Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
Several organizations are coming together in May to provide a forum for people who are looking after children and young adults who have a range of challenges.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and the Sun West School Division are facilitating the forum for parents and caregivers of children and young adults with physical, intellectual and medical challenges in the Kindersley area.
A lunch will be provided, so people are asked to RSVP with their attendance. The forum takes place on May 1 at the Clearview Community Church on Main Street in Kindersley, and it runs from noon to 3 p.m. The RSVP could be sent to Wilda Wallace at [email protected] or Michelle Olivier at [email protected].
Wallace, the program manager and service co-ordinator with community inclusion support services, said she works with children from the time they are born until the time they move into adult services. She said the forum in Kindersley is not the first.
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“We did this in Rosetown about two years ago and it was very successful,” she said, recognizing the forum will help caregivers and families to know the resources available to them and how to access the resources. “Families have been asking for it in Kindersley.”
She noted that the event is an informal way to connect families to resources, but also to connect families to other families. The confidential nature of health care does not allow for information to be shared, so events such as the forum allow caregivers and families to meet in an informal setting, she said.
Wallace said representatives from the different organizations will make presentations starting at noon, and then people who could stay past the lunch hour will have up to two hours to talk with those groups and other people on hand.
The organizations and programs to be represented at the forum include the SHA, ministry of social services, West Central Abilities Inc., West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre, Saskatchewan Association for Community Living, West Central Early Childhood Intervention Program and the Cognitive Disability Strategy.
Organizers hope caregivers and parents are able to attend. Wallace said people are busy and it is hard to find a time when everybody is able to get out. The groups will present as much information as possible during the noon hour.
She said people who are able to stay longer will be able to ask questions and talk to service providers on hand to get the information they need for their situation. The event offers a wide range of information that could be handy for caregivers, families and children with more complex needs.
“For some families with very complex needs or children with very complex needs, we can bring everything together, so they have a better understanding of some of the resources that are available to them,” she said of the forum.
Wallace said she and her SHA colleague Lindsy Smith cover a large geographical area and they are not always available to respond to questions that caregivers might have, so forums are helpful because caregivers are able to get a lot of the information they might need to connect to services and supports.
The school division has been a good partner for the forums, but several partnerships are highlighted through the initiative, Wallace said. She added that the information would be good for people who are newcomers to Canada, Saskatchewan or Kindersley.
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