Hey everyone, just wanted to reach out with info from Prepared BC about how you can find your local cooling centre – check it out. Keep cool and stay safe!
Heat-related illnesses…
Hey everyone, check out the information from PreparedBC about recognizing and treating heat-related illnesses – stay safe and keep cool!
Power restored in Kelowna
Hey everyone, looks like the power’s back on in the Okanagan! Another good reminder to keep those emergency preparedness kits stocked with flashlights, batteries, and candles.
Weather and Air Quality warnings
Hey everyone, some weather and air quality alerts in our area – stay safe!
Heat warnings
Hey everyone, with the current heat warnings in effect please take extra precautions to keep cool at this time.
Stay updated on heat warnings and current wildfire info (https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/) and find out what measures are in place locally for cooling centres and heat response/resources, should you need them. Example from Kelowna here: https://www.kelowna.ca/our-community/news-events/news/cool-down-locations-available-public-temperatures-climb
Stay safe everyone!

Okanagan – State of Emergency
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!
Flooding…
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.
CLBC Update for Individuals & Families…
…is now available! Click here.

Mental Health: Empathy vs. Sympathy
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).
Mental Health: Empathy & Compassion Fatigue
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.