Wood's Homes Blog
Volunteer Spotlight: Dori Palmiere
We’re celebrating our incredible volunteers during National Volunteer Week! This blog spotlights Dori Palmiere, a Community Volunteer Therapist at Eastside Community Mental Health Services.
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week: Debunking Myths
March 18-24 is National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW), and annual observance to improve knowledge, raise awareness, and increase overall dialogue surrounding drug use and addiction.
Black History Month: Perspectives from Nkechi Ajike-Kalu
According to Nkechi, Canada has a thriving Nigerian community in each province, and the one in Calgary is the biggest and most vibrant of them all. They say Nigerians in Calgary are known for striving to be a helpful resource to one another, while giving back to the community.
Black History Month: Perspectives from Ornella Muigg
Ornella says representation within our Wood’s Homes community is important in creating space and opportunity for belonging and truth seeking about how systemic racism impacts the lives of racialized people. Talking about how, as an organization, we can value being responsive, leaning into the difficult, and learning something new is key in our cultural development.
Inspiring Cultural Connections: How Employees Impact Each Other and our Clients – Part 2
In this post, we look at the impact that Indigenous staff have on their colleagues and how we work to support the healing journey of our Indigenous clients and families.
Importance of Keeping Children Connected to Culture: Every Child Does Matter – Part 1
This is Part 1 of a two-part blog series celebrating the important work our program staff do for the Indigenous community.
Positive Parenting: Effective Alternatives to Spanking for Child Behaviour Management
Spanking has been a traditional method of child discipline used by parents. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 43% of Canadian families use spanking to discipline their children.
Celebration of Connection and Coming of Age
In the everyday work we do with our youth, we often do not get a chance to step back, take a breath and marvel at the incredible work that these youth have done on their journey and reflect on the impact we have with the young people we work with.
A Letter From Alex
Alex came to a mental health program on the Parkdale campus in the summer of 2018. He was referred to Wood’s Homes by the team at Foothills Hospital, and was initially reluctant. It took weeks for Alex to feel comfortable enough to stay overnight with us.
Ginger’s Success Story
My story started at a junior high school unaffiliated with Wood’s Homes and I was described as an impulsive person with some anger issues and had been described as irresponsible with anything. My grades were rarely meeting the level I was capable of and sometimes I was outright failing.
5 Tips for Navigating Community Resources
In times of crisis, navigating the mental health system can be overwhelming.
Eastside Community Mental Health Services (ECMHS, or Eastside) has offered crisis meetings and single session therapy sessions to individuals, couples and families for 30 years.
Be curious! How a Learning Mindset Keeps Me Growing
I hold a BFA, MSW, and BEd., My brother has often joked that I won’t be happy until I have more letters after my name than in my name – Not an easy feat, considering the length of my name!