Here’s a link to a great article on some research associated with protecting yourself and others by wearing a cloth mask.
Stay safe everyone!
Fabric Masks… do they really work?
Upcoming Virtual Training – Mental Health, COVID-19, and Health & Wellbeing Conference!
Hey everyone, don’t miss out on these upcoming training opportunities!
October 22 – November 26, 2020
info
Thursdays from 1:30-3:30 PM EST
Let’s Learn Research
Join a virtual course for adults with developmental disabilities to learn about mental health research. Let’s Learn Research is led by researchers at the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and will run every Thursday from October 22 to November 26 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.
November 3 – December 8, 2020
Click here for more info
Tuesdays from 1:00-2:30 PM EST
Mental Health for adults with developmental disabilities during COVID
The Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at CAMH is hosting a new virtual course beginning November 3, 2020. This course is for family caregivers of adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD). The curriculum will specifically address the mental health challenges that this population can face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
November 26-27, 2020
7th Biennial Conference on Developmental Disabilities: Health and Wellbeing across the Lifespan VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Online registration is now OPEN, Early Bird Registration available until October 30th.The term developmental disabilities (DD) refers to people with intellectual disability, autism spectrum, fetal alcohol spectrum and related neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes. Children, youth, and adults with DD are vulnerable to high rates of general health and mental health concerns. This interactive 2020 conference will focus on practical strategies to optimize the quality of life for people with DD. Our goal is to help clinicians and caregivers learn effective ways to work with people with DD, and their families, in partnership to improve their quality of life experience. The conference will also provide educational and informative psychiatric, behavioural, mental health, and complex physical health updates specific to people with DD, and showcase best practices in the field. This conference will engage health care providers and educators from a wide range of professional disciplines in knowledge transfer and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Click here for more info
Please note that the conference is scheduled to run from 8:30am – 12:30 pm PST / 11:30 – 3:30pm EST (-/+ 30 minutes) from November 26-27, 2020. The registration fee includes access to the conference portal for the days registered, as well as viewing of all session recordings for two weeks after the conference adjourns.
Your Right to…Vote
Hey everybody, we are celebrating rights (and responsibilities) this month! Today’s post is about VOTING. You can register to vote in BC if you are:
- 18 or older by General Voting Day (Oct. 24)
- a Canadian citizen, and
- a BC resident for the past six months as of General Voting Day (Oct. 24)
While Election Day in BC is coming up next Saturday (Oct. 24), in many places advance voting starts TODAY (Oct. 15)! If you plan to vote, check out what political parties say they will do about issues you care about. For example, the BC Special Olympics focused in on health care, check out this article for more information. Inclusion BC wrote to the political parties to find out what their plans were, check out their questions and issues here. You will need to decide which political party you will vote for in the election.
When you have decided who you will vote for, you will need to know where to go to vote. Find the place you will be voting (either in advance, or on Oct. 24) on the Elections BC website.
You will need to bring some specific items with you when you go to vote. You might want to get the items together in advance (i.e. your ID, a mask, etc). If you aren’t sure what you need, there is more information in this Elections BC voter guide.
Most importantly, if you’re planning to vote… ask for help, if you need it! Here are some ideas of who you could talk to and ask for help:
- Your family or your friends
- Your support worker or your home share provider
- People you know at your church or in your neighborhood
When you’re making your plan to get out there and vote, you might need to know what help is available at the voting station. You can find information about what help is available on this Elections BC webpage.
Elections BC also has a webpage all about keeping healthy and safe while you vote — check it out here.
Happy voting!
LINK! Training – Starts next week!
Hey everyone, if you haven’t already – check out the LINK! training all about safety, sexuality and relationships, starting next week online through posAbilities! This training is open to participants in the Okanagan and in the Kootenays.
Sign up or get in touch with your questions: https://www.laurelbc.ca/c-2020/
WEBINAR: Voting!
Hey everyone, if you’re going to vote in the upcoming BC election there’s a webinar that can help answer your questions about voting — happening tomorrow!
