Cheshire Chat
Spring 2023 Edition
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Cultural Humility Corner
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I’ve heard the terms cultural competence, cultural humility and cultural responsiveness. Are they the same?
As in any field or topic of discussion, we have multiple words that mean the same thing with perspectives that vary slightly. That is the case with these three terms.
The term cultural competence implies that one is capable of meeting the needs of culturally diverse clients. People sometimes shy away from the use of such a term because it implies that it is a skill that someone has or does not have; that one can actually “arrive,” so to speak. We do not arrive at cultural competence. We become more efficient in our ability to understand the viewpoints of those culturally different from us when we continue to expose ourselves to different cultures, have conversations, regularly engage in dialogues about diversity and increase our knowledge of specific skills.
Cultural humility is the understanding that in order to work with individuals who are culturally diverse, we understand that they are the experts on their culture and thought processes. We remain humble by allowing them to help guide us in the process. This does not assume that the practitioner knows nothing, but that each family is unique and in working with them we view them from a strengths perspective; allowing them to also teach us as we work together towards a common aim.
Cultural responsiveness, like the term “cultural competence,” promotes an understanding of culture, ethnicity, and language. The difference between the two is that “responsiveness,” does not imply that one can be perfect and have attained all the skills and views needed to work with culturally diverse clients. It assumes one just has the openness to adapt to the cultural needs of those with whom they work.
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Spring Cleaning for Your Health
With longer days and warmer temperatures on the horizon, this is a great time of year to put a pep into your step and get started on those resolutions that fall aside during the cold winter months.
Spring is a time where many of us start to feel excitement knowing that the summer is close by, but sometimes it also brings a little worry as we have spent a few months hibernating and eating our favourite comfort foods- and that is ok too!
Here are a few tips to get you back on track to a healthy spring and summer;
1. Fill your place with fresh, in season fruits and veggies
2. Be mindful of opportunities to overindulge
3. Stay hydrated
4. Get outside and get moving, these warmer temperatures don’t last forever
5. Soak up the sun, but wear your sunscreen
6. Protect your eyes from damaging UV rays and buy those new fun sunglasses
7. Reset your sleep schedule, get up a little earlier and enjoy the sunrise
8. Make more time for your mental health, include the outdoors along with friends and family into your daily wellness routine
The Cheshire Wellness Committee is wishing everyone a happy spring! Let’s say goodbye to those winter blues and hello to the sunshine and warm weather 😊
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Information Technology: Phishing |
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Why is it important to thoroughly check your emails before and after you open them?
Phishing is a fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages claiming to be from a reputable source in order to trick an individual to reveal personal or business information, such as passwords or other personal information.
There are 5 types of phishing:
- Email Phishing – attacks sent through email
- Spear Phishing – Attacks through emails sent to a specific person as cybercriminals already have information about the victim
- Whaling – Attacks taking aim at senior executives
- Smishing and vishing – Attacks sent through telephones by calls, texting
- Angler phishing – attacks using Social media
Cyber criminals use phishing emails because it’s easy, cheap and effective. Email addresses are easy to obtain, and emails are virtually free to send. With little effort and cost, attackers can quickly gain access to valuable data. Those who fall for phishing scams may end up with access to address books, malware infections, identity theft and data loss.
The data that cybercriminals go after includes:
- personal identifiable information such as financial account data, credit card numbers and tax and medical records for example Health Card Numbers
- sensitive data such as client/employee names, contact information, and confidential communications
Cybercriminals can use phishing attacks to:
- gain direct access to email, social media and other accounts
- obtain permissions to modify and compromise connected systems
Many of the biggest data breaches start with a phishing email. By using a seemingly innocent email address, cybercriminals can gain a small foothold and build on it.
Keep in mind these tips/tricks for looking for malicious emails:
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*Remember that these attacks can happen at work and/or at home. Hopefully you have learned something to help you be more aware. If you need more information please contact us at Technology@cheshirelondon.ca
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CARF Accreditation Update
On February 22-24 2023, Cheshire welcomed CARF Accreditation into our organization for our 4th Survey. Over the 3 days, CARF surveyors got an inside look at the excellent work that we do at Cheshire.
Interviews were held with Consumers, Staff Members, Senior Leadership, Board Members and External Stakeholders.
This review process allowed Cheshire to once again to showcase all the amazing and unique services we offer amongst recognized global standards, and ensures that the safety and quality of our supports are exceeding community service best practices across the globe.
This quality improvement initiative provides feedback to Cheshire to ensure we are continuously growing as a service provider for those we serve, their families, our staff, and our partners.
In Approximately 6-8 weeks from the survey date we will received official notification of the accreditation decision along with a written report of their findings.
Stay tuned to our Accreditation Decision Announcement….
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Meet Your Neighbour - Welcome to Cheshire! |
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Hi my name is Sunil and I am new to the Cheshire Family as the Payroll Administrator and I would like to share a little bit about myself.
