rapport Bringing people together Spring 2016 ISSN 1180-503X “Evening in The Maritimes” the best kitchen party in Ottawa! Most Maritimers can see a "kitchen party" if they close their eyes. Drink, food and merriment abound, to the sounds of Celtic inspired music. The kitchen party has been enshrined as an iconic image of east coast living, turning up in television shows, music videos and as the largest annual fundraiser for Citizen Advocacy. Bytown Highland Dancers, and Ten Strings and A Goat Skin; a truly east coast band. Tickets are $175 each and include a $75 tax receipt, corporate tables of 10 are $1,900. For information about Citizen Advocacy’s biggest fundraiser of the year visit: www.eveninginthemaritimes.com. Wondering how you can help? Citizen Advocacy will need event volunteers. We are also collecting items for the silent auction. Contact Virgilia Partridge [email protected] or 613-761-9522 x 240 with comments or questions. For twenty-two years Citizen Advocacy has proudly held the best kitchen party in Ottawa – Evening in the Maritimes. You will experience traditional east coast hospitality including complimentary Screech Storm cocktails provided by Newfoundland Screech Rum, our signature 4-course lobster dinner (beef and vegetarian meals are also available upon request) and live east coast entertainment provided by the Ottawa Police Pipe Band, the Thank you to our sponsors: Lundbeck, Scotiabank, Scotia Wealth Management, Emond Harden, Fisheries Council of Canada, Newfoundland Screech Rum, Telus, CTV, Majic 100FM, and the Hilton Lac-Leamy. Community Supporters: Borden Ladner Gervais, LLP, Global Public Affairs, Lundbeck, Scotiabank and Scotia Wealth Management Damon Lauder Consumers Advisory Committee Member Impacting Lives Together On Friday April 1st Citizen Advocacy hosted a breakfast, Impacting Lives Together. It was our opportunity to personally thank and celebrate the impact our community has on the lives of hundreds of people living with a disability and their families in Ottawa. Approximately 120 members of the Citizen Advocacy community - staff, Board of Directors, Advocates, Friends, event volunteers, Consumer Advisory Committee members, donors, sponsors and supporters were able to join us. Collectively through our programs we have a direct impact on the lives of 1,200 people each month. It is also estimated that for every person directly impacted by the work of Citizen Advocacy there are 3-5 people indirectly impacted by our programs. Our organization continues to be highly respected by individuals with disabilities and their families. We are often told we are a place where they feel welcomed, safe and able to speak their minds. They receive the recognition, guidance and support they are seeking. We recognize the resilience of individuals with disabilities and their families as they access supports and services and look for innovative and creative ways to build healthy, safe and inclusive futures in our community. Lifetime Networks Cheque Presentation Simone Joanisse, Board and Lifetime Networks Advisory Committee member, accepted a $500 donation to Citizen Advocacy’s Lifetime Networks program from Sarah Simpson at the recent Impacting Lives Together event. Sarah is a Carson Wagonlit Travel Canada employee, who recently entered the travel agency’s national contest. The contest asked their employees to highlight the work they do for a charity. Sarah wrote about her experiences as a member of Caroline Joanisse’s Lifetime Network and she detailed all the good work of Citizen Advocacy Ottawa. Sarah’s submission won. Thank you, Sarah and Carson Wagonlit Travel Canada. Our impact on these lives would not be possible without the amazingly gifted and generous people in our community. Thank you! Rapport Spring 2015 2 Caregiver Retreat Citizen Advocacy hosted a weekend Caregiver Retreat at the wonderful Courtyard Marriot Hotel and Conference Centre in Ottawa. Caregivers explored the benefits of independent facilitation and persondirected planning through discussion with facilitators, parents, employers and fifty other families! It was truly an all-inclusive event with sumptuous food, free hand massages and a lounge suite to mingle after hours with wine and cheese! Saturday began with David Remington from MCSS who emphasized that true change always comes from the advocacy of families and our community, and indeed much work is still required to make developmental services more responsive to people with disabilities. The next presentation was from Windsor Essex Brokerage for Personal Supports, who enlightened