CVS wanted to share some of the upcoming events happening for self advocates. We hope you find this useful and can get out to some events in the community:
Come out to Watch the Coquitlam Express on March 18th & Help Support CVS!
The Coquitlam Express team is hosting a Charity Night on March 18th! Come on out to cheer on Coquitlam Express and support CVS at the same time. For each senior or adult ticket sold, Coquitlam Express will donate $5 to Community Ventures Society. Also, the charity that raises the most money by selling the most tickets will get an additional $250 donation!
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To buy your tickets, visit https://happsnow.com/
We hope you take the time to get out to this special charity event and have a great time!
March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Did you know that March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month? At CVS, one of our strategic commitments is to raise awareness of inclusion in the community and educate the public about the needs of this diverse group, so it helps to enable a greater awareness understanding for the wider community.
Although March is a month for raising awareness about developmental disabilities, CVS strives to do this 365 days a year. We encourage you to learn more about topics related to inclusion in your community. Here are some excellent resources to learn more throughout March and in educating yourself all year long –
- Inclusive Education – https://inclusionbc.org/our-campaigns/inclusive-education/
- Inclusive Employment – https://inclusionbc.org/our-resources/the-business-case/
- Inclusive Housing – https://inclusionbc.org/our-resources/home-is-where-our-story-begins/
- Person Centred Language in the Workplace – https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/careers/all-employees/working-with-others/words-matter.pdf
- People First Language – https://www.verywellfamily.com/focus-on-the-person-first-is-good-etiquette-2161897
Join Us on February 21st for a Panel Discussion on Inclusion
As a follow-up to the launch of the Inclusion exhibit at Port Moody Station Museum, CVS has been asked to attend a panel discussion going behind the exhibit. This panel discussion will be hosted by Heritage BC and will include members from Inclusion BC, the BC Self Advocacy Foundation, Port Moody Station Museum as well as Linda King (Executive Director) and Miriam Hoolahan (Director of Communications) from Community Ventures Society.
We hope to talk through our collaborative process for getting the exhibit up and running and sharing it with our community. We hope you can join us!
To read more about the event and to register, click here.
February is Inclusive Education Month
February is National Inclusive Education Month. It is a time to promote and raise awareness about inclusive education; share ideas on strategies to enhance inclusion and successful school experiences for every child; acknowledge and recognize the efforts of teachers, administrators, students, and families who contribute to the successful inclusion of students in schools and classrooms.
Read more about Inclusive Education on Inclusion BC\’s website & watch the video below –
Congratulations to Quinn Campbell!
We wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate Quinn Campbell on moving into the role of DisDaBomb Coordinator. Quinn has been working with DisDaBomb for the past couple of years but is now taking the lead in coordinating this important social enterprise at CVS. DisDaBomb is now located at 2342 Clarke Street – pop in to see Quinn and our amazing assortment of bath bombs.
Congrats Quinn!
Changes in the Homes Program
We wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware of a change in the management of the Homes Program here at CVS. Our current Manager of the Homes Program, Gillian Reyes, will sadly be leaving CVS as she is moving to another part of BC. We wish Gillian well on this new exciting opportunity and thank her for her years of service and dedication to CVS.
We are excited to announce that Salima Ladha, currently Assistant Manager in our Shared Living team, will be moving into Gillian\’s role as Manager of the Homes Program. Please join all of us in congratulating Salima on this promotion. Salima brings considerable experience to this role as she worked for the Homes program for many years prior to moving into the Shared Living position.
Gillian\’s last day at CVS will be February 14th and Salima will begin working with Gillian over the next couple of weeks to ensure a seamless handover for the Homes program.
Financial Assistance for Recreation in Coquitlam
The City of Coquitlam has shared with us information about receiving financial assistance for recreation services with the City of Coquitlam. Now more than ever we know the importance of investing in recreational activities to help with our physical and mental health.
Financial Assistance for Recreation
The City of Coquitlam strives to make recreation affordable and accessible for all residents and is excited to introduce our new and improved Financial Assistance for Recreation (FAR) Program. This program was formally known as the Get Active, Get Connected (GCGA) program and has undergone a number of updates to make the process easier for those to use. The City\’s Financial Assistance for Recreation (FAR) is available for eligible Coquitlam residents year round.
Program Components
Each eligible family member will receive:
- 50 drop-in passes and;
- $225 credit towards City of Coquitlam admissions, passes and programs
Application Form
Complete the online Financial Assistance for Recreation Application Form.
