Blog
2018 Community Futures Treaty 7 Annual Stampede BBQ
Community Futures Treaty 7, alongside Aboriginal Futures and Fat Systems, host what has become one of the best attended and well known Stampede BBQ’s in the city of Calgary. I have volunteered for the past 10 years (Helping guide the food line as well as head...
#GETLOUD: 7 Tips for Preserving Mental Health during Workplace Changes
During the span of a person’s career, it’s not unusual to experience at least a few substantial changes at the workplace. These changes might look like corporate restructuring, layoffs, departure of key staff, rapid growth of programming/services, adoption of new...
#GETLOUD: Workplace Wellness with Dr. Joti Samra, R.Psych. ~ Principal & Founder of MyWorkplaceHealth.com
This week I had the pleasure of connecting with Dr. Joti Samra to ask her a few questions about psychological health and safety in the workplace. Dr. Samra is a national thought leader on issues relating to mental health. She is Program Lead for the online Centre for...
The ‘Brand’ of Disability Advocacy
Social work researcher sparks national conversation on increased quality of life for adults with autism. There is an interesting and provocative question posed by the researcher in this article; "how well equipped are employers to include people with autism (spectrum...
Getting Away From It All: The Value of Team Building
It is difficult to talk about the CAES team without first boasting about them. Throughout many employment endeavours, I have been fortunate enough to have worked with many memorable individuals: some inspirational, some passionate, driven, intelligent, eclectic,...
My Experience with ‘The Ethics of Helping’
How many times a day do Ethics show up in your daily work? How do you know if Ethics are playing a part in the decisions that you are making? Is it a gut feeling or something you were taught when growing up? Our personal code of ethics plays a significant role in the...
Dining in the Dark
Recently, I had the unique experience of dining in the dark. Utter and complete blackness. The concept of this dining experience is to provide insight to the guests as to what it’s like for the millions of people living with blindness to maneuver through such an...
Why we need Disability Pride
"Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired." Pride celebrations have long been a topic of...
Blade Runner and Employee Engagement
Blade Runner 2049… you had me at ‘cells interlinked’! The baseline test (measures level of neutrality) completed by K, (Blade Runner replicant engineered to “retire” other rogue replicants) was particularly striking. Like most of the audience, I could not help but...
Local Accessibility Spotlight: YYC Link Passenger Shuttle
Through my participation on the Calgary Airport Authority’s (CAA) Accessibility Advisory Council, I nominated the CAA and their YYC LINK Passenger Shuttle for the Ella Anderson Accessible Transportation Award, with the City of Calgary Advisory Committee on...
Team Building: Is It Time to Eat Yet?
I have been a Career Consultant with Calgary Alternative Employment Services for over a year and can honestly attest to never having worked with a better team before! We are eleven eclectic advocates, with wildly differentiating opinions about many things, all sharing...
A Tribute
This blog is about acknowledging someone who myself and others feel has significantly altered the lives of people involved in inclusive employment. Her name is Denise Bissonette, and her impact within the Supportive Employment community has been one of legend. Simply...
DEAM Highlights: Film Festival Inspiration
When I started working at CAES it was right in the middle of DEAM 2016. I was in the midst of training and job shadowing, not quite comfortable in my role yet, I didn’t attend any of the DEAM events throughout the rest of the month. This year I was excited and was...
Calgary Events: Family Fun Day at the Park
Family Fun Day at the Park is hosted by Calgary Rotary Challenger Park on Saturday June 24th. You will not want to be out of town because there is just so much to see and do at Calgary Rotary Challenger Park. With acres of park to explore and exciting activities...
Aboriginal Awareness Week Calgary: June 19 – June 24
I have been very fortunate to be a part of of the AAWOC Committee for the past 3 years. Every year this volunteer run committee, with funding from Suncor and Imperial Oil, hosts a celebration over the lunch hour at Olympic Plaza. We have entertainment and a free BBQ-...
May Events: CFT7 Symposium 2017 Recap
Ten years ago, a colleague invited me to attend a local conference focused on the employment of Indigenous People with disabilities. The employment service I oversee was occasionally serving urban indigenous people so I agreed to go in the interest of learning some...
CFT7 Symposium: May 17-18, 2017
Since the late 90’s, I have had the honor and privilege of working with First Nation Communities, more specifically with Treaty 7 members, to address the barriers to employment that people with disabilities face. Although my focus in assisting these communities...
#GETLOUD: Top 10 List of Mental Health System Hacks
This year, the theme for the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week is #GETLOUD for mental health. Part of the campaign’s focus is highlighting the lack of adequate mental health services and the difficulty people experience in accessing the support...
#GETLOUD: Wellness in the Workplace
When I think of workplace wellness there has been a real disconnect with organization’s understanding the value of implementing practices and policies that support and value their employees. An organization’s employees truly are their most valuable assets; if they are...
#GETLOUD: Ashton Bennett Interviews CAES Candidate Isaac
As part of the CMHA Mental Health Week #GETLOUD campaign, I interviewed Isaac on managing mental health in the workplace. Isaac is an individual who I have been working with to obtain and retain employment. Ashton: Tell me about your experience with managing mental...
