Vulcan County Family Resources- May 2021 (updated)

“APPLY TODAY for this Vulcan County Funding Opportunity sponsored by Community Futures Highwood to become certified to work in the solar industry! Submit your funding request by May 10^th, and begin class May 11^th!  To apply, inquire at [email protected] for a Funding Program Package.”  A limited number of qualified applicants will be accepted.

There is Cultural Diversity Awareness training available through Willow Creek Immigrant Services.  The one on May 12th is aimed at service providers and the one on May 26th is meant for volunteers and community members but will have similar information if one date works better for you than another.  See the attached posters.

Just a heads up for anyone looking for a volunteer opportunity: Vulcan FCSS and volunteers are delivering Resource Directories door-to-door and doing a community “check-in” as we go.  We are doing May 13, 14, 20 & 21 but other shifts can be arranged.  We do ask that volunteers wear masks and are willing to speak to people if they answer the door to find out how they are doing.  If you are interested in helping out contact Lori at 403-485-2192 ext. 103 or [email protected]

SMART Recovery Addiction support Meeting happen on Wednesday’s at 7pm 105B 3rd Ave. in Vulcan.  Call 403-485-1054 for information.  Joining online is an option.

AA – Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Contact Gary at 403-485-5818 Meetings are Tues. and Thurs. 8pm

Al-Anon – Al-Anon Family Group -meetings as needed. Contact Betty W. at 403-652-8285 for information.

Vulcan and Region FCSS can still see clients individually, if you need to connect to a real person. We are available to talk to you,  work on life skills, talk to you about budgeting, housing, emergency needs and we can help you explore options for counselling whether online, in-person, free, paid or subsidized. FCSS also offers the Volunteer Income Tax program to help file taxes for those with low income.  Call 403-485-2192  or visit us at 105B  3rd Ave. S.  Please only one person in the entry way at a time.

Join an online café by phone or computer for a chance to socialize and talk to more people.  Monday’s at 7pm.  If you don’t know how to zoom, the people at FCSS can walk you through it. Call 403-485-2192.  The link to join is:

https://zoom.us/j/94945035177?pwd=d0FSSUZ5UWEzZ2FoN1N1bFY0V3NTQT09

Dial in by phone at 1 587 328 1099 and follow the prompts.

Meeting ID: 949 4503 5177

Passcode: 190288

As schools go back to at-home and online learning, the Get-a-Way Youth Center is available to children by registration during the day while schools are closed.  If parents work and need a supervised space for their child for a few hours or don’t have internet, they can book an appointment with Josh at 403-485-6033 or Deanna at 485-2192 ext. 101. We cannot provide daycare or any group gatherings, so appointments are necessary.  Unfortunately, our Friday meal will only be available by pre-booking a bag lunch. It will always be free. We also provide Thursday Snack Packs for kids who may need a little more.  If you are aware of anyone who could use any of our services, then please pass on the information.

Conversation Cafe.  The link to the zoom meeting is https://zoom.us/j/94945035177?pwd=d0FSSUZ5UWEzZ2FoN1N1bFY0V3NTQT09 Monday’s at 7pm.  Starting May 10 (No session May 24^th) This group is for anyone looking for some engaging conversation.  Questions are shared to get the group talking with the intention of feeling connected and enhancing our feeling of well-being.  Social connection is a pillar of health.  Call 403-485-2192 to register or click the link. If you need help learning zoom give us a call and we can walk you through a practice meeting
Rainbow Literacy Family Programs: Storywalks, Scavenger Hunt, Time for Rhymes, Building Blocks and more!
Register at 403-485-2192

Rainbow Literacy-Family Programs 2021

Greater Foothills Family Centre Programs: Growing Gardeners, Crafty Creations, Kids in Motion, Tiny Two’s, Music Makers, Mothers Day Make and Take, Kids Clubs for 9-12 year olds, Triple P Parenting Program and more!

Early Learning Developmental Check-ups – 2 posters Arrowwood May 20, Brant June 3, Vulcan, May 28 and June 4.
Appointments can be booked at your local school.  IT’S FREE! and available in your community! You can access expertise including a Speech & Language Pathologist, to assess your child’s strengths, and learn how to best support your child in areas of growth.  It’s fun, it’s informative, it’s important and can save tears later.

