Inside the Circle – March 17, 2026

The nomination period for Circle of Care’s Champions of Care Awards is officially open! Through these annual awards, we recognize the exceptional contributions of our staff. We encourage you to nominate a colleague who you believe has gone above and beyond in their role, and who embodies one or more of our values of community, respect, excellence, and dignity. 

You can nominate as many colleagues as you would like. Please note that we only accept individual nominations, so if you would like to nominate more than one person, you will need to submit separate nominations for each person.

The award winners will be announced in June and celebrated at a Circle of Care event and luncheon with Carey.

To nominate, please fill out the form that is linked below. The deadline to nominate is Thursday, April 30.

Bay and College

• When: Mar 2 Until mid-April
• Details: The intersection will be fully closed to vehicles as part of critical state-of-good-repair work to renew TTC streetcar tracks.

DVP to Richmond Street

• When: Until Spring 2026
• Details: The southbound off-ramp of the DVP to Richmond Street remains closed until Spring 2026.

Using respectful and inclusive language helps create welcoming and inclusive spaces. For tips on starting conversations, writing emails, and addressing people by title, please refer to these tip sheets below.

Want to explore more? Check out this creative and ever-growing Gender-Neutral Language Dictionary.

• Stormy Weather: Thunderstorms, heavy rains, and high winds are more common now. Check the forecast and stay safe during visits.
• Slippery Roads: Rain and mud can affect your driving. Avoid cruise control, wear sunglasses to reduce glare, and drive with caution.
• Sun & Heat: Even the spring sunlight can cause heat stress. Take water breaks, wear sunscreen, and wear protective clothing.

You help clients with mobility every day. Always make sure both you and your client stay safe. This video walks you through safe transfer techniques for clients who can weight bear, along with how to use equipment like transfer boards, slide sheets, and mechanical lifts when needed. It also introduces the LIGHT assessment to help you think about the client, the task, and the environment before you begin.

Movement helps clients stay independent and maintain dignity, but it must always be done safely and in the right way, according to our procedures. Thank you for helping keep yourself and our clients safe.

Caring for others can be rewarding, but it can also be overwhelming at times. Frontline Wellness is a free, confidential, and virtual program created just for health-care workers in Ontario.

With Frontline Wellness, you can:

• Talk 1:1 with a professional for support, coping strategies, CBT tools, or system navigation (services also available in French).

• Join group sessions in a safe space to share, learn new skills, and strengthen resilience.

Getting started is easy, simply complete a self-referral using the button below and book a time that works for you.

For questions contact:

• frontlinewellness@waypointcentre.ca

• (705) 549-5144 | 1-877-341-4729 x 5000

Please note: This is not a crisis service. If you need urgent help, call 911 or Talk Suicide Canada (1-833-456-4566).

The Human Library is a chance to meet real people and hear real stories.

Instead of borrowing a book, you borrow a person, “a Human Book” and have an honest conversation about their life and experiences. It’s a safe and welcoming space to ask questions, listen, and see people in a new way.

Why join?

• Have open conversations that help you understand others better

• Hear powerful stories from people with different life experiences

• Learn something new and walk away seeing things differently

Cost: Free

Location: Online

Date: March 24, 2026 | 9:30 – 11:30am

High Five for PSW Stephanie Otupri

High Five for PSW Theresa May Gabunada 

High Five for PSW Analyn Obeda

Has someone gone above and beyond at work? Give them a High Five!

The High Five program lets you publicly recognize staff members for their outstanding work. High Fives will be posted in your weekly Inside the Circle newsletter.

To give a high five, just click on the button below or use the link in the rotating banner on the Portal home page.

Please note: We do not accept anonymous submissions for this program. High Fives must be submitted by an individual person, whether they are a staff member or member of the community.

