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FUN
Crimesense Word Search Reader Nicole Foucault sent us this wonderful word search to share with you. See if you can find the answer. How to play: circle the letters in the words below. The remaining letters spell out the answer
E O W A T C H K O O L N N I
Act Awareness Care Change Clarity Cry
L S P L A N E T S I L I O N
P I S E U N E E D S P N I T
Dangers Educate Efforts Example Feelings Hazards
S G G D R E C S E I A V T E
Y N N U E L L R F S I O N R
Help Hope Intervention Involve Listen Look
Answer: ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 9 letters
R S I C S P A E F K N L E V
E E L A P M R G O I O V V E
V G E T E A I N R L K E E N
O N E E C X T A T L L R R T
Needs Observant Pain Plan Prevention Recovery
C A F O T E Y D S S A A P I Respect Safety Seek Signs Skills Support
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E H T Y S U P P O R T C S O
R C R L T N A V R E S B O N
A C K E E S S E N E R A W A
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by: Nicole Foucault
H A Z A R D S T Y T E F A S
Talk Watch
Find the answer on pg. 7
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n a mild February evening, five unmarked Ottawa Police Service cruisers make their way single-file through the darkened streets of an upscale Barrhaven neighbourhood. Rounding a corner, the headlights from the second cruiser light up the side of the lead car, exposing its reflective markings of POLICE and DART. A second later, the lead car moves beyond the probing headlights and resumes its white, unmarked, ghost-like appearance. The cruisers, holding two officers each, pull up to a house, where a taxi and luxury vehicle sit parked in the driveway. In seconds, the front yard is swarming with cops who position themselves along the perimeter of the house, and atop snow banks closer to the edge of the driveway. As one officer bangs on the front door, the others peer through ground floor windows and scan the second floor for signs of movement. A middle-aged woman opens the door and is quickly joined by her husband. While Cst. Hany Rizkalla talks to the couple in Arabic, a young child, no older than five, peers curiously from behind the living room wall. Another officer smiles and waves at the child. The child smiles, looks down, and then slinks back behind the wall. The house appears immaculate – inside and out – and on some levels, it’s hard to believe that the officers are looking for 24-year-old Abdulaziz Al-Enzi, wanted for attempted murder in connection with a January 2012 gangrelated stabbing in Ottawa’s south end. After some discussion, Rizkalla reports that the occupants are insisting they haven’t seen the younger Al-Enzi for over a month; in fact, Rizkalla is invited in to the house to search for signs of Al-Enzi. Under the watchful eyes and ears of other officers, Rizkalla enters the house then emerges a few minutes later shaking his head. “He’s not here, Sarge,” says Rizkalla.
The hunt is still on.
In 2010, DART officers were kept extremely busy producing 100 direct arrests and laying 104 charges for crimes such as assault, robbery, drug trafficking, firearms tracking and forcible confinement – all in addition to gathering intelligence, conducting judicial releases compliance checks, and assisting other internal units and external agencies.
In an attempt to deter apartment take-overs and other gang-related activity, DART officers patrol the halls of high-risk apartment buildings.
These officers are part of the Ottawa Police’s Guns & Gangs Direct Action Response Team (DART), a specialized unit tasked with providing street-level enforcement and suppression of gang and firearm related activities. Unlike regular patrol units who respond to all sorts of calls for service, DART officers are a dedicated group of cops who proactively roam Ottawa’s streets dealing only with guns and gangs.
While 2011’s statistics weren’t available at the time of this writing, estimates indicate that it was a busier year than 2010. From November 2011 to March 2012 alone, Ottawa has seen over 20 shootings, and several gang-related stabbings and home invasions. S/Sgt. Mark Patterson, who heads the overall Guns & Gangs unit (which encompasses DART and a separate team of investigators), says the number of violent gunrelated crimes in Ottawa is increasing because our street gangs are turning to more violent tactics. “The emergence of street gangs from using physical violence such as punching has evolved to that of knives, and now guns,” says Patterson. “We’re generally five years behind Toronto in relation to crimes and methods, and they had their ‘Year of the Gun’ in 2005.” According to Patterson, at any one time, there are between 10 to 15 identifiable groups operating on Ottawa’s streets which can be classified as a street gang. Approximately 400 individuals, most in their late teens to early twenties, have been identified as known gang members or associates, with the majority belonging to the Bloods, the Crips, or one of their sub-groups.
