7 minute read
Community Features: People Making an Impact
Building a Stronger Community Through Educating Students and Providing Support for Care Givers.
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Meet Christina Henderson
Why did you become a teacher?
I grew up in the classroom. My dad was a high school music teacher so I was always in his classroom, interacting with the students during music concerts or after school rehearsals. I always loved watching my dad build relationships with his students and the connection that was so important. My dad was a teacher that everyone trusted and respected. I have always admired my dad and the impact that he had on his student’s lives, often long after they were his students.
For me, that is what is important about teaching. As a teacher, we have great accountability because we are given great responsibility. I love building relationships with the youth that I work with as well as my colleagues. Connection builds trusting relationships that have an impact. That is the most important reason I became a teacher.
What do you teach and what have you taught?
I currently teach grade 4 at a K-9 school in Calgary. I have taught students in grades 1,2 and 4-9. I have taught all core subjects as well as theater and dance. Besides being a teacher I have held the position of Student Services Learning Leader at the junior high level. My role was to help students transition
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Mental health support for caregivers and youth. I offer a FREE drop-in group for caregivers as well as fee-based one on one and group coaching options for both youth and adults. Book a FREE 30 minute coaching session: https://calendly.com/christinapeerspectiveconsulting/free-coaching-session Peerspectivesconsulting.ca
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to high school as well as offer services such as counseling and mental health resources. I also worked with teachers to provide these resources for their students. I participated on the Forest Lawn Youth Health Committee and assisted in organizing the My World Conference for junior high students in the Calgary area.
What is the best part of teaching?
The best part of teaching is having the opportunity to work with youth to discover their full potential, to watch them have aha moments in their learning and to build connections that last long after they are my students.
What is a caregiver?
A caregiver is just that, a giver of care. They can be any gender and any age. Examples include; parents, siblings or friends. A more formal definition from Caregivers Alberta is: Anyone who supports someone with an illness or disability (mental or physical), or who is caring for an aging friend or family member, is a caregiver. This position can be paid or unpaid and can be as intensive as living with the person you are caring for or as simple as driving the person to a doctor’s appointment or sweeping their steps.
How did you become a caregiver?
I became a caregiver 26 years ago when my twin boys were born. They were 13 weeks premature and weighed just over a pound each. They spent the first three months of their life in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit. It was there that I began my journey of understanding the needs of my boys.
Why did you start your business?
In order of importance, I am a mom, a wife, a Family Peer Support Worker, a Flourishing Life Coach, a Flourishing Wellness Coach and have been an educator for 18 years. I have been a mentor for the Alberta Association of Peer Support, a Peer Support Trainer, Facilitator and Mentoring Team Lead as well as a Peer Team Administrator with the Canadian Mental Health Association: Calgary Region. I have seen the gaps in the system.
I am passionate about mental health support because of my lived experience with family addictions and mental illness. I have navigated the systems of youth to adult services in both physical and mental health, addiction services to become educated about a family member's addictions and the mental health system as it relates to Peer Support and mental illness.
I have raised twin boys who both have special needs and I have weathered the storm of addiction as a caregiver. We have overcome some incredible obstacles that some might have seen as insurmountable. Through lived experiences, I have learned more about resilience and courage then I could ever learn in a book.
Another reason I started this company is because of my work in schools from elementary through high school. Through my work with students in facilitating leadership groups, GSA’s and working as a Student Support Services Learning Leader I became acutely aware of the growing need for mental health support for families and youth. Additional work with mental health organizations, corporations and committees shed further light on the gaps and motivated me to seek further education and training in the field of Peer Support and being a Flourishing Life Coach.
I am a strong believer that if you want to see change you need to step up and make it
happen in a productive and purposeful way. I found evidence of the gap that currently exists in our mental health system in regards to awareness and integration of Peer Support services. This gap exists for not only adults and families but, in a time of online learning, uncertainty and severe isolation, the system is sadly lacking in these necessary supports for our youth.
I found this unacceptable.
What advice can you give people who are caregivers?
We all hold one thing in common, the need to be understood. Not everyone is going to understand your journey and that is okay. Surround yourself with people who have shared lived experiences. Your journey is about permission, acceptance and choice to; grieve, to accept where you are at and meet yourself there as a starting place to move forward, to accept your limitations while honoring your strengths (your gifts), to accept the fear you may be feeling but use it as a tool of strength rather than a weapon to keep you stuck. Give yourself permission to set respectful, purposeful boundaries with others and with yourself. Finally, take steps to change your mindset from feeling responsible for vs. responsible to the person you are offering care to. Being responsible FOR means you are trying to be a fixer. You are rescuing rather than listening and you are carrying your own as well as the other person’s feelings. Being responsible TO means you are a supporter. You listen, empathize, comfort and encourage. You allow the other person to take ownership for what they are able to, including their own feelings. This will provide accountability to everyone in the relationship and lessen the load on you as a caregiver.
Meet Geoff Freeborn
Geoff Freeborn is a former pro athlete in 2 sports. Geoff played pro baseball for 5 seasons on 6 continents including 3 seasons with the Calgary Vipers. After baseball Geoff got into golf and made the Remax Long Drive Championships 3x. For the past 18 years Geoff has worked as a community support worker with adults with developmental disabilities for the Calgary Scope Society. After retiring from pro golf, Geoff got into baseball coaching, running his own site Sidearmnation.com.
Q & A with Geoff Freeborn
How did you get into baseball?
I got into baseball when I was 5-6 playing t-ball. It's funny baseball is how I found out I needed glasses when was like 8-9. I had a really good swing but couldn't hit the ball to save my life. Turns out I needed glasses, the following year baseball became way easier lol
Where did you play baseball around the world?
So I've been fortunate to play on all 6 continents: North America all over but 3 seasons with the Calgary Vipers would be most memorable, Europe - played professionally in France and Germany, South America - played winter ball in Colombia, also played winter ball in Australia, Africa - while with German team we did our spring training in Canary Islands, Asia - played in Men's tournament in Hong Kong with Team Canada
What advice would you give to young athletes?
Work hard but don't forget to have fun! You never know when might be the last time you get to wear a jersey.
How hard is it to make it as a career athlete?
Probably would have been easier to be a pro baseball player if I grew up in Arizona lol but I put in a lot of time and made a lot of sacrifices to get as far as I did. After I was done with pro baseball I found out I could hit a golf ball far and got into pro long drive golf. Been very fortunate to still make a living doing what I love with my site sidearmnation.com
3 fun facts
Did skeleton for couple weeks with national team after college,
Was a male model for a year (industry not really for me),
