Blog
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...
#GETLOUD: Olivia Golosky Interviews PH&S Member Hayley Richards
Olivia: What does mental health mean to you? Hayley: I think that mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. To me, mental health in the workplace means that the individual feels that they are well, and capable of performing their duties to the...
Can Business Use Existing Strengths and New Mindsets to Create Workplace Inclusion?
Business has been aware of the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace for years, but being aware of something isn’t the same as being good at it. Very few businesses have really nailed it; most of them know and admit it. Others proclaim ‘Mission...
Disability at Work: Leveraging Strengths
Maybe you’ve seen some of the article titles in magazines like Forbes and Inc. about the business case for diversity and the correlation between diversity and innovation. The Business community and the Human Resource community are becoming aware of ‘diversity...
Success Story: Finding Value in Diversity at Pet Valu
Amanda started at CAES with previous fast food experience, she expressed having lots of anxiety in those types of positions, and wanted CAES to help her find something more suitable. Amanda talked a lot about her love and passion for the well-being of pets/animals...
Guest Blog: Don’t let worry cramp your style
Employers have many factors to consider in all aspects of their business. Branding, clientele, profits, bills, and staffing are all huge factors for an employer to consider while trying to have a successful business, as well as many others. For some employers the...
Guest Blog: The Power of Mindset and Expectancies (Wolf Wolfensberger)
In our everyday life we have our set ideas or perceptions of how things should be, or will turn out. Positive and empowering mindsets have been the bread and butter for the self help book industry since its inception. This idea of if I believe that I can do...
Accessibility and Service Dogs: Natalie Humeston’s battle to make service dogs affordable for those in need.
“If I wanted to get certified as an accredited trainer [for service animals, specifically Emotional Support Animals] I would have to pay [up to] six thousand dollars for a six week course at Bergin University of Canine Studies.” says Natalie Humeston, who has been...
Guest Blog: What I learned during my first Disability Employment Awareness Month
During my time as a practicum student at CAES I had the opportunity to attend some of the Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) events put on by the Calgary Employment First Network (and partners). The two main events I attended were the Calgary Economic...
Success Story: Alex and Re:Grub
"Alex always has a smile on his face!” says Emily Pederson, a fellow co-worker at Re:Grub. Re:Grub, just soaring past its first year in existence, is a local burger bar that not only pushes the envelope in what their burgers (and now Instagram famous milkshakes) taste...
Staff Morale: Weathering Through the Storm
As I wandered though downtown Calgary, it was glaringly obvious that the economic downturn has had a overwhelming impact on our city. Everywhere you look where there was once a thriving business and parking lots full of vehicles there are now empty spaces. It's the...
CFT7 Disability Employment Workshop & Career Fair : Collective Impact for Positive Outcomes
Community Futures Treaty 7 and various community partners are hosting the 9th Annual Disability Symposium in Calgary on May 10 and 11 here in Calgary. This year the first day of the symposium is a training workshop on collective impact and its benefits for the...
Employment Inclusion: Networks, Collaboration and Collective Impact Pt 1
Where the employment inclusion of people with disabilities is concerned, is it enough for services, advocates and ‘champions’ to merely coexist and occasionally communicate? A quick survey of the results generated by any of the sectors involved in this complex issue...
Above and Beyond: Recognizing Super 8
The folks at Super 8 Shawnessy are no strangers to working with people that have barriers to employment. That is why when CAES approached Monica Stewart-Bittner (General Manager) and Sigrid Nitt (Housekeeping Supervisor) nearly 2 year ago to partner in hiring...