Led by a sergeant, DART has been temporarily doubled to 10 officers in response to the increased amount of gun violence which has recently hit the city. They’re funded, in part, by an Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services program called PAVIS, otherwise known as the Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy. PAVIS has one goal – to help municipal police forces across the province suppress the rising tide of gun and gang activity.
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The illusion: becoming a ‘somebody’
“Everyone seems to think there’s a gang war going on between the Bloods and the Crips,” says DART team leader Sgt. Josh Pulfer. “That may be the case in L.A. but it isn’t here in Ottawa. These guys think they’re gangster, but the reality is they wouldn’t survive a minute on the streets of L.A.”
DART Officers search a male found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Pulfer, a veteran cop who previously worked in undercover drug operations, notes that for the most part, Ottawa’s street gangs are generally disorganized and are motivated by money and a sense of belonging. “Most of these young guys come from poorer areas and are attracted to gangs for the allure and prestige of being associated with one,” says Pulfer. “Think about it. You’re 14 or 15, live in a poorer neighbourhood, and you see a local gangbanger flashing the cash and dope. He’s got his entourage and he’s driving a nice car. To this kid, it looks like an attractive lifestyle.” Having said that, Pulfer says while Ottawa’s street gangs are nowhere near the level of sophistication of other, more organized, criminal gangs, they still pose a threat to the community. “When you look at our community housing projects where a lot of our gang activity is based, I’d say 85 per cent of the people in those projects are good, decent people who just need a little help,” he says. “Unfortunately, it’s the other 15 per cent who use intimidation, threats and violence who take away that sense of community from the others. Our job is to go in and suppress that criminal element – that 15 per cent.”
Apartment takeovers, where gang members literally take control of a tenant’s apartment for a few days in order to sell drugs and conduct other criminal activity, is a rising problem says Pulfer. While gang members might use threats or violence to get in the door, they generally prefer quieter tactics, targeting vulnerable people, primarily addicts, and pacifying them with drugs. “It’s one way gangbangers try to stay ahead of us,” explains Pulfer. “They remain transient. They’ll stay somewhere for a few days, then move on to the next place. In the meantime, they’ve completely destroyed the apartment, maybe assaulted or sexually assaulted the occupants, and left a trail of hurt behind them.” To help detect and deter this, DART members conduct foot patrols in high-risk apartment buildings where they walk the stairwells and halls, and go knocking on doors. They monitor people with judicial release conditions; check-up on some of the more vulnerable tenants, like the elderly and recovering addicts, to make sure they’re all right; and engage the building’s law-abiding citizens to help identify problem areas and suspicious activity. In essence, it’s good old-fashioned, proactive, community-based policing.
The marijuana was seized and the male was subsequently released with a warning.
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Crime is a community problem
Certainly, DART has demonstrated tremendous success in building bridges and helping curb criminal activity. But, DART is only one piece of the solution. “Using DART alone is like trying to use a band-aid to cure cancer,” warns Pulfer. “At the end of the day, this is a problem that everyone in the community needs to solve together – the police, the courts, and the neighbourhood itself.”
In a disturbing coincidence, DART officers spot needles being used as darts.
Mike Justinich, a business analyst with Crime Prevention Ottawa, agrees. “It really is the old proverbial ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, isn’t it?” asks Justinich. “In other cultures, if a child is doing something they’re not supposed to be doing, someone intervenes. The whole community is engaged. That’s not a big part of our culture here.”