the Ottawa families with success stories in their own community and described the role of a facilitator as vision holders, opportunity creators, network builders and catalysts! Josh Gray, our graphics facilitator, captured the words and meaning of our speakers and the following panel discussions in real-time! Insight and innovative ideas were shared from the housing research team and Citizen Advocacy’s leadership on steering a housing trust. The parent panel provided living proof of how effective persondirected planning can be. Nancy Huggett shared with us that person-directed planning gave her daughter the ability to direct her life and ultimately opened hearts and doors by inviting people into her support circle. Evelyn Simmons, a parent, stated “I said yes to person-directed planning, because I know that I unfortunately will not be here forever.” Attendees heard from an employment panel. Panel members included employee Nan who was a valued employee at Zellers for 17 years until it was closed. With a little extra pressure from an Independent Planning Facilitator, Nan is happily employed again. How valuable is it for an employer to hear their employer say “I love my job” everyday? Nan is a perfect example of an employee who brings persistence, reliability and joy to her team. Andrew Bearrs from Dow Honda was then asked why he started employing people with disabilities, and he replied “someone needed to ask and it was the smart thing to do.” The weekend was capped off with an absolute treat from Lucinda Hage, the author of “What time is the 9:20 bus?” She is the mother of Paul and has documented his journey through a person-directed lens. What a gift it was to hear the voice behind the book and her generosity allowed everyone attending the retreat to take home a copy of her book. It is a must read and a story definitely worth sharing with the people in your lives. Rapport Spring 2015 3 Fetal Alcohol Resource Program (FARP) Update The FARP team are thrilled by the number of organizations and agencies signing up for their Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) training. At the end of March, they have trained 200 people in the Ottawa region, equipping them to better support citizens in our community affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Participating organizations have included the Youth Mental Health Court Stakeholders; LiveWorkPlay; Ottawa Carleton Pharmacists Association; Ottawa Community Committee on Child Abuse; City of Ottawa Special Needs Staff; OCDSB Educational Assistants and Early Childhood Educators; and the Human Services Justice Coordinating Committee. Fifteen more agencies have signed up for workshops in the coming weeks. We are busy fulfilling our other mandates too. The team has been supporting families affected by FASD by guiding them to supports and services. The FARP Coordinators are collaborating with organizations such as CanFASD; CHEO; Youth Now; the FASD Coalition of Ottawa; FASCETS Canada; and the University of Ottawa Medical and Education departments, sharing expertise to enhance capacity to support people with FASD. March also saw a feature in an Ottawa Citizen article on FASD and FARP as well as on a segment of CBC's Ontario Morning. The daily posts on their Facebook page are being followed by people around the world. Tanya, Janet and Nancy are happy and energized by the support in the community for this seven month old program. For inquiries or to book training, please contact [email protected] or call 613-761-9522 Ext. 234 and like us on Facebook. Rapport Spring 2015 Walking in My Shoes (WIMS) Update WIMS continues to provide monthly meetings for parents of children with special needs. These meetings offer an opportunity for parents to learn about community resources and share experiences through facilitated discussions and guest speakers. In January, Donna Thomson shared her experiences and talked about some strategies which may be helpful in finding balance in your life, making tough decisions and developing good coping strategies when raising a child with special needs. In March, the members participated in a facilitated discussion on “When They Don’t Get It”. Parents discussed what happens when your own family or friends/acquaintances just don’t get it; don’t seem to understand your child’s strengths and needs and your challenges. In May, Christa Janes and Cathey McLaughlin, Behaviour Consultants with Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre, will share information which may help you understand your child’s behaviour. They will also