Inside the Circle – May 19, 2026

World Cup Fan Festival (Downtown Viewing Zone)

• When: June 11-July 19, 2026
• Details: Expect local road closures, crowds, and busy TTC subways, streetcars, and buses in the Downtown Core. Cars may not be allowed in certain zones, so plan alternative routes in case.

FIFA World Cup

• When: June 12-July 2, 2026
• Details: The FIFA World Cup will take place in Toronto for these dates, around the BMO fields at Exhibition Place, Lakeshore, Gardiner, and the Downtown Core. Expect spillover congestion and traffic into King and Queen St., as well as in the Downtown West area.

• frontlinewellness@waypointcentre.ca
• (705) 549-5144 | 1-877-341-4729 x 5000

Grace’s Story 
At 48, Grace experienced mood changes, poor sleep, and tiredness. With support from a menopause clinic, she found treatment that helped her feel better. Now, she shares her story to support others.

Menopause: What to Know
Menopause is a normal stage of life that often begins in the 40s. It can cause hot flashes, tiredness, anxiety, and trouble sleeping. These symptoms can affect daily life and work. Talking about it can help reduce stigma and support women.

Resources

• Menopause Foundation of Canada
• Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada – Menopause and U
• Sinai Health Foundation
• GYN QI Complete Guide to Menopause

Just a reminder that our GoodLife Fitness Corporate Membership is still going strong! Circle of Care employees can enjoy a 25% discount on any GoodLife Fitness membership with a $0 enrollment fee.

Whether you’re looking to boost your energy, improve your mental health, or just get moving, this is a great benefit to take advantage of. You can also add 2 family members to your plan!

When you’re ready to register, make sure you have your employee ID handy. Your employee ID number (not your voicemail or badge number) can be found in your Dayforce profile or at the top of your paystub. If you have any questions or need help, please reach out to our HR team HRDept@circleofcare.com for assistance.

• Register here for the GoodLife Corporate Membership
• Rewards & Contests | GoodLife Fitness
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | GoodLife Fitness

Looking for an easy way to pay attention to your body?

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) offers a free app called PainPoint. It helps you check areas of your body where you may feel pain or discomfort and gives simple tips to reduce strain on your body.

This is a helpful tool if you want to improve how you move or prevent aches before they start.

Clever Girl Finance is a website created by Bola Sokunbi to help women learn about managing money. It offers free tools, courses, and a supportive community. You can learn how to budget, save money, invest, pay off debt, and increase your income.

Visit Clever Girl Finance to find helpful resources and start improving your financial future.

FitOn is a free fitness and wellness app with short workouts, stretching, yoga, and meditation that you can do anywhere. No gym or equipment needed. It includes:

• Stretches for sore back, feet, and shoulders
• Low-impact workouts
• Yoga and breathing exercises for stress and better sleep

We are pleased to welcome the following new PSWs to Circle of Care:

• Ranjana Ranjana
• Treshia Augusto
• Elina Kafunda
• Adebusayo Adeosun
• Merly Payod
• Mythrika Gobisanth
• Carizza Reyes
• Dennielle Cleofe Valdez
• Morcalina Kader
• Loise Karuitha
• Denise Palmer
• Aayusi Patel
• Jeany Galapon
• Rose Mary Mascarenhas

Each week, we’re proud to recognize the PSWs who are celebrating their work anniversaries. Every anniversary—no matter the number of years—represents the dedication, compassion, and commitment you bring to supporting our clients and community. Thank you for the important role you play at Circle of Care. This week’s list includes PSWs celebrating work anniversaries between May 17-23.

Congratulations to the following PSWs on their years of service with Circle of Care:

May 19

• 11 Years: Mary Sue Canonigo, Marvi Delos Santos, Gemma Felix, Ada Iliabaev, Yulia Kuzmicheva, Svetlana Levina, Janiefer Mallari, Ma Luisa Salvador, Anzhela Tigranyan, Evelyn Viduya, Arlene Villanueva, Imelda Walsiyen

May 20

• 21 Years: Yulia Leikin, Elena Telitsyna
• 23 Years: Teri Gebrekidae

May 21

• 17 Years: Kamaldaye Rampersad

May 22

• 1 Year: Jackie Cruz, Nikita Greasley, Victoria Hammond, Aisha Hassan, Amanpreet Kaur, Rita Osei, Ashma Poudel, Laxmi Shrestha, Natalia Zavialova

May 23

• 2 Years: Mary Rose Manuel, Terelyn Pizzaro-Tagaruma
• 3 Years: Michelle Charles, Rukaiyat Ettu, Anastacia Medrano

Individuals celebrating milestone anniversaries (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 years) will receive a one-time cash award to their pay cheque at the end of the quarter. Payment amount will depend on service length.