You Can Vote! Webinar with Guest Melanie Callas from Elections BC
WHEN: October 14th, 2020 at 1:00-1:45PM (PST)
Inclusion BC is pleased to welcome Melanie Callas, Outreach Coordinator with Elections BC, to host the 5th webinar in our Virtual Learning Series. Melanie will talk about the voting process and answer questions about voting and the election.
https://inclusionbc.org/bc-votes-2020/
Send us your questions! Inclusion BC is collecting questions to ask Melanie in the webinar. We want to hear from you! Please send your questions to Semanthi at swanni@inclusionbc.org
ONLINE Training: LINK! Safety, Relationships, Sexuality
Hey everyone, there is a great opportunity coming up for sexual health training! PosAbilities is offering their LINK! Safety, Relationships, Sexuality course for adults with disabilities in the Creston and surrounding Kootenay region starting on October 20. These ZOOM sessions offer individualized training on hygiene, sexuality, relationships and ways to stay safe. Check out this PDF for more info and pass it along if you know someone who would be interested. You can also register online here.
MyBooklet BC Training Sessions…
Hey everyone, check out this free online training offered by the Family Support Institute:
Family Support Institute of BC is inviting you to join us for the myBooklet BC zoom session presented by Lydia Kang – the creator of myBooklet BC. Lydia will introduce and showcase the exciting myBooklet BC updates and upgrades coming soon.
If you want to learn how to create a personalized “All About Me booklet” for/with individuals with diverse abilities and their families, this session is for you!
Details of the zoom sessions: If you have any questions, please contact Lydia Kang via email lkang@fsibc.com or call 604-862-6807.
There are two options available: Monday, Jun 29, 2020 07:00PM– 9:00PM and Tuesday, Jun 30, 2020 10:00AM– 12:00PM.
Plan Institute workshops and resources!
Hey everyone, in case you missed their email – Plan Institute continues to offer their workshops online, including:
- Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning (Thursdays, at a variety of times);
- Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) Levels 1 and 2 (offered monthly);
- Personal Support Network Facilitation – 6-week online course (Sep 14 to Oct 25, or Nov 2 to Dec 13)
They are also collaborating with PLAN to offer Staying Socially Connected during the COVID-19 pandemic from May 26 to June 23. The webinars which have already aired are available here.
Did you know that friends, family members, people with disabilities, or support workers can call Plan Institute anytime to talk about:
- the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP);
- estate planning;
- advocacy approaches;
- the Disability Tax Credit;
- government benefit programs;
- social network building;
- NEW: how to stay socially connected during COVID-19
Their toll-free Disability Planning Helpline is 1-844-311-7526.
Self-care: Taking Care of the Caregivers
Hey everyone, there is a free webinar/workshop being offered by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) on June 2nd about the importance of practicing self-care as a caregiver – check it out and pass it on!
Mental health resources from WorkSafeBC
Hey everyone, you might have read that the Province has posted BC’s Restart Plan, and it talks about a safe re-start with WorkSafeBC. WorkSafeBC has a page dedicated to return to safe operations. On their page, they have a great list of resources geared to support mental health in the workplace:
- COVID-19 Psychological First Aid Service: Information and Signup (British Columbia Psychological Association) – Free virtual counselling provided by registered psychologists.
- COVID-19: Staying Well In Uncertain Times (Canadian Mental Health Association – B.C.) – Tips and information on how to reduce and manage anxiety in the workplace due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Managing COVID-19 Stress, Anxiety and Depression (Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions) – Tips and resources on things we can do as individuals and collectively to deal with stress and support one another during these challenging times.
- Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations During COVID-19 Outbreak (World Health Organization) – These mental health considerations were developed by the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use as messages targeting different groups to support for mental and psychosocial well-being during COVID-19 outbreak.
- Mental Health and COVID-10 (Conference Board of Canada) – Videos on different aspects of mental health, including coping with anxiety, job loss, and dealing with isolation.
- Taking Care of Your Mental Health (COVID-19) (Public Health Agency of Canada) – Tips and resources for taking care of your mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Feel free to share with others!