But unlike other programs, Social Recreation Connector is unique on two fronts: it involves several community partners, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, the United Way of Ottawa, the National Capital Region YMCA/YWCA, the City of Ottawa and the community itself, right down to the targeted individual; and, perhaps more importantly, it has an active pursuit element where program workers actively reach out to youth-at-risk. “Children and youth who are marginalized by income and cultural barriers fall through the cracks,” says Mackie. “It’s not because they don’t have the desire to participate in character and skill-building activities. The overall approach to social services, and certainly recreation services, is that you come to us if there’s a problem, and then we’ll try to fix it. Well, for marginalized populations, the problem isn’t them – it’s the system and that attitude which create these barriers.” The hope, Mackie says, is at the end of the two year pilot, Social Recreation Connector will have demonstrated to the community and founders how effective this model of active pursuit and addressing the barriers to social recreation truly is.
This calendar shows the sad reality of how hard it is for one Ottawa South resident to conquer addiction.
A former high-school teacher, Justinich also notes that while there are many services aimed at middle-class Ottawa, there aren’t as many available for those in the lower-income bracket. “And where there is,” says Justinich, “accessibility, cultural barriers and trust issues exist.” An October 2011 University of Ottawa Institute for the Prevention of Crime report titled “Leaving Criminal Youth Gangs: Exit Strategies and Programs” (Hastings, Dunbar, and Bania) writes “Because a gang provides a source of support and friendship, members do not leave until a suitable substitute has been found. Overall, leaving a gang is a gradual process that often involves increasing commitment to conventional institutions.”
And with it, provide a better alternative and sense of belonging for our youth-at-risk than participating in a street gang. CS For more information on Ottawa’s DART Team please visit the Ottawa Police Website at www.ottawapolice.ca For more information on Crime Prevention Ottawa please visit www.crimepreventionottawa.ca For more information on Christie Lake Kids please visit www.christielakekids.com
Christie Lake Kids is the lead agency on an exciting new pilot project called Social Recreation Connector. Set to run until 2013, the program provides social recreational opportunities such as afterschool programs, youth clubs/drop-ins, youth leadership programs, and skill-based physical activities to youth-at-risk. “The research is quite clear on the benefits of social recreation across the board for young people,” says Craig Mackie, director of inner city programs with Christie Lake Kids. “They’re less likely to drop out of school, use alcohol or drugs, and become involved in criminal activity.” s u p p o rt i n g o u r a dv e rt i s e r s s u p p o rt s c r i m e s e n s e
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ur children today are the leaders of tomorrow. With this in mind, the Ottawa 67’s work tirelessly, around the clock, to promote the importance of education, health, sport and a strong community for our children. The 67’s mission stretches far beyond the Memorial Cup. It reaches into the schools and houses throughout our community and supports the leaders of tomorrow. The Ottawa 67’s are largely supported through corporate partnerships. Without these community-minded businesses, the 67’s reach would be minimal. Every year, these businesses fund 67’s programs that support kids in our community. In the City of Ottawa, The Ottawa Food Bank estimates that every month 15,910 kids go to school hungry. Why? Perhaps because their single parent had to make a choice between paying the heating bill or buying an extra bag of groceries. Many local families struggle to survive in our city and the Ottawa 67’s have established programs like the ones listed above to give them an opportunity to experience something most of our kids take for granted—a fun night out with family and friends.
The Adopt-a-School program is the 67’s most successful community initiative. Local businesses purchase tickets to 67’s games, and then donate these tickets to elementary schools in Ottawa. The tickets are meant to reward good behavior, homework completion, and overall progress. They also provide an opportunity for some kids to go to their first hockey game, a necessary right of passage for all Canadians. Currently, there are 60 businesses and over 130 schools taking part in the program and the 67’s regularly get feedback like this: “Over the past four years, we’ve had the honour of donating Ottawa 67’s hockey tickets to local students through their schools. We know that the kids benefit greatly because the school administration uses the tickets to reward kids for improving their reading and writing and demonstrating good behavior. We at Blackburn Shoppes Dental Centre feel that it is our responsibility to give back to our youth because they are our future. “We regularly receive “thank you” cards with little drawings from the students who are the recipients of the tickets. These notes of appreciation give me and all of my staff a boost when we open them” “We love the program and encourage other businesses to support our youth and our community through the Ottawa 67’s Adopt-a-School Program.”