May 19 – Food Rescue Pop Up – to deliver in Milo, Arrowwood, Lomond and Vulcan – Call to register for your bags and help rescue some food.

Free Swimming Lessons for Vulcan County residents. Register May 3.

MUMS Peer Support for prenatal and postnatal support for parents.

Prenatal Support Group

Speaker Series – Bouncing Forward into Well-being with author David Irvine. May 3 Live streamed.

Rowan House Emergency Shelter Outreach Services

New2U Bike Donation Program – Greater Foothills Family Centre

MCG Careers offers workshops and Career Coaches are available to provide guidance and support as you strive to achieve your career and employment goals.  All of our services, programs and supports are at NO COST.  To book an appointment call 1-844-601-2660
MCG Employment Services Information and Events

AHS Nutrition Services virtual classes,  Mealtime Struggles to Mealtime Success and Feeding Your Baby. Registration is through birthandbabies.com, or by calling 403-955-1450. Registration closes the day before each class at 12 noon.  All classes are currently being held virtually, through Zoom, therefore the classes are no longer location specific for participants when registering.

Mealtime Struggles to Mealtime Success: May 11th 6:30 pm 8:00 pm, May 26th 1:30 pm 3:00 pm, June 9th 6:30 pm 8:00 pm
Feeding Your Baby: May 4th 10:30 am 12:00 pm, May 19th 6:30 pm 8:00 pm, June 2nd 1:30-3:00 pm, June15th 6:30-8:00 pm
Mealtime Struggles & Feeding Your Baby 2021

Rowan House Podcast

Rowan House Podcast

Language Matters – Naming Mental Health: Check out the poster to learn a little more about mental health.
Language Matters - Understanding Mental Health

SAH MHR – Safe at Home Men’s Healthy Relationship Group
SAH MHR Poster

Other Activities:

Fourth Annual Adopt a Pot: Carmangay Horticultural Association needs volunteers to adopt a flower pot in various locations around the village. Duties are as follows: supply flowers , plant and maintain the pots till end of September 2021. Please at the end of September clean your pot back to soil . Thank you   Also there will be first, second and third prize that will be awarded in late July. For your pot , further details and info contact Tanya (587)678-0244

Rainbow Literacy and Learning Society is offering the PAL (unrestricted firearm safety) again on June 19th from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. to register please call: 403-485-3107  We are offering the Restricted Firearm Course on June 20th from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. to register please call: 403-485-3107

Wellness Wednesday’s, hosted by FCSS – One more week left of free lunches at 12pm downtown Vulcan.  The first 20 people get a free lunch purchased from a local restaurant.  They go fast but you can bring your own and enjoy the picnic tables in the empty lot beside Home Hardware. Smile and say hello to the rest of the community.  Please sit with your own household and social distance from others but that does not mean you can’t talk to someone, friend or stranger from a distance.  All those positive experiences give your brain and mood a little boost.  Please use that space respectfully any day and support our local businesses.  Wellness Wednesday only runs if the weather is great.  If it is cold, windy or rainy we will postpone to the following week.  And make an effort to get out and enjoy the beautiful outdoor spaces in all our communities.

Resources

On May 27 at 1 PM there is a webinar about the Centre for Suicide Prevention’s Buddy Up campaign. In Canada, men have a suicide rate three times higher than women. Why? We have socialized men to be strong, stoic and self-reliant; showing emotion is a sign of weakness, as is asking for help. Men are dying in alarming numbers, all around us, alone. How can we change this reality?

