Family life
Services for Families
The primary focus of the Family Life Coordinator is to serve our community through a proactive, preventative approach. This service includes educating families and agencies about ageism, healthy intergenerational relationships, isolation, and respite care. This provides tools for families and community members to identify, prevent, and respond appropriately to situations of family violence. The education component is key to prevention; this service also provides meaningful connections for residents in need and supports their mental wellbeing through temporary, supportive listening.
The Coordinator provides supported referrals to families in situations of conflict. Supporting and promoting organizations that provide services for families in conflict, combined with providing awareness and education, is a best practice in the prevention of family violence. This practice helps people identify when they are in need of support and where to find help before they are in crisis. This is an essential component for overall community mental wellbeing, as it keeps people connected and engaged with each other, community agencies and appropriate supports.
Prevention of things we don’t like talking about
This service provides education, confidential supportive listening, and referral for things like:
- Family stress
- Mistreatment of older adults
- Dementia caregiver support
No one is perfect, and no family is perfect. Conflict is not always a bad thing. Conflict can be an opportunity to change a situation and find support to make things better. The stresses of day-to-day life can get overwhelming, and sometimes you just need someone to temporarily talk to, so things don’t get worse; that’s the first step in prevention.
Charlene is Hinton's Rural Mental Health Project Animator! The design, implementation and evaluation of Rural Mental Health project is being done collaboratively through strategic partnerships to ground approaches to community mental health considering rural and individual community perspectives. The principles that guide our work include being community-driven, building on existing strengths, and using holistic approaches while considering the full lifespan of our communities.
Anchoring the project is the training of local Animators and the development of Action Plans through a community engagement process. Local community Animators in participating rural and remote communities are provided training and support.
We would love to share more with you about this initiative - to learn more about the project click here, and to view the latest Rural Mental Health Network Animator Newsletter click here!
Abuse Prevention
This service helps people learn about ways to stay safe in an abusive situation and about what their rights are in order to prevent abuse.
Additionally, education is provided to the general public and to agencies on how to identify, prevent, and address situations of domestic abuse.
Specific services offered include:
- Family Violence Prevention
- Elder Abuse Prevention
- Sexual Assault Support Services
Interested in learning more? Click here for the 2020 Hinton Family Violence Toolkit.
Click here for more information on the Yellowhead Elder Abuse Response Network!
Family Education & Events
To encourage families to get involved in the community, community-wide family-friendly events are offered. These events are designed to keep families engaged and having fun year-round, and include events such as Puzzle Palooza, the Kids Can Catch Fishing Day, and annual family dances. These events build a strong sense of community.
Engaging in conversation with a family member from another generation can be difficult. Sometimes all it takes is a simple question to start an interesting conversation that helps us understand that no matter our age differences, we often share the same likes and dislikes. Use our "Generation Conversation" page to start a fun family tradition this Intergenerational Day and everyday!
Rural Mental Health Project
With respect to mental health, the Government of Alberta’s (2015) Valuing Mental Health report highlighted the need for attention in rural and remote areas due to the challenges – including barriers such as scarcity, cost, & effectiveness (e.g., no long-term follow up) of services. In response to the 2015 report, the Canadian Mental Health Association, initiated a Rural Mental Health Community Development Project. Alberta Health provided $1.6 million dollars over three and a half years to develop an Alberta Rural Mental Health Network, and support 150 rural Alberta communities in developing community mental health roadmaps and action plans.
Since 2017, Hinton FCSS has been able to lead the Rural Mental Project in our community. We are currently working on three main projects with the funds received from the 2021 Canadian Mental Health Association; Filming of Who’s Who in the Community of Supports, Community Mental Wellness Messaging, and Mental Wellness Kits.
Interested in joining the Rural Mental Health project action group contact one of our local animators in Hinton, Charlene Sitar csitar@hinton.ca.
Contact Us
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FCSS Coordinator: Family LifeThe Guild
821 Switzer Drive
Hinton, AB T7V 1V1
Ph: 780-817-4881
Fx: 780-865-2669