If you would prefer to download the application form you can do so here: Financial Assistance for Recreation application form (PDF)
Application Checklist
Our Application Checklist (PDF) can walk you step by step through the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) will assist you in completing the Financial Assistance for Recreation Application and accessing the program’s benefits.
For more information, please visit https://coquitlam.ca/499/Financial-Assistance-for-Recreation or contact by email to [email protected] or by phone at 604-927-6076.
Update from Community Living BC (CLBC) & Join the Next Call on Mon Jan 24th!
Hello everyone,
We would like to share a message from Community Living BC (CLBC) below –
Dear self-advocates and family members –
I hope you had a restful time over the holidays and are remaining safe in this New Year.
We continue to live in stressful times as we are seeing the rapid spread of new cases of COVID-19 due to Omicron. This is also the time when many people catch the cold and flu. Many of us have family, friends and support staff who have become ill.
CLBC service providers, like schools and businesses, are experiencing staffing challenges as people get sick from Omicron and seasonal flu and colds. Those of you who manage your own supports may also be short some staff due to illness.
Public health experts tell us that we may be approaching the worst part of this wave and we hope it will soon begin to get better. However, the next weeks will be the hardest and we will have to work together to get through this time.
Safety is a top priority – make sure you get your booster
While Omicron is proving to be easier to catch, the evidence tells us that those who are vaccinated will be protected from serious illness and death. That is why it is still so important to get your vaccinations and to get your booster shot as soon as it is your turn.
If you have had your two shots, you are in the health computer system and will get your notification by email or text on your cell phone six months after your second shot. If you have had both your first and second Covid vaccine shot but you do not have email or cell phone, please contact your local health authority to arrange for your booster shot.
Here is general information about getting your booster:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/booster
If you have questions about getting your booster you can also call:
1-833-838-2323
Please make sure you ask a friend, family member or support worker if you are unsure what to do. If you are a family member or friend, please check to see if the person you support needs help to get their booster as soon as they are eligible.
CLBC service providers have made contingency plans
Under the recent Order from the Provincial Health Officer (PHO), everyone who works at CLBC and for a CLBC funded service provider must now be vaccinated. CLBC has also been working with our service providers to ensure they continue to have strong safety plans in place that follow public health guidelines.
CLBC recently held a meeting to share ideas and practices from leaders in our sector for keeping services going. You can read about some of the ideas that were shared in our last message to service providers here.
Service providers are asking their staff, including leaders, to be prepared to jump in to fill work shifts to keep services going should regular staff become temporarily ill.
If an agency has a large number of staff call in sick, they may have to temporarily reduce or suspend some services like employment, skill development and community inclusion in order to maintain critical housing services like group homes.
Service providers will keep you notified of any service changes, and we ask that you do what you can to help them during this time. This may mean being willing to change how you receive services, or sometimes staying home from a service for a few days. We can only get through this time if we all come together to solve the challenges that arise.
If at any time you experience an urgent unexpected need, please reach out to your agency or CLBC facilitator.
CLBC\’s next COVID-19 telephone support call on Jan. 24
We are all hopeful that by pulling together during these next weeks we will begin to see a decline in cases and continue our path toward a more normal life with regular supports and services.
To help get through this time, you can hear the latest information about Omicron from Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Daniele Behn Smith on our next call.
DATE: Monday, January 24, 2022
TIME: 12 noon – 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
DETAILS: Vancouver 604-681-0260 or Elsewhere 1-877-353-9184
PARTICIPANT CODE: 18451#
You can pre-submit questions for this call by sending an email with the subject line: JAN 24 COVID CALL to [email protected] .
Thank you for being kind, understanding and supportive during this difficult time. I am so grateful to see everyone reaching out to help each other. I am confident that we will get through this time and be stronger and better, together.
Sincerely,
Ross Chilton
CEO
Community Living BC
Music Night is Back – Join us on January 27th 2022
Our Virtual Music Night program is back in January! Please make sure to clear a place so you can dance to Glenn\’s music! Happening every 2nd Thursday, starting January 27th, at 7-8:30pm.
The schedule is as follows –
When: Thursdays from 7:00pm-8:30pm
Dates:
- January 27
- February 10 & 24
- March 10 & 24
- April 7 & 21
- May 5 & 19
- June 2 & 16 & 30
For the Zoom link, please contact Dawne Windblad at [email protected]
