Inside the Circle – June 6, 2023

We would like to congratulate all the nominees for the Champions of Care Awards for 2022-2023. We received so many nominations, and it was very difficult to select the winners this year. That being said, we are so pleased to announce the following winners:

We’re inviting you to join us in person for this year’s Summer Social! This event will be located outside in our backyard at 4211 Yonge St. on July 5 from 3pm-6pm (weather permitting). There will be games, food, drinks, and prizes!

To ensure we have enough food and drinks, please RSVP for the event before June 28.

We would like to let you know that we have recently added a new page on the PSW Portal that shares sentences and phrases with you that you can use in difficult situations with clients. We hope that these will be useful to you. You can view the page by clicking below or by going to the PSW Portal and searching for “PSW Scripts”.

The Admin team has put together a list of procedures and tips for team meetings taking place at the head office. This includes information about supply pick-up during meetings, as well as other requests.

Join us for a virtual discussion hosted by NYTHP, where participants will explore ways to effectively communicate needs and boundaries, while also considering the needs of others. Participants will learn strategies for expressing themselves clearly, calmly and confidently in challenging situations – as well as how to manage your emotions during difficult conversations.

Date: Tuesday, June 13th
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient needed to support properly bodily functioning—everything from immunity to mood to defending cells against cancer! Though most of the nutrients our body needs are available via the food we eat, vitamin D is actually primarily obtained via sun exposure. Unfortunately, for various reasons (including indoor lifestyles and the invention of sunscreen), vitamin D is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in modern society. The link below describes the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency and how lack of sun exposure can also lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder in wintery months. Especially in higher latitude climates that have less sun exposure in the winter, summertime sun exposure is an important way to “store” vitamin D for the less sunny wintery months. (Fortunately, the body can store vitamin D for months, so sufficient sun exposure during the summer can help get us through less sun exposure in the winter.)

Challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue, and experience the Human Library. This virtual DEI event creates a safe space for dialogue between human ‘books’ and participants ‘readers’. The ‘books’ openly share their diverse cultural backgrounds, lifestyles, and life experiences and prompt and enriching and respectful conversation with readers. In short, this library allows you to borrow people instead of books, and it seeks to help bridge our divisions.

Upcoming sessions:
Wednesday, June 28th from 9:00am – 11:30am
Wednesday, September 27th from 9:00am – 12:00pm

Please note this is an interactive experience, so you’ll need to ensure you can participate for the duration of the session. When participating as a reader, you’ll be automatically assigned to read 2-3 ‘Books’ in groups of 6-10 people.

To register, follow the link below, and click the orange ‘select a date’ in the top right corner

Using respectful and inclusive language is a powerful way to demonstrate commitment to creating welcoming and inclusive spaces.

For information about starting conversations, including email correspondence, addressing individuals by title, please refer to this tip sheet from the 519:

Circle of Care is proud to offer discount tickets to this year’s CNE. Purchase your CNE tickets online with our corporate code and save! CNE Corporate rates are the lowest available. You will save off gate prices and retail partner prices too – up to 43% off in savings!

The average holiday hours are not shown on the schedule of May 22. However, we will get the holiday pay, right?

All hours for PSWs, along with any stat holiday hours are uploaded by the IT department. The hours are locked by IT on the Wednesday before each pay week. Workers will not be able to see the stat holiday hours on their phone until after this process is done.

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We invite you to submit your questions or feedback below. Please note that it may take us longer to provide some answers, so if you’ve asked a question that hasn’t been answered yet, we will get back to you in the coming weeks.