I have a wonderful wife, a daughter and a son, who is a slow learner; and we support him to make sure that he is living his best life independently. I am very grateful for my family especially my wife, who is a teacher within the community and working with children who have a learning disability. She is our family’s driving force and I am grateful to have such wonderful family.
My hobbies are: Driving in my car to relax or have a great trip with my family and friends. I also love to play Badminton.
Thank you and I am very happy to join the Cheshire Family!
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Amanda completed her education at both Western and Fanshawe, she saw herself working where she felt she was making a difference in people’s lives. Soon after graduating she started working at a bank where she stayed for 12 years but still had the drive to work for an organization that gives back to the community.
After reading about Cheshire and loving the great work we do she was lucky to have spotted an ad seeking someone in the Human Resources department and she is now a Human Resources Coordinator.
Amanda shares her home with her husband and two boys aged 3 ½ and 18 months. Their furry feline has a great name “Tsunami” and from what Amanda shares she really is a tsunami!
In her leisure and spare time, Amanda enjoys the outdoors … camping and going to a family cottage on Georgian Bay. She and her husband share a love of concerts and she hails from a family of Toronto Maple Leaf’s fans. They like to travel around to see them plan, how fun! Welcome to Cheshire Amanda!
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Wesley joined Cheshire last year for an internship in our IT department, he had recently graduated from Trios in Network and Systems Administration. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience saying it was a smooth transition from school to work where he could use his knowledge to support the department. It was at that time that Wesley fell in love with the culture at Cheshire and really didn’t want to leave. Since there were no current IT opportunities, Wesley set his sights on new openings in the Central Intake department where he currently remains.
Recently, Wesley brought a new Pug puppy into his life named Diamond, she is now 4 months old and they can occasionally be seen together in the Central Intake space.
Originally from Toronto, where his family still lives, Wesley shared the importance of family to him. He has a younger sister that he loves dearly and means the world to him.
In his free time, when the weather is nice, Wesley likes to go out and play basketball or go for walks. If the weather is not so nice, he likes to spend time in his apartment where he enjoys cooking, playing games or watching Netflix. Welcome to Cheshire Wesley!
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In case you Missed it!
Cheshire's Information Round-Up
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It’s been a busy few months as we get ready to head into Spring with renewed energy and fresh ideas! Below is a summary of some of the new initiatives underway that we are excited about. We know how busy everyone is, so we are pulling our updates into a consolidated Cheshire Roundup – just in case you missed a communication along the way…plus a few new tidbits of information, hot off the press!
Cheshire receives funding to implement new Let’s Go Home (LEGHO) Program.
In collaboration with our Community Support Partners in London-Middlesex, Cheshire is the Lead Agency in the implementation of a program designed to support seniors and adults with disabilities in London-Middlesex with discharge supports as they transition home from hospital. The model for LEGHO was built off our success with a temporarily funded service (originally called “CSS Bundled Services”). LEGHO services went live in December and is now a permanently funded service.
New 2-day Employee Orientation (formerly Basic Training).
A huge thank you to the working group who, based on feedback from staff and consumers, have worked diligently to re-design, enhance and improve our new staff orientation. The new orientation model was implemented in November and feedback has been incredibly positive. The team continues to tweak and update the model as new responses are received, to ensure it is a constantly improving process.
Employee Referral Program extended for 2023-24.
Cheshire has long recognized that our employees are on of our best resources when it comes to recruiting new staff. Our employees know the job inside out and understand who would make a great addition to their teams. Cheshire offers a $100 payout to our employees for the successful hiring of an Employee Referral, plus an additional $50 once the new employee completes their probation.
Make the Days Count Program
There are so many of our staff who demonstrate exemplary attendance and we are committed to celebrate and recognize those individuals with a little thank you and a chance at a big reward. Effective immediately (and retroactively to Jan 1st) we will be implementing Cheshire’s “MAKE THE DAYS COUNT” Program.
- For each month of perfect attendance, staff will receive a $5 Tim Horton’s gift card as a thank you.
- For each month of perfect attendance, staff will also be entered into a quarterly cash draw – increasing the odds of winning for those with consistently good attendance.
New Generator coming soon to our London West Hub building
With huge thanks to Ontario Health West for approving our one-time funding request! The generator will help us to ensure consumer safety and service continuity in the event of a longer-term power outage/blackout.
Homes Unlimited partnership in Pond Mills
Hot off the press! We are pleased to confirm a partnership with Homes Unlimited for 5 new affordable, accessible housing units to be designated for Cheshire consumers. We are excited for this new partnership in our continued advocacy to improve accessibility options in the community. More information to come.
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Did you know that Cheshire provides staff with an easy way to give back to our Everyday Dreams program? You can designate any amount to be automatically donated from your paycheck.
Just think - if every employee donated just $1 each pay the Everyday Dreams Fund that would be over $300 per pay and over $7800 a year. A little goes a long way!
To sign up for payroll deductions, please speak to your Program Manager to complete a Payroll Authorizations & Deductions form.
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