Hard work and dedication are two attributes that Brian Kilrea (Previous Head Coach and General Manager of the Ottawa 67’s) has made sure no player in the past 35 years has forgotten. These values are what inspired the 67’s Hardest Working Player program. The program is designed to encourage, support and reward minor hockey players for their hard work, dependability and enthusiasm and to highlight effort and improvement over the season. The award doesn’t always go to the player who scores the most goals, but rather to the player who instills all these values in himself and his teammates. The 67’s want kids to know that there is value in belonging to a team and in attributes such as teamwork and sportsmanship. The Hardest Working Player receives an official Ottawa 67’s hard hat, which he/she gets to take home and show off to family and friends until the next game. They also receive a certificate of merit from Head Coach and General Manager, Chris Byrne, a coupon from First Choice Hair Cutters, a voucher to an Ottawa 67’s game and their names appear in a full-page ad in the Ottawa Citizen. All this is made possible through the support of the CAA and other community partners. You can receive a Hardest Working Player Kit for your minor hockey team at no cost by visiting http://www.ottawa67s.com/hardest-working-player_2 or by calling 613-232-6767 x 232.
Dr Chantal Plant DDS Blackburn Shoppes Dental Centre To learn how you can get involved please visit: http://www.ottawa67s.com/page/adopt-a-school-program One of the many definitions of a champion in the MerriamWebster dictionary is “an ardent defender or supporter of a cause”. The Ottawa 67’s are champions of education. There is nothing more important than a child’s health and education and every child has a right to these. The 67’s defend these principles, just as hard as we defend our net. This is why the 67’s created the Champions for Education program.
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The Ottawa 67’s, along with the Ottawa Citizen Literacy program, Ottawa University and Interactive Audio Visual make the Champions for Education program possible. Throughout the season, Ottawa 67’s players visit local schools and preach good values, such as goal setting, homework completion, anti-bullying and the importance of teamwork. The players provide every child with a bookmark and a ticket to a 67’s game. The presentation by the players is almost as exciting as watching Cody Ceci quarterback our power play and the message is more important than our victories on the ice. The Ottawa 67’s are very proud of the commitment our young men show to education and the community. It is a win-win. The Ottawa 67’s partners love the positive impact of this program and the exposure generated in appearing in the 67’s bi-weekly Champions for Education ad and the kids enjoy meeting the 67’s. Again, the response from the community to the Champions for Education program has been fantastic, and the 67’s often receive testimonials like the one below:
According the City of Ottawa, 21.6% of households annual income is less than $30,000. A fair share of these households are families struggling to get by. Regardless of the reason, these families need a helping hand. With the help of community minded partners the 67’s are there. The Champions for Families program donates 20 tickets a game to charities such as the Children’s Wish Foundation, The Boys and Girls Club, Children at Risk and others. A 67’s game is a great family experience and is something every Ottawan should experience. For more information please visit www.ottawa67s.com/page/champions-for-families or call 613-232-6767 x 401
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“Please accept our sincere thanks for delivering a wonderful presentation today at Featherston. Adam Courchaine and Adam Zamec were very brave to speak in front of such a large group of students (and teachers!) and they really won us over with their message and their humour. They are very personable young men and are to be commended for their commitment to their community. Brian Birkhoff had many of the teachers teary-eyed with his engaging and inspiring story about the impact that his teacher, Mr. Archambault had on his life. I know it really made me think about the influence and that all of us as teachers have on our students’ lives on a daily basis. We were particularly impressed with the way that Brian handled the questions from our students, even those that didn’t seem remotely related to the theme of the morning. You all showed a great deal of patience and empathy and it didn’t go unnoticed. Thanks again and we look forward to working with you in the future.” Take care, Maggie LeMay Learning Support Teacher, Featherston School For more information on the Champions for Education Program, please visit: http://www.ottawa67s.com/page/champions-for-education
