Wood's Homes Blog
Orange Shirt Day: How it began and how we recognize it today
Orange Shirt Day was inspired by residential school survivor Phyllis Jack Webstad, who shared her story at a St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion event held in Williams Lake, B.C., in the spring of 2013. Phyllis recounted her first day of residential schooling at the age of six, when her new orange shirt—given to her by her grandmother—was taken away from her.
Back-to-school: How to prep your children for mask wearing
With most children returning to school this week, parents are being tasked with yet another challenge in this ‘new normal’ world – how to prepare their children for mask wearing at school. Here are some quick tips and things to keep in mind when helping your child navigate some of the challenges they will face.
Lessons learned with the support of Acute@Home
Becky, a 13-year-old female, had been to the hospital a couple times before engaging with Wood’s Homes’ A@H Program. She shared that she felt she’d made a mistake the first time she arrived at the hospital, as she did not tell the truth and kept important information from the professionals working with her – and that it took her some time before she realized that the professionals were not there to judge her.
Raising Boys To Become Good Fathers
While it is important for boys to have a number of positive male role models, fathers (in whatever forms they take) may be uniquely positioned to teach boys about masculinity. Recent events, such as the controversial Gillette advertisement, which focused largely on fathers and openly challenged all men to be better, resulted in a lot of public backlash in defense of a certain type of masculinity.
The elephant in the room: Why talking about mental health in families is so hard
Stigma has been around for centuries, with the word originating from early Greek to mean the mark on a person that labelled them in some way. The ‘stigma of mental illness’ refers to the devaluing of a person based on negative beliefs, attitudes and perceptions about ‘mental illness’ that mark a person as different from an accepted norm.
The art of stories and storytelling: How narratives grow us as people
I don’t know about you, but when it’s particularly cold outside (and it has been COLD), my favourite thing to do is curl up in front of a fire with a blanket and a good book.
This has always been my go-to for self-care and relaxation, and it has me thinking about the importance of stories in the lives of families and children.