review some practical tools which may help you manage situations when issues arise. There will be opportunity for questions and discussion afterwards. For more information about WIMS please visit www.wimsparents.ca or email [email protected] or phone 613761-9522. The West-End meeting continues to take place the second Tuesday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Bridlewood Retirement Home, which is located at 480, Brigitta Street. The East-End WIMS is offered at 700 Industrial Ave. Suite 600, on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7-9pm. 4 Lifetime Networks There are some exciting things happening within the Lifetime Networks Program! In the Fall of 2015 we submitted a two-year proposal to the Ontario Trillium Foundation to grow the Lifetime Networks program. The proposal was submitted in partnership with the Mental Illness Caregiver’s Association (MICA) and has two components. The first was to grow the program by hiring a full-time Coordinator, hiring and training more Facilitators and recruiting more families. The second part of the proposal was to implement a pilot project, in partnership with MICA, to see how the Lifetime Networks model can be adapted to better support people living with a mental illness. Our proposal was successful and we are thrilled to be able to grow the program, to explore new ways of supporting people with mental illness and to better support and educate our current Facilitators and families. We now have a new Lifetime Networks Coordinator, Kelly Howson. Kelly has been working as a Social Worker in our Everyday Champions program and has a long career in the mental health field. Over the last year Lifetime Networks has had the pleasure of witnessing the important role support networks have played in the lives of our members. The program has continued to grow with an increasing number of families becoming interested in developing networks for their family member. We continue to welcome younger children to our program. We have many families expressing interest in Lifetime Networks, and anticipate increased interest and growth in the program over the coming year as we work to grow the program The Dovercourt Dances continue to be very popular as is the Parent Café, run in partnership with Families Matter Co-op. Parent Café meets at the same time as the dance and is an opportunity for parents to meet one another and socialize. Rapport Spring 2015 Children’s Sibling Groups The Children’s Sibling Groups, for children who have a sibling with a disability, continues to have great turnout week after week. We are averaging 24 children in three different age categories and groups. This year we have had a former group member return in the capacity of a junior facilitator. He has a lot of experience volunteering with children and has proved an invaluable member of the team. In addition, we have an amazing group of facilitators who run the groups. They always seem to come up with great themes as well as interactive and therapeutic activities that the children really seem to enjoy. An informal session was planned with the parents of the children and the feedback from that session will be helpful as we plan for the fall of 2016. We were hoping to find out how the children are responding to groups and if the parents are finding that it is helpful to the children in terms of their interactions with their brothers and sisters who are living with a disability. This session also ended up being a great way for the parents to informally interact and drink coffee as they chatted about their children and their families. We are planning a family potluck at Brittania Park to celebrate another great year of groups and to allow all of the families to get together in a fun setting. This potluck will take place in June after the groups wind down for the summer and before everyone leaves for holidays. It will be a fun time for the children to get together with their friends from groups and their siblings, in order to interact, eat and play fun games. 