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“At that very tragic time in November (2010) we made the decision to speak publicly about suicide because we wanted to make a difference in other people’s lives,” Richardson told reporters. “We want to be honest in the hopes we can help another family avoid the loss of someone special to them. You know the fourth liner, the player that often goes unnoticed but isn’t afraid to go into the corner and do the dirty work? They are eerily similar to the volunteers the 67’s count on everyday. Volunteers are what allow not-for-profit organizations to function and are always there to lend a helping hand. The Ottawa 67’s try to recognize the contribution these individuals make to our community through the Volunteer Appreciation Program. The Volunteer Appreciation program is once again made possible through the partnership of community-minded businesses. The businesses purchase 500 tickets, which they then donate to a not-for-profit organization. The organization then rewards its volunteers with a ticket to see the 67’s in action. The 67’s currently have 13 partners, providing 6,500 tickets to not-for-profit organizations. For more information on the Volunteer Appreciation Program please visit http://www.ottawa67s.com/page/volunteer-appreciation-program or call 613-232-6767
Throughout the course of the season the 67’s dedicate numerous games to important issues and causes. This year the 67’s hosted Do it for Daron, Ride for Dad, CIBC Teddy Bear Toss, Canadian Blood Services, Scotiabank Food Drive, Shave for a Cure, OHL Big Ticket for the Special Olympics, Stick it to Prostate Cancer night and honored our armed forces with a DND night. These nights help spread awareness of important issues in our community. Do it for Daron in conjunction with the Royal Ottawa and Trinity Development Group choose to spread awareness of mental health issues during the 67’s game, Oct 9th Vs. Plymouth. For those unaware of the Do it for Daron campaign, Luke Richardson (a former Ottawa Senators Player and current Assistant Coach), lost his daughter, who had struggled with mental health issues.
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Luke Richardson For more information on the Do it for Daron campaign please visit www.doitfordaron.com An army of chrome and leather took over the J. Benson Cartage Centre on October 7th, 2011. Their mission? To raise awareness of prostate cancer. The Ride for Dad annual motorcycle ride raises funds for prostate cancer and used a 67’s game as a medium to reach thousands of people.
“Our numbers are climbing, but men should not be dying from prostate cancer and all of the people in this ride are trying to get that message out loud and clear,” says Max Keeping, CTV Ottawa Community Ambassador, Prostate Cancer Survivor and Ride for Dad supporter. The Canadian Blood Services were out in full force on Nov 4th, 2011. Through the support of the Dragon Boat Foundation, Canadian Blood Services were able to take over the 67’s arena for the night. The theme was awareness. Did you know that if 43 people took an hour to give blood, 8 people could receive cancer treatments? Canadian Blood Services were on the concourse spreading facts like this and encouraging people to donate blood. Although they were not collecting blood, they were checking blood types and everyone left the J. Benson Cartage Centre with a better understanding of the importance of giving blood.
Never have you seen so many teddy bears as there were on December 2nd, 2011 at the 67’s annual CIBC Teddy Bear Toss. Santa would be impressed with the generosity of 67’s fans. After the first goal scored by the Ottawa 67’s, fans threw teddy bears onto the ice, which were then collected and donated to the Salvation Army to distribute to families in need. The year’s event was a huge success, with over 1,500 Teddy Bears collected. The 67’s also hosted the league wide OHL Big Ticket night, which generated awareness and donations for the Special Olympics. Did you know that there are 3.7 million athletes in 229 accredited programs in 170 countries? The Special Olympics relies heavily on fundraising efforts such as the OHL Big Ticker event to support these athletes. On Jan 13th, 2012 the 67’s had Olympians in the house, a medalist in Jacob Mathews dropping the puck, and numerous law enforcement volunteers to help out the cause. This year the Ottawa 67’s raised over $3,000 dollars. In addition to these great games, the Ottawa 67’s also hosted a Scotiabank Food Drive on January 22nd, 2012 with all the proceeds going to the Ottawa Food bank. Once again the 67’s fans showed their support for a great cause and donated over 4,000 pounds of food. One of the last big events the 67’s host during the season is the Ottawa University Shave for a Cure. The event raises money and awareness for childhood cancer. The Medical department at the University of Ottawa, in conjunction with the St. Baldricks foundation turned the 67’s concourse into a massive barbershop. For this event, participants raise funds, pledging to shave off all their hair if they reach a certain donation goal. In 2011, the event raised over $60,000 for childhood cancer and left more than 30 people hairless. As you can see, community involvement is something the Ottawa 67’s pride themselves on and is something the 67’s have tried to instill in all our players, including alumni like Denis Potvin, Peter Lee, Doug Wilson, Bobby Smith, Zenon Konopka, Randy Cunneyworth, Darren Pang, Michael Peca, Gary Roberts, Brian Campbell, Logan Couture and many more. All of these men came to the ‘67s as teenagers and all went on to become not only NHL hockey players, but community leaders. The Ottawa 67’s hockey club understands the importance of education, hard work and offering a helping hand to youth. It is a winning formula. Not just for hockey, but everything in life. CS