Buddy Up is a campaign by men for men, promoting authentic conversations and teaching how to support a buddy if they’re struggling with thoughts about suicide. Learn how to look out for your buddy and raise awareness for men’s suicide prevention. Buddy Up campaign month is in June 2021. Learn more at www.buddyup.ca   Here is the Eventbrite link to register for this webinar:   https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/152428671259
Maybe during the pandemic, you have not been doing as well as usual but also not doing really bad either.  You might be languishing.  Here is a good article that explains languishing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/well/mind/covid-mental-health-languishing.html

CYF – Children, Youth and Families

To register for a session, follow the links found in the newsletter or visit: https://www.cyfcaregivereducation.ca/virtual-education 

Community Education Services has some great workshops this month. Register for these free online workshops at:  http://community.hmhc.ca/  Some are listed below

 May 03 From Homework to Housework: Raising Responsible Children For parents of children 5 – 12 years old 
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Parents have a role to play in helping children establish good homework habits. Parents also play a critical role in building healthy school attitudes and effective home/school communication. Being responsible is more than just doing what you’re told; it involves problem solving and decision making. Children are not born responsible; parents must teach the skills to their children. Children need to learn that their actions have consequences, good and bad and that it is their choices and decisions that largely determines what that consequence will be. They also need to learn from the consequences so that they can be a part of any solution that is required if their choices result in a need to “fix” things.
In this workshop, Parents will learn:
What role they play in teaching their child responsibility
The 3 parts to responsibility
Ways to encourage children to become responsible for themselves and their chores
How and when to start giving children chores and some age appropriate chores
Should we pay children to do chores?
Whose problem is it if the chores aren’t completed?
Tips on setting up a family chore chart?

May 3 “All of my coping strategies went out the window”: How neurodivergent individuals and their caregivers are coping during the pandemic 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

May 4 Employment Workshops for caregivers and their youth: Resume Writing & Work Search Strategies, Networking and Conflict Resolution 
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
One-hour workshops, for parents/caregivers & their youth, covering:
May 4 & 8: Resume Writing – Learn how to create a youth resume, including an exploration of the different styles and uses for resumes.
May 10 & 15: Networking and Work Search Strategies – An exploration of youth job search strategies and how to create networks.
May 17 & 22: Conflict Resolution – Gain an understanding of what conflict is and how to resolve it in the workplace.

 May 5 Understanding Teen Mental Health & Wellness 
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

 May 6 Juno House presents: Healthy Brains = Healthy Children 
10:30 AM – Noon
Before High School graduation, one third of adolescent girls will experience depression, anxiety disorders, self harm or an eating disorder.
At Juno House www.junohouse.ca we believe in the extraordinary healing power of parents and caregivers. We believe that you can learn all of the skills that you need to become your teen’s emotional coach. We believe that talking does not grow neurons; experience grows neurons. We will share steps and strategies from the Juno House Therapeutic Model that will give you effective emotional coaching tools for your children as they develop through adolescence and into young adulthood. You will learn about :
• Neuroscience and the developing brain,
• Brain integration of the left and right brain,
• How anxiety develops,
• The background of emotions and how to understand them in your child,
• The five emotional coaching steps,
• Strategies to help guide your adolescent through the challenges they will face in their academic, peer, and emotional environments.

 May 6 Emerging from the shadows – recognizing signs of mental distress in our children and youth as we navigate through the pandemic and beyond 
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Overview on current mental health trends seen in children and youth, we will share universal approaches and an introduction to some easy screening tools parents can review and implement. The session will review the mental health impacts of the last 18 months – what physicians have seen and what is still emerging. Participants will learn to recognize normal distress reactions, including physical signs of emotional stress, when further assessment is needed and the importance of early detection. It will also explore who to turn to for more information and support. Building resilience together – takes a village. 02

May 11 Understanding and Using Mental Toughness to Enhance Performance: When Toughness is Really NOT About Being “Tough.” 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Mental toughness (MT) has a great deal of evidence to support its use in education, but is also broadly misunderstood because of its roots in competitive sport and in high-performance arenas such as the military and business worlds. There are lots of stories of professional athletes and folks like Navy SEALS who talk about MT. But what about the rest of us? What about kids? In this webinar, we will discuss what MT really is – and the critical value of mental sensitivity and mental flexibility in enhancing our performance and in supporting kids and ourselves to become more willing risk takers, be more resilient, have more interpersonal success, and how to not only learn from mistakes but also actively seek out opportunities for new learning.

