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Hey everyone, there has been a local state of emergency declared in Kelowna due to flooding. Latest updates from Central Okanagan Emergency Operations available here.
A reminder to keep connected with emergency operations in your local community – stay safe!
Hey everyone, with the weather alerts notifying us all of heavy rainfall, and the notices of flooding risks in the Province, we wanted to highlight the importance of staying connected to local emergency resources.
The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre has been activated in response to localized flooding. Find out more here.
Get connected to your local emergency operations and keep up to date on emergency information! Stay safe and stay prepared.
…is now available! Click here.
Hey everyone, we’re raising awareness about mental health this month and today we’re exploring how empathy is different than sympathy.
Check out this explanation (from Brené Brown).
Hey everyone, we’re raising awareness about mental health this month. CMHA has featured empathy in their mental health week campaign this year – and empathy is very important in communication and in relationships!
However, and as CMHA highlights here in “Empathy and Compassion Fatigue” by Allison Dunning (Peer Support Canada), it’s important to know about and be aware of the “downfall” of empathy: compassion fatigue.
Compassion fatigue happens when we spend so much of our human energy trying to listen, understand and support others that we become exhausted ourselves. We can spend so much time thinking about other peoples’ experiences, needs and well-being, that we can forget to think about our own.
“Empathy and Compassion Fatigue” by Allison Dunning (Peer Support Canada)
Self-care and guarding against compassion fatigue are important parts of being in a caring profession. There are many resources available online as well as lots of posts on our website with information, resources, and strategies to help with compassion fatigue.
You can also check out suggestions to guard against compassion fatigue while still engaging in empathy in the original article on the CMHA website here, or their further suggested reading on strategies here.
Hey everyone, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week we want to share some helpful resources to support everyone to build their emergency kit.
Check out this video that walks through the process of putting together a kit — and some special considerations, like medications and mobility.
Check out the lists on this page to make your own kit, or start off with a guide like this one. You can also find information online about where to get a kit. There’s also a great resource here about preparing a kit on a budget.
Don’t forget to consider having an emergency car kit if you drive or own a vehicle! You can check out information on emergency car kits here.
Hey everyone, we posted about CMHA Mental Health week and the focus on empathy in this year’s campaign — but what exactly does “empathy” mean, and how can we “tune in” better? Check out the answer here!
Hey everyone, we’ve been posting emergency planning information and resources for Emergency Preparedness Week, and we want to take time to talk stress.
Emergencies can be stressful to think about. Planning for emergencies might seem like a big chore, or it might seem like it’s an impossible job to be ready for anything, or it might make you feel scared or sad.
It’s important to know that having a plan is one of the best emergency response strategies you can have: it will help you stay calm if you’re ever faced with a real emergency. So, while emergency planning might seem like a challenge, it’s definitely worthwhile!
Here’s some videos to help lighten things up and simplify some key concepts (and a website to got with them!).
GRAB AND GO BAG:
EMERGENCY KIT:
GRAB AND GO BAG vs. EMERGENCY KIT (What’s the difference?)
Hey everyone, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week we want to focus in on supporting everyone to make an emergency plan that keeps you ready for anything!
Check out this video for a helpful walk-through of what to consider and what to do in case of some examples like 1) flooding while you’re not home, 2) a severe storm while you’re are home, and 3) a wildfire evacuation order.
Check out this page for access to 9 free online emergency preparedness guides you can use to plan for an emergency specific to your needs — from pets, to power outages, to pocket guides.
Finally, check out this page for some tips on how you can (and can’t) use technology when you’re planning what to do in case of an emergency, like these helpful hints:
Hey everyone, this interactive webinar about emergency preparedness is taking place TONIGHT – register below!