High Five for PSW Sharndeep Kaur

High Fives for PSW Sonia Molina Canales

High Five for PSW Benedicta Amo

High Five for PSW Camilla Leon

“Camilla is very helpful and kind. She is always there when you need help or advice. I really appreciate how she takes the time to help me out, even when she is busy.” – Mourene Sheerwood

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.

Can you share how sick hours are earned and what the procedure is for using a sick day?

Full-time workers are entitled to 55 hours of sick leave per calendar year, which is received each year in January. This leave can be used in case of illness or injury as time off with pay, except for those who is or could be covered by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) in a workplace related injury/illness.

If you are scheduled to work and are unable to do so due to illness or injury, you must notify us at least three (3) hours before your first scheduled visit of the day. In all instances, you should attempt to call us as early as possible.

Please call 416-635-2860 when calling in sick (as this central line is monitored 24/7) and ensure you are speaking to someone live.

**Please note, if you are sending in a medical note, you must still call 416-635-2860 and report your absence to a live person. Please see our Sick Leave Policy A.03.49 for more information on when a doctor’s note is required.

Any unused sick time that is left over at the end of the calendar year will not be lost and will be banked. Banking means that these sick time hours are kept for you to use at a later date. Employees can bank a maximum of 200 hours as per the Collective Agreement.

What is the protocol if you wish to go back to school and you wish to change your availability?

It depends on how long you’ve been an employee with Circle of Care. All new hires are expected to maintain their stated availability for a period of 6 months after onboarding and before any availability changes can be requested. An Availability Change Request made before the end of the 6 month window can be considered, but there is no guarantee that it will be accommodated and that will depend on operational needs.

To change your availability, please submit a ‘Change of Availability’ Request Form, available here: https://psw.circleofcare.com/index.php/availability-form/

You should also speak to your SC/CSS. They will review your request and let you know if it can be approved.

We’ve been so good to our long time regular clients but they don’t care to notify the office to include us in the High Five nominations and Champions of Care.

Thank you for sharing this—we understand how discouraging that can feel, especially when you consistently provide excellent care to long‑time clients. Recognition programs like High Five and Champions of Care rely on nominations being submitted through specific channels, and unfortunately we don’t always have visibility into when clients choose to do so or not.

Please know that the quality of care and professionalism you show our clients does not go unnoticed by the organization, regardless of formal nominations. We truly appreciate your commitment and will continue to look for ways to recognize and celebrate the great work that our PSWs do.

Is there any support for PSWs who have invested time and dedicated service for the past years on immigration pathways? It is sad to realize Circle of Care doesn’t assist with ONIP after we’ve showed our commitment and worked hard for the organization. Most of us PSWs are on work permits and are realizing too late that Circle of Care doesn’t support immigration.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. We sincerely recognize the dedication and commitment that PSWs have shown through their service with Circle of Care, and we understand how important immigration pathways are for many staff members working under temporary permits.

At this time, Circle of Care does not participate in OINP sponsorship or provide immigration support services. Immigration processes require specialized legal and administrative expertise, ongoing compliance obligations, and organizational capacity that we are not currently able to provide. As a result, we are unable to support individual immigration or sponsorship applications.

We understand this may be disappointing, particularly for employees who have made long-term contributions to the organization. While we are unable to offer immigration assistance directly, we encourage staff to seek guidance from qualified immigration professionals who can help identify pathways that may be available based on their individual circumstances.

We remain very appreciative of the important care, professionalism, and dedication our PSWs bring to the community every day.

How many hours does it take to make you a full time staff member?

A full-time employee means an employee in the bargaining unit who works on average 25 hours per week or more. In order to qualify as a full-time employee, members need to work 1300 hours for the calendar year. Full-time employees are eligible for paid sick time and the health and benefits program as per the Collective Agreement (Article 21 & 23).

Employees are able to track the number of client-facing hours they are working year to date, by logging into the EZ Exalt app. A step-by-step guide has been compiled to show you how to do this: Accessing Sick Balances and Year to Date Hours Worked

I don’t get enough hours, and I’m a full time worker. I have to call every day for more hours. I don’t think this is appropriate.

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 our Service Coordination Supervisor: Tariq Shafi (ext. 256).

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.