev. Wing Lee, following his Sunday sermon.
"It was really a surprise to us and the community. We hope that she will have a good future. Maybe the parents will show up and take her back. Whatever happens, we hope she finds a good home in the future."
Police are trying to find the mother to get the baby's medical background. They also want to ensure the mother is healthy.
"We want the mother to come forward either to police or the Children's Aid Society so we can help," said Det. Const. Dave Woodhouse of 42 Division. "We can't imagine the stress she must be going through."
Criminal charges could be laid if the mother is found, but that is not the focus of the investigation at this point, Woodhouse said.
"If the baby had shown signs of abuse it would be an entirely different investigation," he said.
Their best lead involves security tapes from a nearby business, police said. They are hoping the video surveillance will help identify the mother or any vehicles that may have been in the parking lot at the time of the drop-off.
Authorities have also put all local hospitals on the lookout for women patients with signs of recent birth.
"The fact is that this little girl was meant to live," said Woodhouse. "The mother put her in an area where she would likely be found quickly. We are glad she was."
Tommy Siu discovered Rachel when he was playing with his motorized hobby car in the church parking lot. Siu said he wishes the baby all the best.
"I hope she has a good life and finds good parents," he said.
The mother was likely a teenager afraid of telling her parents or raising the child herself, speculated Keith Cameron, patient care director of mental health at Scarborough Grace.
He urged young pregnant women in difficult circumstances to contact health officials.
"There are plenty of agencies and clinics that can help young pregnant women," he said. "Everything is strictly confidential and they are there to help."
Cameron said the abandoning of newborn babies is fairly rare in Toronto, but he predicts the problem may get worse in the years to come.
"This is a very culturally sensitive issue," he said. "As conservative cultures clash with more liberal ones, these things become problems. I expect it's going to become a bigger problem. I think it's inevitable."
Persaud said she hopes that won't be true.
"To my mind, when cultures come to Toronto, there is some period of assimilation and it's definitely up to the social services to educate the newcomers about the services available.''
The last known case of a newborn being abandoned in Toronto was in January 2003, when a baby girl was found naked on the steps of Nathan Phillips Square.
The baby's mother suffered from schizophrenia and pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1116798609764&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845
May 23, 2005. 08:31 AM
Abandoned baby 'beautiful'
SCOTT ROBERTS
STAFF REPORTER
She's an angel, gorgeous — a perfect doll.
Typical description of a baby, but tiny Rachel Grace isn't like most newborns.
Rachel was discovered Saturday morning, only hours old, abandoned in the far corner of a Scarborough church parking lot. She was wrapped in protective clothing and left inside a cardboard box. The seven-pound baby girl is in perfect health, named Rachel after one of the nurses taking care of her and Grace for the name of the hospital, Scarborough Grace.
"She looks like a perfect doll," said one nurse. "She didn't look malnourished at all. She's healthy and beautiful."
Rachel will remain at Scarborough Grace's special care nursery until tomorrow, when the Children's Aid Society will place her in foster care.
On Thursday, the society will go to court to seek temporary custody of Rachel. If the mother, or another family member, doesn't step forward in the next two months, the society will seek full custody of the baby in order to put her up for adoption.
Melanie Persaud, communications manager for Children's Aid, said finding a permanent home for Rachel wouldn't be a problem.
"At any one time, we have about 50 families on a waiting list,'' Persaud said.
Special prayers were extended from many parishioners of Scarborough Chinese Alliance Church, on Silver Star Blvd. near Midland and Finch Aves., where the baby, believed to be of Asian descent, was found.
"Our people will be praying for the baby," said Rev. Wing Lee, following his Sunday sermon.
"It was really a surprise to us and the community. We hope that she will have a good future. Maybe the parents will show up and take her back. Whatever happens, we hope she finds a good home in the future."
Police are trying to find the mother to get the baby's medical background. They also want to ensure the mother is healthy.
"We want the mother to come forward either to police or the Children's Aid Society so we can help," said Det. Const. Dave Woodhouse of 42 Division. "We can't imagine the stress she must be going through."
Criminal charges could be laid if the mother is found, but that is not the focus of the investigation at this point, Woodhouse said.
"If the baby had shown signs of abuse it would be an entirely different investigation," he said.
Their best lead involves security tapes from a nearby business, police said. They are hoping the video surveillance will help identify the mother or any vehicles that may have been in the parking lot at the time of the drop-off.
Authorities have also put all local hospitals on the lookout for women patients with signs of recent birth.
"The fact is that this little girl was meant to live," said Woodhouse. "The mother put her in an area where she would likely be found quickly. We are glad she was."
Tommy Siu discovered Rachel when he was playing with his motorized hobby car in the church parking lot. Siu said he wishes the baby all the best.
"I hope she has a good life and finds good parents," he said.
The mother was likely a teenager afraid of telling her parents or raising the child herself, speculated Keith Cameron, patient care director of mental health at Scarborough Grace.
He urged young pregnant women in difficult circumstances to contact health officials.
"There are plenty of agencies and clinics that can help young pregnant women," he said. "Everything is strictly confidential and they are there to help."
Cameron said the abandoning of newborn babies is fairly rare in Toronto, but he predicts the problem may get worse in the years to come.
"This is a very culturally sensitive issue," he said. "As conservative cultures clash with more liberal ones, these things become problems. I expect it's going to become a bigger problem. I think it's inevitable."
Persaud said she hopes that won't be true.
"To my mind, when cultures come to Toronto, there is some period of assimilation and it's definitely up to the social services to educate the newcomers about the services available.''
The last known case of a newborn being abandoned in Toronto was in January 2003, when a baby girl was found naked on the steps of Nathan Phillips Square.
The baby's mother suffered from schizophrenia and pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life.
