Connect!

Check it out. Thoughts? www.openfuturelearning.org/blog/index.php/difficult-families-3/ Thanks, Brian

This from Erica, one of our Home Share Coordinators Hi everyone, I was just informed about this last week and wanted to pass it on. CLBC has a scholarship program for individuals looking into post secondary education. Deadline for application for this year is Friday March 18th. If approved, funding can be used anywhere from May 2016-April 2017. Here’s the link: www.communitylivingbc.ca/scholarship/ Have a great day.

Hi All:

Check this flyer out for some behavioural support training that posAbilities is putting on.

Training-Series-South-Central-Okanagan-2016.pdf

Dance-poster-2015-updated.pdf

The Central Okanagan Professional Caregivers Society invites you to attend the upcoming */‘Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma’/ *workshop, to be held on Friday, April 22^nd in Penticton. *(See Attached Flyer)* For helping professionals, one all too common consequence of compassion fatigue and burnout is that we become emotionally exhausted and trying new things feels profoundly draining and beyond our reach. This workshop will provide*//*participants with*/a safe and reflective space/* for: -Understanding the similarities and differences between Compassion Fatigue (CF), Vicarious Trauma (VT), Burnout (BO) and Moral Distress (MD) -Recognizing signs and symptoms of CF and VT that you and others may be experiencing. -Developing personalized skills and tools for combating CF and VT. -Taking beginning steps toward implementing your *Personalized Self-Care Plan* that includes both inner and outer work for alleviating or preventing CF and VT. -Caring for YOU! Please register early for this recommended workshop. *This Workshop is offered _FREE_ to Home Share Providers funded by CLBC Southern Interior Region including Host Agencies * Thank you! Margaret Milsom – Central Okanagan Professional Caregivers Society Compassion-Fatigue-Penticton.pdf

Hi all:

Some info on an RDSP workshop coming up.

Start at 6:30 PM

Where:  CLBC Offices at 1060 Manahattan Drive office, Suite #104

Please RSVP to Linda Farr at linda.farr@gov.bc.ca or by calling 250-712-3610 by 4 PM on Monday, March 14th

About the workshop:

The RDSP helps Canadians with disabilities and their families save for the future.

You should consider opening an RDSP if you have a long-term disability and are:

• Under age 60 (you must apply before the end of the calendar year in which you turn 59);
• A Canadian resident with a Social Insurance Number (SIN);
• Eligible for the Disability Tax Credit; and
• Looking for a long-term savings plan

**To help you save, the Government will pay a matching Canada Disability Savings Grant of up to $3,500 a year on your contributions

**The Government will also pay a Canada Disability Savings Bond of up to $1,000 a year into the RDSPs of low-income and modest-income Canadians

**No contributions are necessary to receive the bond.

**Grants and bonds are paid into the RDSP until the end of the calendar year the beneficiary turns 49 years old

**Money paid out of an RDSP will not affect your eligibility for federal benefits, and will have little or no impact on social assistance payments

This workshop is offered In Partnership with:  the Government of Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada

For more info go to: www.rdsp.com

Employment and Social Development Canada www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/disability/savings/index.shtml or

Canada Revenue Agency www.cra.gc.ca/rdsp

Hi All: For those receiving PWD benefits, here is some info from the province on the PWD increases announced recently:

• The province announced a rate increase for disability assistance in the Budget on February 16, 2016.
• Please note that the annual subsidized bus pass will continue and there has been no change to the application process. Clients who have the annual pass will receive their renewal package starting in late summer:
• Beginning September 1, 2016, all clients who have the Persons with Disabilities Designation will receive a monthly rate increase to use as they choose. The options for people receiving disability assistance > are as follows:
  1. If they don’t receive a subsidized annual bus pass or > the Special Transportation Subsidy, then they will receive a $77 > monthly rate increase to spend as they choose.
  2. If they already have a subsidized annual bus pass they have the option of keeping that bus pass and receiving a rate increase of $25 per month beginning in September. They also have the option to turn in their bus pass at any time after September 1 and receive the full $77 increase in the following months.
  3. If they receive the Special Transportation Subsidy (STS) worth $66 per month, they will receive an STS payment of $329 in April  to cover the April to August 2016 time period. Starting in September, they will automatically receive a monthly rate increase of $77, which  includes the STS and an additional $11 a month rate increase. Further information is available at:  www.sdsi.gov.bc.ca/pwd/increases.html

Factsheet-SDSI-Rate-Increases_Budget-2016.pdf
3747_DisabilityAssistanceRateIncreases_Graphic-FULL.pdf

Photo by the Nelson Star (Bill Metcalfe) Check out this great article on Amanda L and Amanda B and their home share family. The link is here, check it out!

— Image Credit: Bill Metcalfe