Volume 20 | JUNE 2021
Recognizing Pride Month
June is Pride Month and while we recognize that the pandemic has increased isolation for everyone, marginalized communities are often disproportionately affected. Although there will not be large gatherings this year, we can continue to connect, and to celebrate 2SLGBTQ+ caregivers and care recipients, while providing support for the unique challenges they face.

Follow us during the month of June, when we will be sharing resources on our social media that are specific to 2SLGBTQ+ caregivers and care recipients. If you’re a 2SLGBTQ+ caregiver and seeking resources for yourself or your care recipient, you may also visit our resource page for 2SLGBTQ+ caregivers, on our website.
Recognizing Indigenous History Month
In June we also recognize Indigenous History Month. The OCO acknowledges the Indigenous Peoples of the lands where we carry out our work. While the pandemic has brought us to connecting primarily in virtual environments, we acknowledge the land in our respective locations and the generations of First Peoples who have taken care of the land since time immemorial.

The OCO continues to reaffirm its commitment and responsibility to improving relationships between nations and to improving our understanding of the realities that Indigenous caregivers face as a result of colonization and intergenerational trauma. During the month of June OCO will be sharing resources on social media where Indigenous caregivers can access culturally safe care for themselves and/or their care recipient. If you’re seeking resources for yourself or your care recipient, you may also visit our resource page for Indigenous caregivers, on our website.
Call For Peer Mentors
Experienced caregivers understand the value of connecting with someone else who understands. Mentoring is one method of passing on lived experiences to support another caregiver in an empowering and meaningful way.

For caregivers and for peer mentors, connecting with another caregiver is an opportunity to share in your experiences within a supportive environment that suits both of your schedules. The peer mentor relationship can be rewarding for the mentor as well as for the mentee.

The Peer Support Program aligns with some core values that guide the relationship:
  • Hope: An approach which acknowledges the positive impact and power of hope.
  • Empathetic and Equal Relationships: The peer support relationship benefits from reciprocity and understanding which comes from similar lived experience.
  • Integrity, Authenticity and Trust: Are inherent in every interaction.
  • Personal Growth: Continuous learning, change and new perspectives are highly valued.
  • Self Determination: Acknowledgment of each person intrinsically knowing what is most suitable for them in their journey of caregiving.
  • Dignity, Respect and Inclusion: Regardless of background or situation each caregiver’s worth is acknowledged.
  • Health and Wellness: Commitment to all aspects of a healthy lifestyle.
 
If you’re looking to share your experience with another caregiver, consider signing up as a peer mentor! It’s easy to sign up, connect with a caregiver by phone or online and feel supported and understood as you navigate this journey together.
The SCALE Program Continues
Designed with a busy schedule in mind, the SCALE Program (Supporting Caregiver Awareness, Learning and Empowerment) is a flexible program that can be tailored to each caregiver’s schedule. The program consists of eight weekly webinars that are recorded and can be watched individually or as a series. It also includes optional online group coaching, or 1:1 counseling by telephone.

You can join live or watch the weekly webinars on our YouTube channel at the time that suits your best. Register now to receive all the links to the replays!
Upcoming Webinars
June 10: Creating a Life You Love

We all want to be happy. But we sometimes think of happiness as a thing that happens to us — something we have no control over. It is easy to link the idea of happiness with a situation. We might tell ourselves, "If only things were different, then I'd be happy." But a big part of how happy we are depends on our mindset, the habits we practice, and the way we live each day. By learning the key ingredients of happiness, we can use them to become happier.

This workshop will empower you with tools and techniques to elevate your emotional and mental wellbeing while being a caregiver.

*This presentation will be in English and available as a recording after the event.
June 24: Caring for 2SLGBTQ+ Persons

This webinar focuses on personal and professional patient-centered care for 2SLGBTQ individuals. Speakers will discuss cultural safety and humility, clinical competencies, and interdisciplinary care for cisgender and transgender patients. We will also explore chosen families, inclusive language and communications to 2SLGBTQ individuals.

Our Panelists
Moderator:
Devan Nambiar, MSc. has been providing training and education on 2SLGBTQ and HIV for over 20 years to various communities and clinicians through his consultancy, GHIS. CA. He is currently serving on 4 Community Advisory Committees; CIHR CTN HIV Clinical Trials Network, CADTH, Ontario Caregiver Organization, and Virtual PrEP. Devan is the Manager of Capacity Building & Talent Development at Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance.

Speakers:
Ryan Wannamaker is a Registered Nurse working within the Day Health Program (DHP) at Casey House. He is responsible for providing holistic client-centered care within an interdisciplinary health care team, which is vital to improving the overall well-being of people living with HIV. In collaboration with DHP Physiotherapist, Ryan has also developed an exercise program designed to address this population’s complex health challenges, including aging with HIV, multimorbidity, and barriers to community exercise.

Shoshana Pellman has been an advocate for trans inclusion and care for over 15 years. Her story was published on Xtra Magazine and The Globe and Mail. She was interviewed on radio programs like Back in the Closet, The Current, and Sirius Radio 2011, and she is also a presenter for Healthcare Providers, Personal Support Workers, and Allied Healthcare Providers. Shoshana is passionate about patient-centred care for the trans population.

Sue/Suza (pronouns she/her/ hers) is a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner at St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team since 1994. She is an experienced nurse with over 30 years of experience and has been a consultant trainer with Rainbow Health Ontario teaching about transgender and gender-expansive medical and surgical primary health care. Suza’s incredibly supportive work environment has provided the time and space needed to develop this clinical expertise. Her current clinical practice is almost exclusively devoted to the overall primary care needs of trans and gender-expansive individuals, which she endeavors to provide from an anti-oppressive, harm reduction, sex-positive and health promotion perspective.

Please Note:
• This presentation is available in English only.
• This webinar is intended for anyone who wishes to learn more about how to provide safe and respectful care for a 2SLGBTQ+ person. Whether or not you identify as 2SLBTQ+, all healthcare providers and family caregivers are welcome to participate. If you are a 2SLGBTQ+ caregiver or care recipient, we will be providing some additional resources that may help.
• Your registration is private and confidential.
Past webinars
Missed a webinar?

OCO understands that caregivers are busy. That's why we record webinars so that you can watch them after the event, at a time that's convenient for you. If you weren’t able to attend the webinars live, you can still watch them as a recording.

When you register for the webinar, you will receive the link to the replay directly in your inbox, but you can also find them all in our YouTube channel!
Share Our Newsletter!
If this was helpful, please forward this email to 2 friends who may benefit from these free programs and resources.

Are you the friend? Subscribe here. 
You are receiving this e-newsletter because you are subscribed to the mailing list of the Ontario Caregiver Organization, http://www.ontariocaregiver.ca. You can stop receiving emails from us at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. More information about Constant Contact can be found here.