Hey everyone, CLBC’s most recent update for individuals and families is available, you can check it out here.
Free Mental Health Autism Workshop
Hey everyone, there is a free mental health workshop coming up:
AutismBC Talks The Mental Health Literacy Guide for Autism with Jonathan Weiss
January 28 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
FREE
Check out more information or register here: AutismBC Talks The Mental Health Literacy Guide for Autism with Jonathan Weiss — Events — AutismBC
Active living this winter…
Hey everyone, the City of Kelowna’s activity guide WINTER EDITION is now live! Check out the activities happening locally this winter to help get out and get active.
Grant opportunity – Apply by January 10!
Hi everyone, CLBC has announced they are accepting applications for one-time Community Inclusion Innovation Fund grants (amounts between $5,000 and $100,000 available).
According to CLBC’s website, this is an opportunity for people to apply for grant funding that supports their creative initiatives:
- that challenge all of us to do things more effectively
- to build on lessons learned during COVID-19
- to innovate service delivery
- to support the rollout of CLBC’s new L.I.F.E.-based service
- to advance work from the Re-Imagining Community Inclusion Committee.
Applications are due by January 10, 2022. Check out the details here.
CLBC Update for Individuals and Families
Hey everyone, CLBC has issued an update for individuals and families, you can find it here.
SPOTLIGHT: Caregiver communities
Hey everyone, we’re focusing our posts on CAREGIVERS and resources for caregivers this month. We know that one of the challenges faced by many caregivers is…finding sustainable ways to integrate connecting with other caregivers into a busy schedule.
While we’ve posted about the importance of self-care to caregivers, we wanted today’s discussion to be more focused on how connecting with others who have caregiving experience can help fight feelings of isolation and loneliness. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing how we all connect safely with one another, feeling isolated and lonely is more common than in the past. So, since we’ve posted about many ways for caregivers to connect, what’s are we bringing to the table today to try out?
Podcasts! If you haven’t listened to a podcast before, they are like individual radio shows and are usually released in episodes. Podcasts typically target a topic per episode. These podcasts in particular are designed to be relevant to the caregiving experience by those who put them out into the podcast-universe:
- Caregivers Out Loud: A Podcast by Family Caregivers of BC A space to connect, listen and learn with other caregivers.
- The Giving Tree Podcast by Amanda Rocheleau (BSW, MSW, RSW) This podcast is for helping professionals and personal caregivers. … talking openly and honestly about the true hardships of providing care to others while we also talk about sustainable solutions to self-care and personal wellness.
Besides the more obvious benefits of podcasts (running for a set amount of time per episode; covering a breadth of information about a given topic; facilitating discussion with and between people who have relevant experience) they can be a great tool to help caregivers feel that their struggles, challenges, and successes are genuinely seen, acknowledged, and respected. And – we hope! – support caregivers to feel a little less lonely and a little less isolated!
Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite podcast.
Upcoming online training!
Hey everyone, we have posted about PivotPoint’s fall online training sessions — don’t forget to sign up if you’re interested! December’s topic is Strategies to Promote the Independence of Life Skills.
CLBC Update for Individuals and Families
Hey everyone, check out CLBC’s current Update for Individuals and Families.
FSI Weekly News
Hey everyone, the Family Support Institute’s Weekly News is now available, check it out here.
Celebrate Caregivers! Taking good care…
Hey everyone, we’re focusing our posts on CAREGIVERS and resources for caregivers this month. We know that one of the challenges faced by many caregivers is…making time and space to take good care of yourself, as a caregiver.
We’ve talked before about the dangers of compassion fatigue, caregiver stress, and burnout , and we posted about the Family Caregivers of BC resources available earlier this week.
It can be hard to know where to start with self-care, so we wanted to highlight the Family Caregivers of BC webinars as one way to start building your toolkit. There’s many webinars to choose from, but why not start with this one? It’s called “Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others” and covers compassion fatigue and how the body and mind deals with chronic stress, as well as what you as a caregiver can do to sustain and nourish yourself.
There’s additional resources available too:
PowerPoint slide deck for presentation
Exploring Your Relationship to Self and Others with Self-Compassion