When there is a weather forecast of a snowstorm or severe weather, would you please assign PSWs to clients who are near the PSWs’ residence/home so that it will not be too dangerous for the PSWs to travel to go to their clients? Weather forecasts are given 2-3 days in advance so I don’t think there will be a problem with scheduling. Please be more considerate with the welfare of the PSWs especially when there is a severe weather or snowstorm. 

Our Service Coordinators do their best to consider PSWs’ locations when scheduling, especially when weather conditions may impact travel. However, due to client care needs, availability, and existing schedules, it is not always possible to reassign visits. That said, we do monitor weather forecasts and make adjustments when possible to help ensure both client care and staff safety. If you ever feel that travel conditions are unsafe, please notify the office as soon as possible so we can review the schedule and explore available options. We appreciate the work you do and your commitment to supporting our clients, even during challenging conditions.

If a client cancels GTE, is it still added to my hours, and would I still be paid? If payment won’t be made, can it be deducted from our hours so that I will know the total of hours I have, rather than carrying the notion of a certain hours and after a week my number of hours reduces.

Payment for cancelled visits depends on the cancellation policy and the length of the visit. If a client cancels at the last minute, PSWs may still be paid depending on the length of the scheduled visit.

If a client cancels a GTE visit, it may still appear on your schedule initially. However, depending on the circumstances of the cancellation, it may not always be counted toward your payable hours.

PSWs are usually able to see their paid hours updated the next day. If you notice any changes to your hours and would like clarification, please feel free to reach out to your service coordinator or office and we would be happy to review it with you.

It’s frustrating. I’ve picked my time during which I’m scheduled to work and it’s not being fulfilled. I’ve mentioned to my supervisor on numerous occasions that I cannot work certain hours, hence the reason why I chose to work on the time slot I chose. It’s already frustrating that I’m not getting 8 hours daily, then I have to work beyond my schedule time which is later. Not to mention the distance to go there. Please consider how dark it becomes, especially when walking to some of the clients’ home. It’s not fair that my time is not respected, especially adding the clients after my scheduled time without informing me.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. We understand that maintaining a consistent schedule is important, and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Service Coordinators certainly do not intend to disregard your availability and will continue to keep your stated working hours and travel considerations in mind when scheduling. If you notice visits being added outside of your availability or have concerns about a specific shift, please contact your Service Coordinator so they can review the situation and make adjustments where possible. If you are not receiving a full schedule, please share your concerns with your Service Coordinator so they can look at assigning additional clients from surrounding caseloads within an allowable travel distance. Your safety and well-being are important to us, and we appreciate the care and support you provide to our clients.

Why is it so hard to reach our coordinator? They know my availability, yet they keep putting clients after my available time. I have to go home on time.

Thank you for sharing your concern. Please ensure that your availability has been confirmed with your Service Coordinator/ CSS and that it is accurately reflected in the scheduling system. Service Coordinators follow the scheduling policy and assign visits based on the availability recorded in the system. As Service Coordinators work in shifts and may cover different caseloads, there may be times when another coordinator is scheduling for your caseload. For this reason, it is important that your availability is correctly updated in the system so that all coordinators can schedule visits within your available hours. If your availability is not correctly reflected, please contact your CSS so they can update it in the system, as Service Coordinators do not have access to make changes to PSW availability.

If I am giving my availability from morning to night and I’m only getting 4-5 hours that is not enough for full time. I know you will tell me to talk with my coordinator but I have told them lot of times and they don’t wanted to listen. How am I going be designated full time if I am only getting 4-5 hours per day? When there is a shortage of PSWs you request for us to work but when we want more hours you’re doing nothing.

If you are not receiving enough hours, and have already spoken with your coordinator, you should escalate this so an investigation can be done to see if there are hours available in a nearby caseload. You can connect with Tariq Shafi (ext. 256), Service Coordination Supervisor.

Have a question? Submit your questions or feedback anonymously below!

Please note that it may take us longer to provide some answers. If your question hasn’t been answered yet, we will get back to you as soon as we can.