1. A desire to better know and understand the three Occupational Health & Safety rights established for workers and how they affect/apply to you. It’s important that you know your rights. Click here to learn more.
    
2. More clearly defined procedures and tools to adhere to and follow with the intent of ensuring greater consistency in operational practice. What do we all need to do to become Exceptional about Safety?
    
3. Knowing how to incorporate your personal safety into each moment and each task that is required of you.  This is about being both ‘risk and situational aware’.

1. A refinement of our agency’s Health & Safety Management System as we work toward earning a Certificate of Recognition (COR) through the Partnerships in Injury Reduction program from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety.
    
2. We’ve hired 2 professional Safety Specialists as we work with the Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships with regard to trainings and standards review. (See below for bios of our safety specialists.)
    
3. We’ve established a Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee along with 8 site-specific safety committees. They identify opportunities, support with hazard identification and inspections, and recommend initiatives to promote health and safety and continuous improvements.
    
4. Hazard assessments are now complete for both the Bowness and Parkdale campuses with a clear plan for completion across the agency. Temple Under18 and Inglewood hazard assessment workshops are next, beginning this month.
    
5. Inspections for COVID-19, Household Chemicals and our Fleet Vehicles were all recently completed across the agency.
    
6. We have started and plan to increase what we refer to as “open platforms” to elicit feedback, ideas, and opinions related to safety.  Many of you have joined the Town Halls over the past 9 months and joined Kate Light and I in the ‘Exploring our Culture’ focus groups.  We plan to continue to create more opportunities for participation, sharing ideas and solutions as we journey together in becoming Exceptional about Safety.
    
7. We are establishing a Workplace Violence Prevention steering committee to develop tangible ways to strengthen standards, physical environments, tools and procedures, and programs and training to reduce the risk of violence for staff. Volunteers for sub-committees are desired and staff participation vital. Improvements identified will be incorporated into Wood's Homes Prevention of Harassment and Violence Policy and Plans.
    
8. Our Management Safety Training is becoming more user-friendly moving to a new software training platform called RISE.
    
9. The Staff Safety Incident Process has been revised based on current best practice and feedback from our Safety Specialists and senior management. The staff safety incident process is now well established and we have over 200 incident reports from 2020. These reports are providing invaluable data and are guiding improvements in many areas.
    
10. The Health & Safety Bulletin Boards across the agency have been refreshed 4 times this year with up to date information from Occupational Health & Safety and the agency.

Since the start of COVID-19 one year ago, child welfare staff have been working hard to deliver vital supports and services to children, youth, and families across the country.

In recognition of this, the Child Welfare League of Canada launched a nationwide campaign on March 9 to thank all of the highly dedicated child-care professionals for their commitment.

As part of this campaign, child and family caring agencies are being asked to share messages that recognize our staff on social media, in newsletters, etc. using the hashtag #TrulyDedicated.

Children's Mental Health Day is a nationally-recognized day that provides opportunity to promote the importance of paying attention to the mental health of children, youth and families and to raise awareness of the treatment and support services available in the community. Wood’s Homes uses this day to speak to the work of our organization.

Wood's Homes has been recognizing this important day since 2012 with a variety of events and campaigns, including a march through the heart of downtown and a proclamation by Mayor Nenshi, an online campaign telling the story of a young client and his family, and a Children's Mental Health Day Open House that attracted media, special guests and community members to our Inglewood campus. 
 

Counselling and therapy are provided on a fee-for-service basis and clients have started to arrive. Elbow Springs Counselling was started to fill a gap in counselling services for those who are prepared to pay an hourly fee, and those who do not want to contend with lengthy wait lists.

The program is operated by Wood’s Homes staff members who are qualified to offer mental health treatment services. This exciting initiative is being led by Dr. David Williamson, one of Therapeutic Campus-Based Care program managers.

Pictures and video of the space will soon be shared with all staff. Keep your eyes on the Intranet Home Page.

Keep this new HR chart handy!
 

I was ready for the next step in my career – a clinician. However, I did need to learn more about the agency and the community so I took a position with the Community Resource Team (now part of Eastside Community Mental Health Services) and I learned a lot! It is a wonderful place to learn about risk assessment, family dynamics and interventions and how to think on your feet.

What advice would you give to recent new hires?
Start your job with an open mind for learning. Learn about the agency, your colleagues and your clients. You don’t need to know everything on your first day. Ask lots of questions and watch your colleagues.

Before working at Wood’s Homes what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?
I was a lifeguard when I was younger so my favorite job was as a lifeguard on Parlee Beach, New Brunswick. It is a beautiful spot and the warmest waters north of the Carolinas.

What is your favourite thing to do in Calgary?
My family and I love to walk and the two best places to walk in the NW are Nose Hill and 12 Mile Coulee.

What do you always want to try and never did?
It is still on my list but I would love to learn to surf – hope to give it a try on Tofino’s beaches in the years to come.