5 Learning to savour the experience I can remember the first time Rob requested that I accompany him to an Ottawa Senators game. Initially I was surprised by his request, you see he is totally blind. Why would you want to go to a hockey game not being able to see the players, the goals, the body checks, the fights? Now years later and many trips to see the Senators I am able to report, amongst the many other things he has taught me, that there is an experience to a hockey game that goes far beyond what is on the ice. Before I went to a game with Rob I thought the breaks in the actual game, the between period pauses, the silly giveaways, the music etc. just got in the way of the actual game. Rob taught me about the “experience” as opposed to the game. He loves the crowd noise, the music, the freedom to yell his favourite hockey word, “bonehead”, and of course sending me off to find some coffee. I also get to pretend that I am calling the play-by-play and when I forget that this is my job at the game he lets me know it very quickly. That too is part of the “experience”. Last summer Rob and I were sitting in the backyard of his group home on a beautiful afternoon just hanging out. Rob is a man of few words but he began picking out sounds that he was hearing: birds, airplanes, cars, trucks, motorcycles, people talking, and with each sound let me know what he was hearing. Some of them I heard, some I had not. I think because my mind is simply too busy probably with a lot of junk I was missing the “experience” that Rob was savouring. Another lesson learned from my Friend Rob! Rob lets you know that he cares about you with his hugs; “big hug” is one of his favourite sayings. He has lots and lots of friends. Invariably, anywhere that you go with him, someone comes up to him and they exchange hugs. The “experience” for me is that I get to be the guy with him rather than Rob being the guy with me. Rob and I have been friends now for about five years. He lives in a group home with a wonderful staff team so I need not do a lot of advocating for him, just experience being his friend. It is an experience that I enjoy very much! Mac Hiltz Advocate Empty bottles taking up too much space? Our Consumers’ Advisory Committee is holding a bottle drive to raise funds to support people with disabilities. Bring your empty bottles to the Citizen Advocacy parking lot (312 Parkdale Ave) on Saturday April 30th between 11 am and 2 pm or drop them off at the office the week before. Our last bottle drive raised $650 – help use beat that amount. Rapport Spring 2015 6 We need your help! One of our continuing challenges is recruiting volunteers to become advocates for the more than 290 people with disabilities on our waiting list. For the last two years we have asked you to recommend us to your family and friends and you responded! We had 28 people express an interest in volunteering as a direct result of a recommendation from a friend or family member during our recruitment drive. You are our true advocates in the community, thank you. This year, we’d like to ask you to help us in a slightly different way. You all have either employers or contacts at church groups, service clubs and special interest clubs. We would love to be able to reach out to these groups to offer to speak to them about our matching programs. We know that by spreading the word, one person and group at a time, this has a cumulative effect over the long-term as we see more people coming forward to volunteer. It would be great if you were able to recommend Citizen Advocacy as a possible presenter for a lunch and learn session or a regularly scheduled meeting. You can then put them in touch with our Community Engagement Coordinator, Maria Redpath. Or if you’d rather we reached out to your group just send Maria the contact name, email or phone number and she’ll do the rest. Thank you in advance. With your help we can reduce the average 34 month wait time for a volunteer advocate. Maria Redpath: [email protected] or 613-761-9522 ext. 222. If you enjoy playing Bingo, please support Citizen Advocacy by playing at Bingoland South (www.bingolandsouth.com) at 9 Slack Road. Citizen Advocacy hosts bingo on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. Our wonderful, hardworking Bingo Team would love to see you there! Rapport Spring 2015 A rewarding one-on-one volunteer opportunity Janis is in her mid-30s and would benefit from a volunteer advocate who is willing to spend time gaining her trust and who also enjoys cards and numbers games. Investing time in this relationship will be very rewarding for the right person. Do you know someone who would make a great advocate? Invite them to attend a volunteer information session to learn how they can make a real difference in the life of someone with a disability. Sessions are held twice a month – contact Maria Redpath at 613-761-9522 ext. 222 or [email protected] for more information. Date Day Start Time April 22 May 4 May 26 June 10 Friday Wednesday Thursday Friday 12:30 pm 6:00 pm 6:00 pm 12:30 pm Dates to Remember May 4: Volunteer Information Session May 10: WIMS Parent Group (West End) May 14: Dovercourt Dance May 17: WIMS Parent Group (East End) May 19: Evening in the Maritimes May 23: Victoria Day (office closed) May 26: Volunteer Information Session May 28: Children’s Sibling Group May 28-29: Run for Everyday Champions June 10: Volunteer Information Session June 11: Dovercourt Dance June 14: WIMS Parent Group (West End) June 21: WIMS Parent Group (East End) June 23: Volunteer Information Session July 1: Canada Day (office closed) July 6: Volunteer Information Session August 1: Civic Holiday (office closed) August 28: Annual Summer Picnic September 5: Labour Day (office closed) 7 Board Member Interview: Neena Kushwaha How long have you been on the board? I’ve been a board member since June 2015 What motivated you to join the CA board? I have been with CA for almost 11 years, and I believe that serving on the board is a wonderful way to support an organization that is close to my heart. What is your work and/or volunteer background? I am a public servant with the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada. I work in the fields of intellectual property and industrial technologies. I have been a volunteer for most of my life, starting as a candy-striper at a local hospital. I enjoyed the opportunity that volunteering provided me to connect and give something back my surrounding community. What is your education and/or training background? I have a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology. I also have skills and expertise in intellectual property, and project and team management. What do you enjoy most about your board involvement? As this is my first involvement on a board, I find it very interesting to see how the people, culture, decision-making processes, and structures of the board come together to accomplish its goals. Please describe the other ways in which you are involved with Citizen Advocacy I am an Advocate. I’ve been matched with Debby Applebaum for almost 11 years. Through Citizen Advocacy I have met an energetic, capable, empathetic and insightful women who I am blessed to call a friend. I am so grateful to Citizen Advocacy for bringing us together and to those who support our organization to bring others like us together to form deep, meaningful and lasting relationships. We are looking forward to our future adventures together! Ready, Set, RACE! Ottawa Race Weekends Heats Up We may be struggling to leave winter behind, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t heating up for Ottawa Race Weekend. Team Citizen Advocacy needs your help to raise crucial funds in support of our Everyday Champions program. Pledge Team Citizen Advocacy here. We are currently looking for participants and volunteers for the 2km, 5km & 10km races. 2km on May 28, 2016 – 3:00 pm 5km on May 28, 2016 – 4:00 pm 10km on May 28, 2016 – 6:30 pm If you would like to volunteer for Ottawa Race Weekend or are interested in registering please contact Neala Kelly at [email protected] or 613-761-9522 ext. 233. Rapport Spring 2015 8 Match Anniversaries Everyday Champions JANUARY 2016 31 Arne Haaland &.Norman P. 25 Allan Dolenko & Maurice G. 20 Richard Kastler & Greg R. 9 David Murrell-Wright & Garry H. 8 Paul Sonnichsen & Jim S. 8 Peter Roorda & John L. 7 Jennifer Forbes Walker & Nancy N. 7 Diane McGuire & Jenny G. 5 Tom Murphy & Gilles D. 3 Christopher McGregor & Anthony G. 2 Mike Weir & Philip M. 1 Marie Daoust & Kathy B. FEBRUARY 2016 10 Gerald Lalonde & Dan M. 10 Brian Joynt & Jeffrey B. 7 Peter Whelan & Dylan S. 7 Ellen Dettman & Mary G. 7 Chris Judge & Michael B. 3 Andrea Dixon & Theresa M. 3 Helen Wong & Renee C. 2 John Quinn & Nils L. 2 Shi Si & Debra N. 1 Heather Astle & Heloise B. 1 Laura Boutin & Michèle G. 1 Bruce Jutzi & Brian S. 1 Kathleen Stephenson & Marwa T. 1 Simone St-Cyr & Carole M. MARCH 2016 16 Georgia Pavlou & Linda G. 15 Blaine Chessie & Gareth P. 15 Veronica Petro & Stefania I. 12 Viji Sundaram & Rachel W. 10 Jenna Elizabeth Swan & Katie P. 7 Chris Andrews & David R. 6 Mike Murphy & Darryl T. 6 Carlos Nunes & Roger T. 5 Stephanie Lalonde & Elizabeth S. 3 Lourdes Rojas & Maria A. C. 3 Stephanie Spooner & Malaika B. 2 Mike Murphy & Anthony T. 1 Jenna Neerhof & Ashley L. 1 Tuong Kuwabong & Christine B. Rapport Spring 2015 1 Ashley Leifso & Lu L. 1 Jocelyn Kearney & Gail L. APRIL 2016 17 Cynthia Throop & Nancy D. 15 Lori Streefkerk & Jane M. 15 Philip Hogarth & David F. 7 June Carter & Kris C. 7 James Kane & Steven S. 7 Jennifer Beckman & Dayna P. 6 Justin Mensen & Ryan B. 6 Preet Brar & Diane R. 4 Patricia Collette & Caroline J. 3 David Murrell-Wright & Scott M. 3 Allyson Charles & Thomas H. 2 Naga Lakshmi & Annie M. 2 Christine Thomson & Marika S. 2 Meltem Tuna & Alanna M. 2 Erin Gauthier & Yves V. 1 Mac Hiltz & Robert N. 1 Denise Curtis-Power & Mandy Jane W. 1 Janine Smienk & Meredith C. 1 Todd Collings & Glen K. 1 Rachel Rhoades & Jacquelyn W. 1 Filsan Omer & Bonnie V. 1 Laurena Nash & Marilyn P. Group Advocacy Project FEBRUARY 2016 5 Sheela Mallya & Christian Horizons Kimball Crt Chance for Choice JANUARY 2016 7 Kate Wilder & Georgette L. FEBRUARY 2016 3 Maryse Cote-Singer & Grace D. 2 Mary Walker & Martha T. 2 David Walker & Sheldon M. APRIL 2016 7 Helen Wong & Frances H. 6 Mike Francis & Richard D. 5 Dave Hollis & Bill R. New Matches Everyday Champions DECEMBER 2016 Kyoko Morikawa & Mattia S. Olivier Dagenais & Christopher G. Nina Nguyen & Olivia R. Aviva King & Judith M. Kyle Tanaka & Christopher J. JANUARY 2016 Geraldine Esparza & Julienne W. FEBRUARY 2016 Stephanie Smith & Trisha C. Ruby Puni & Molly K. Ron Warren & Richard P. Bruce Burwell & Peter H. Roger Soloshy & Derek H. Tamara Kalnins & Heather K. MARCH 2016 Jessica Murphy & Melanie D. Jonathan Macéna & Andrew S. Helen Barrette & Mireille D. Sebastien Vaive & Jack M. Chance for Choice DECEMBER 2016 Hilary Philebrown & Saundra S. JANUARY 2016 Orisha Yacyshyn & Marie S. 9 Staff News Cara O’Connell Emily Taylor-King Sadly Executive Assistant, Cara O’Connell, has decided to move on to new pastures. We wish her all the best for the future. I am very glad to be rejoining the Independent Facilitators team at Citizen Advocacy, this time as a full-time member of the core facilitation team. Our work of walking alongside our focus people as they identify and move toward their goals is such a privilege. I always tell focus people that my job is “to help you figure out how to make your life more wonderful.” It gives me a lot of joy to be of service in this way. Nandeesh Kumar I am thrilled to be part of the Independent Facilitation and Person-Directed Planning team. I have worked as a social worker and residential home manager supporting developmentally disabled adults. I am motivated to assist individuals develop and pursue their goals with the support of family, friends and our local community. Rachel Levine-Katz How quickly a year flies by! Social Worker, Rachel Levine-Katz, returned to the matching programs and WIMS teams from her maternity leave in January. Rachel reports that baby, Vida, is settled happy at her daycare. Welcome back Rachel. Sara Rafiei I am so pleased to be part of the Independent Facilitation and Person-Directed Planning team. I live in the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry area with my husband and my son and enjoy my spare time embracing the outdoors. I am motivated and dedicated and I look forward to helping individuals reach their goals and to overcome obstacles along the way. Manon Leblond-Leduc Hi! I’m Manon Leblond-Leduc and I’m thrilled to be joining the Independent Facilitation and Person Directed Planning team at Citizen Advocacy. I was born and raised in Ottawa in a francophone family, but have had the opportunity to spend a year working in Saskatoon, SK. Now that I am back, I look forward to being part of such a wonderful community and hope to enrich our focus people’s lives along the way. Sari Musta-White In the summer 2015 newsletter we reported that Social Worker, Sari Musta-White, had embarked on a six-month trip to Australia with her family. Her adventures are over and we are happy to report that she is back working with our matching programs and WIMS teams. Yes! I want support Citizen Advocacy I would like my donation to be invested towards: Cheque payable to “Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa” Everyday Champions Chance for Choice Visa MasterCard AMEX Lifetime Networks Walking In My Shoes I would like to make a monthly contribution of: $ _________ EXPIRY:______/______ I would like to make a one-time contribution of: $ _________ Name on card: _____________________________________ Name: ___________________________________________ Signature:_________________________________________ Thank you for your support. Address:__________________________________________ Tax receipts will be issued for donations City:________________________ Province: _____________ of $10 or more, subject to Canada Postal Code:______________Telephone:________________ Revenue Agency guidelines. We do not sell or share our mailing list Email:____________________________________________ Rapport Spring 2015 10
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