 May 12 Intergenerational Trauma- Learning and Healing 
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
In this session, you will be walked through some information about intergenerational trauma and how it has impacted the Indigenous peoples of Canada and societal imprints on a specific population. With this information participants will learn through questions, videos and examples and hopefully spark attendees to learn more. Attendees will also learn about a Boys & Girls Clubs of Calgary Indigenous led program for youth that is challenging systems and creating space for healing.

May 13 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Caregivers – What’s it all about? 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
This workshop is about caring for the caregiver. Participants will be taught tools and techniques towards taking care of themselves so that they, in turn, can mindfully connect with their child/young adult. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) processes and how they can support caregivers of neurodiverse individuals (including autism and other developmental differences) will be discussed.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) seeks to help individuals to manage difficult things in their lives and mindfully connect with things that are most important in a way that is loving and respectful. With an introduction to the concept of ‘mindfulness,’ ACT helps to develop a new mindful relationship with unwanted thoughts and feelings. This process helps a person to be more open, and to take action consistent with what they care about.

May 18 Resilience 
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or hardship. So what makes humans resilient? And what is the role of resilience in our lives? Additionally, how does resilience relate to mental wellbeing? Resilience can also help offset factors that increase the risk of mental health conditions and can help keep mental health concerns like depression or anxiety at bay. Come join us for this presentation as we uncover the five pillars of resilience: self awareness, mindfulness, self care, positive relationships & purpose. By strengthening these pillars, we in turn, become more resilient.

 May 20 Play with Purpose: The Impacts of Play on Development & Incorporating Play into Learning 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Play is one of the most important and impactful ways children learn. In this workshop, we will explore a variety of skills that can develop through play, the different types and stages of play, as well as working through those tricky moments when conflict arises during play. By the end of this presentation, you’ll have a better understanding and appreciation for play, and more playful tools that you can incorporate into your household or classroom!

May 27 Supporting Your Children to have Healthy Relationships During a Pandemic 
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
This presentation will focus on how parents can help children develop and maintain positive healthy relationships in their children. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a requirement for physical distancing from peers and increased social connection online. Physical distancing does not mean the same thing as social and emotional distancing. Children and teens can and should stay social and emotionally connected with their peers and others. Healthy relationships and social connections are key in fostering positive social-emotional development and resilience. Strategies to help parents promote healthy and positive relationships during a time of increased physical distance and stress will be provided. Parents will be empowered to have meaningful conversations with their children to build the parent-child relationship, as well as help their children develop and maintain healthy relationships with their peers in person and safely online.

 May 31 Understanding Social Media Use in Teens 
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
The world of social media is constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up. This session will look at some of the most popular platforms among Canadian youth and how to protect privacy and keep everyone safe. We will also discuss the effects of social media use on teen mental health and how to promote healthy social media habits in a digital world.

 June 1 Trans & Parent Perspectives: How to support transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming youth 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

 June 2 Children and Parenting After Separation ‘ Parenting Coordination and other Dispute Resolution Processes ‘ 
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Court is not the only way to resolve family law problems, and it’s not always the best way to resolve family law problems. In this webinar, we’ll talk about some alternatives to court. We’ll cover mediation, where a neutral person helps people reach an agreement on their own, and arbitration, where a neutral person makes a decision resolving a problem, just like a judge. We’ll also talk about parenting coordination, a long-term process that combines parts of mediation and parts of arbitration to resolve problems while helping people learn to communicate better and resolve problems on their own.

 June 2 Parenting, Pedantics & Peculiarities during the Pandemic 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM UN2021

June 3 From Homework to Housework: Raising Responsible Children For parents of children 5 – 12 years old 
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

 June 8 Habits of Mental Health 
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Everyone has mental health which is equally important as physical health. Just like physical health, we need proper supports, strategies, and healthy coping habits to maintain an optimal wellbeing. In this webinar we will go through various ways to facilitate positive mental wellbeing as well as the many benefits of positive mental health.

 June 9 Starting or changing medication for your child/youth’s mental health? An introduction to genotype-guided prescribing 
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Read more at https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/three-early-childhood-development-principles-improve-child-family-outcomes/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=april_2021

Have a great May,

Lori Gair
Community Liaison
Vulcan and Region Family and Community Support Services
Phone: 403-485-2192 ext. 103
Email: [email protected]