Best vacation you’ve had?
I am originally from the East Coast. Our last family vacation was a tour of Cape Breton Island. We saw the Bras D’Or Lakes and drove the Cabot Trail. We stayed a few days in Cheticamp and did a day hike down to an old fishing village on the west coast. It was a wonderful vacation. Put that on your list when we can all travel again. Geez… I am feeling like a travel guide for the Maritimes.

Least favourite Food?
I really despise Jello.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see cast as you?
My favourite actress right now is Oliva Coleman. If anyone is watching The Crown – you know her as the Queen. She is a great actress. Google her Oscar acceptance speech – it is hilarious.

People would be surprised if they knew...
I worked as a janitor during grad school. I was pretty broke one year so took a job in my apartment building to make ends meet.

What are your hopes for our industry?
I share with folks taking our Suicide Awareness training that I hope we end the whispering about mental health. I hope treatment and support for mental health becomes as accepted as treatment and support for our physical health. We need both for a healthy, happy life.
 

He has completed hazard assessment training with staff at the Bowness Campus and will hold similar sessions with Temple U18 and Inglewood staff. In addition to this training, he is now helping to refine our agency’s Health & Safety Management System as we work toward earning a Certificate of Recognition (COR) through the Partnerships in Injury Reduction program approved by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety.

Another key project Mike is helping to lead is the establishment of a Workplace Violence Prevention Committee to develop tangible ways to reduce the risk of violence for staff. In the coming weeks and months the committee will be seeking vital staff input and participation for sub-committee help. Improvements identified will be incorporated into our agency’s Prevention of Harassment and Violence Policy and Plans. 

He has undergone COR (Certificate of Recognition) training and is CRSP (Canadian Registered Safety Professional) certified. He is supporting and refining safety processes, participating in safety investigations, providing training and is the lead in our WCB processes and claims. His collaborative nature as well as passion surrounding health and wellness is proving to be a welcome addition.

To support your mental health while protecting you and your family’s physical health during this pandemic, here are some ways to keep your spirits up while working from home:

• Pick up the phone and check in on a friend
  • Talking with someone you trust is one of the best ways to reduce anxiety, loneliness or boredom. Take special care to check on those who live alone, as this time may be especially isolating for them. Checking in sustains our well-being, our bonds, and supports the most vulnerable among us.
     
• Turn off email notifications before and after working hours
  • It’s important to know, respect and share your limits with those around you to avoid burnout. Incorporating guidelines for email notifications will help you to maintain a feeling of normalcy, resist the temptation to overwork, and maintain a normal sleep schedule.
     
• Incorporate movement
  • Move your body in ways that allow you to feel energized and calm. Spend time outside and soak up some sunshine by going for a walk, riding a bike or jogging. Taking deep breaths, meditating and stretching will improve your mood and your overall health. We've developed a poster with a number of stretching techniques for those who often work from a desk. CHECK IT OUT. 
     
• Remember that help is always available
  • If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health issue, remember Eastside Community Mental Health Services (ECMHS). Our registered professionals are available to safely support you via Virtual Therapy Sessions (phone or video).

In 2007, a Grade 9 student in Nova Scotia was bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school. Some may not know that I was born and raised in Nova Scotia and that same year, I was also a Grade 9 student at a Nova Scotia school one hour away from these students.

I remember the very beginning of what we now call Pink Shirt Day and often wore pink on these days while in school. I wore my Pink East Coast Lifestyle sweater on February 24 to take a stand against bullying but to also represent the Nova Scotians who took a stand many years ago!

Wood’s Homes is a large organization – working in Calgary, Lethbridge, Strathmore and Fort McMurray. Many people are unaware of just how large our agency is; we work in 27 different buildings, including our newest location operating Elbow Springs Counselling.
 
To help capture the size of our agency, Communications produced a video (narrated by our CEO, Bjorn Johansson) that showcases our 3 campuses. This video, which has been viewed close to 500 times, can be seen on our website here.
 
As the virtual front door to our agency, our website is essential to the promotion of your work. Did you know that Communications records the traffic on our site and that in 2020, the number of page views was more than 325,000? Communications reports this traffic to the Communications & Public Relations committee.
 
Our current site was built in 2017 and designed by ZGM. It is the first mobile responsive site for the agency and was funded with thanks to Wood’s Homes Foundation. 
 

Now that some limitations have been lifted around in-person fitness classes, Metta Yoga Studio is supporting Wood’s Homes through their Karma classes throughout March and April.

Karma classes are held on Sunday afternoons from 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
 

A big shoutout to all the staff who have
contributed to the Wood’s Homes Blog!

Our blog continues to impress readers as witnessed by its growing list of subscribers. Since 2015, close to 250 blogs have been posted with more 55,000 views.

These past few months have featured some particularly helpful and inspiring posts written by staff about their experiences living and working during a pandemic. These posts include:

Keep writing and sending us your posts. They are obviously popular.
 

Have suggestions for
Goods on Wood's: Inside Edition?
 

Is there anything you'd like to see or news you'd like to share? Whether it be a standing item, a single piece for our next issue, or something you'd like the agency to know about your program, we're all ears!