As we all know, a state of emergency was declared last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All health and human services organizations – including Wood’s Homes – have been challenged to keep pace with evolving public health policy & protocols, while maintaining focus on the effective delivery of our mental health services.
Challenges within our sector have been even more striking as there is a need to maintain services, increase innovative practice and respond to new mental health challenges with less fiscal and community resources.
Over the past year, the innovations within our 40+ programs and services have produced much knowledge and learning.
A project, designed by our Research Department, was initiated to document:
What Wood’s Homes staff learned about innovations to service delivery during COVID;
How Best Practices would be informed by these innovations in future.
This COVID-19 Special Issue of the Wood’s Homes Journal – Evidence to Practice documents the experiences of 4 staff cohorts including clinicians, frontline staff, managers and support service staff. As well, there is a case example reporting how the winter solstice ceremony was observed by Elders and our Indigenous Services. The journal concludes with the background literature review that was used as a foundation for developing this research. You can find the journal link on the Wood’s Homes website under Learn/Publications.
The research initiative, and this special issue, were made possible through public donations to the Wood’s Homes Foundation by community donors who were interested in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on service innovations to children, youth and families at Wood’s Homes. It is hoped this special issue will:
Showcase the innovative work happening within our agency.
Provide frontline staff with access to best practice literature.
Make a substantial contribution to the emerging knowledge, and assist other children’s mental health organizations, in both private and not-for-profit realms, with this critical work in Canada.
Special shout out to Senior Researcher Bruce MacLaurin,
the Wood’s Homes Evidence to Practice Editor
&
The following Wood’s Homes Authors/Contributors:
Nicole Frenette (Research Department Casual Data Analyst)
Elaheh Nosrat (Research Department – Research Assistant)
Tye Rhyno (Indigenous Liaison)
Elder John Crier
Elder Marcia Crier
Ashley Louise Jones (Clinician)
Justin Marengo (Clinician)
Angela Hick (Clinician)
Jenna Passi (Research Department – Supervisor)
Jacky Liu (Research Department – Research Assistant)
Terry Pitoulis (Research Department – Research Assistant)
Janet Stewart (Program Manager)
Kiran McKay (Program Manager)
Ave Maria Beltran (Community Engagement Coordinator)