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Family Needs Revisited: Coping Gina Dimitropoulos, M.S.W., R.S.W, Ph.D. Candidate
when a Family Member has an Eating Disorder
Caring for a loved one with an eating disorder can be very challenging for families. Family members see their loved one struggling with major medical and emotional problems. They are often confused and frustrated because their loved one does not want to admit that they have a problem. When their loved one is ready to seek help, families often find there are long waiting lists and few resources for eating disorder programs in their community. Family members also face prejudice towards themselves and the person with the eating disorder due to lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, families are often directly or indirectly blamed for causing the eating disorder or questioned as to why they can’t “cure” their family member. Despite these many difficulties, family members are often surprised to find that their family relationships have been enriched and that they are brought closer to their loved one with whom they have overcome so many obstacles. This issue of the Bulletin will revisit the challenges faced by families caring for a loved one with an eating disorder. Strategies for assisting the person with the eating disorder and ways for finding support for the family will be suggested as well.
A typical family story John and Stacey have a 21-year-old daughter who has been ill for eight years with anorexia nervosa. John and Stacey find their daughter’s weight loss, constant fears about gaining weight and refusal to eat meals with them very distressing. When they tell Nancy about their worries, they only end up arguing with her. Nancy’s younger brother and sister often feel that their needs are overlooked. The family feels that they are gripped by the eating disorder. When John and Stacey talk about their concerns with friends and extended family, they hear comments such as “Why can’t you just make her eat?” Or, “How could you let it get this bad?” Comments like these only make John and Stacey feel more hopeless and reluctant to share their concerns with others.
©copyright iStockphoto.com | Elenathewise
Expressing feelings Sadly, this is a very common story in families of people with eating disorders. There are a number of strategies that may be helpful for coping with the challenges of caring for someone with an eating disorder. The first step is separating your feelings about the eating disorder from your family member. It is natural for family members to experience many feelings such as anger, frustration, sadness and hopelessness. These feelings are “normal” and expected reactions to the eating disorder. Families have a right to express their feelings and thoughts about how the eating disorder has affected them. However, there are some strategies for how to share your feelings with your loved one. People with eating disorders often feel ashamed and guilty about the problem and may even feel they are an enormous burden to their family.
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It is helpful to recognize that the intense feelings are caused by the eating disorder itself and not the person. In other words, John or Stacey might say “I am so angry at this eating disorder that stops us from having meals together” rather than “I am so angry at you for not eating with us”.
Setting boundaries Families have found it helpful to set a boundary around “eating disorder talk”. Tell your loved one that you would like to limit the influence that the eating disorder has on the family. For instance, Jane and her son Daniel agreed that they would only spend 15 minutes a day talking about the eating disorder and its effects. In the past, Daniel would repeatedly ask his mother, “Am I fat?” which would lead to frustration, since no matter what Jane said, Daniel still felt he was overweight. As the eating disorder talk is reduced, Jane and Daniel have more time to discuss Daniel’s interests, such as his love of art. This conversation improves Daniel’s selfesteem and helps him to feel more competent in an area independent of the eating disorder. This kind of discussion also helps Jane and Daniel develop a better relationship that is not just focused on the eating disorder. The whole family is able to resume activities and discussions that help them feel competent again. Once everyone realizes how pleasurable these other activities and discussions are, the eating disorder talk diminishes over time until it is silenced altogether.
Coping with ambivalence towards recovery One of the core features of the eating disorder is ambivalence or “mixed feelings” towards weight gain and changing eating disorder behaviours such as vomiting and excessive exercise. Families find
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this ambivalence to be extremely frustrating and confusing. For example, John feels confused that his partner Alexa says she will get therapy one day while the next day she denies that she needs help. John tells Alexa that she must not “love him enough” since she doesn’t make an effort to commit to treatment. A point to keep in mind is that the ambivalence expressed by your loved one should not be taken personally. Alexa’s ambivalence about therapy does not reflect her feelings about John. People with eating disorders often have great difficulty changing behaviours that they see as positive. For example, Alexa purges in order to cope with stress at work. Encouraging the person afflicted with the eating disorder to identify the pros and cons of change may help you to gain a better understanding as to why they are ambivalent regarding change. Identifying what are seen as advantages to the eating disorder helps people to work together to identify strategies for positive change. Knowing that Alexa uses purging to relieve stress, John can begin to encourage Alexa to talk directly about her troubles at work and together they identified alternative ways of dealing with stress.
Self-care strategies Family members of people with eating disorders often overlook their relationships with each other and forget to look after themselves. An analogy that I find helpful is that on flights passengers are always advised in emergencies to put on their own oxygen masks before helping a co-passenger. Similarly, family members of people with eating disorders should make sure that they look after their own physical, emotional, relational and spiritual needs. Otherwise, they will in the long-run find it more difficult to support others. One strategy for improving self-care is to identify key people in your circle of family and friends who will listen without blame and judgment when you speak about your struggles. Surrounding
Maintaining hope Although the eating disorder can have a negative effect on families, there is also a great deal of hope. It takes tremendous courage and perseverance to live with the eating problem as it can have such terrible effects on both the family and your loved one. However, people with eating disorders do get better, although their paths to change may differ. Families too are able to grow and find strength as they help each other in battling the eating disorder. Although this article describes some strategies that may be useful, it is important to trust that you are the expert on this journey. It is important to honor what you have learned from this experience and to continue to use the constructive coping strategies that work best for you and your family. By trying various strategies, and joining support or advocacy groups, many families find that they can develop relationships that are no longer dictated by the eating disorder. Many families will come out of this experience to find that they are brought closer to their loved one. CS National Eating Disorder Information Centre 200 Elizabeth St. 7ES-421 Toronto.ON. M5G 2C4 www.nedic.ca yourself with supportive people will also help reduce the tendency that families often have of blaming themselves. Joining a group can also be very helpful. For example, you may benefit from being in a family support group, educational group or advocacy groups for families. Families who feel unsupported and judged by their own friends and extended family may find support groups particularly helpful in making them feel less alone as well as learning valuable coping strategies from people who have shared your struggles. Another invaluable resource is an advocacy group for families. Such groups typically focus on raising awareness about eating disorders and lobbying for better services and improved resources. It is every family’s right to have services for themselves and their loved one with an eating problem. Advocacy groups empower families by giving them an enhanced sense of control over the eating disorder and effective strategies for navigating the health care system.
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City of Ottawa and provides public transportation to nearly one million people in the National Capital Region. As one of North America’s safest transit systems, we
are committed to making our service a secure and enjoyable experience for the thousands of people who rely on us to get to work, school or other activities every day.
OC Transpo provides a comprehensive service that includes: • A conventional bus fleet of over 800 buses that are low-floor equipped and 100% wheelchair accessible; • A light rail system known as the O-Train, which currently operates three trains on a citywide north-south line, with an additional 8 trains approved for deployment in 2014; • Almost 50 kilometres of dedicated bus-only traffic lanes and Transitway system with priority traffic signal controls, accessible only to OC Transpo and emergency vehicles; • Fourteen Park and Ride locations with over 3000 parking spaces available for commuters; and • Para Transpo fleet of 91 vehicles that provides door-to-door service for people with disabilities. With so many options available, OC Transpo is increasingly becoming a commuter choice within the City. On any given weekday, our Transit Operators provide excellent service to over 200,000 customers. We are committed to an environment that fosters mutual respect between our Transit Operators and customers. Whether you’re travelling across the city, over provincial lines into the Gatineau region, or remaining in the downtown core, OC Transpo values the safety, security and peace of mind of its passengers as top priorities.
But we can’t do it alone.
Public transportation is an employee-passenger partnership that requires the active participation of both transit employees and passengers to ensure everyone’s safety and security. Think about it like this: if you are a regular user of transit, you know when things are right. You likely see the same faces every day and you may even know your driver. You know your bus stop and the route your bus follows on its regular schedule. You also know the average time your trip will take from start to finish. If you are alert and pay attention to what’s going on around you, you will surely be able to notice an unusual situation or suspicious behavior.
Consider the following: For every one Transit Operator driving a bus or operating a train, there could be 60 passengers better situated to spot something out of the ordinary: a fight at the back of a crowded bus, for example, or a suspicious package left on a seat. For every one Transit Supervisor monitoring service at a Transit Station, or five Transit Special Constables patrolling the Transitway, there could be thousands of people – waiting to catch a bus, walking home after a busy day or long commute – all potentially in a better position to spot something suspicious, dangerous or criminal in nature. A traffic accident, for example, a violent act, or a crime in progress: transit employees and passengers are often the first witnesses when something occurs on public transportation.
These are only a few examples that highlight the importance of keeping communication open and positive between transit employees and the public. OC Transpo has many safety and security programs and features in place to safeguard transit employees, customers, and the public. One such example is the Transit Special Constable Program, part of the Transit Safety & Enforcement Unit at OC Transpo. On April 2nd 2007, 39 OC Transpo Security Officers were sworn in as Special Constables. Since that time, ten additional Special Constable positions have been added to the force. Working in partnership with the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), Transit Special Constables are sworn peace officers and hold the powers of the police to enforce the Criminal Code of Canada, the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, the Liquor License Act, the Trespass to Property Act, and the Safe Streets Act, on or in relation to, all transit property and vehicles.
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The Transit Special Constable Program is a 24/7 operation with the following mandate: • Protect transit employees, customers and property; • Preserve the peace; • Prevent crime and offences; • Promote public safety and awareness; and • Help people in need of assistance. To achieve this mandate, Transit Special Constables work in partnership with OPS and Emergency Services, in addition to the many internal branches at OC Transpo – the front line employees the public see, and can count on everyday to put out a safe and secure service. Transit Law Special Constables work closely with Communications Officers, who operate out of the Transit Law Communications Center, the hub for all security operations at OC Transpo. Working to support the Transit Special Constables, Communications Officers monitor surveillance cameras, communicate real-time information to the Officers on the road, and dispatch assistance and resources like 911 Dispatch. Operating out of an advanced facility, Communications Officers utilize over 450 surveillance cameras throughout the city to proactively observe, detect and prevent crime. The images captured by these cameras have been used to aide in solving crimes by numerous law enforcement agencies including the RCMP, OPS and CSIS. City Officials have attributed a 32% reduction in crime on Ottawa’s transit system to the Transit Special Constable Program and the advancements made to the Transit Law Communications Center. The Communication Center receives more than 20,000 calls for service annually, and that number continues to rise all the time. “We don’t attribute it to more crime,” says Program Manager and Chief Special Constable Kimberly Weston-Martin. “We attribute it to the fact that people feel more secure, and feel that somebody can do something about it now”. Transit Special Constables also work with many community groups and outreach programs, such as Crime Stoppers, United Way and the Salvation Army; in addition to local school boards, university and college security forces, and many other security agencies around the city.
Through shared information with OPS, and other partners, Transit Special Constables are well informed and better able to anticipate safety and security issues and fulfill their mandate. Another interesting safety and security feature employed at OC Transpo is Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). This approach – which uses concepts from urban planning, architectural design, social science and physical security – aims at reducing crime by making areas less appealing to criminals. According to the National Crime Prevention Institute, the proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime. OC Transpo supports this approach and has incorporated CPTED principles – both naturally occurring and engineered – into the use of space, lighting, sightlines and access points at transit properties and stations. Additional safety and crime prevention initiatives at OC Transpo include: • Transecure, a community watch program on wheels that provides a safe haven on any OC Transpo vehicle to people in distress, and encourages employees to actively look out for the community; • Night Stop, a program featuring designated and well lit stops that are centrally located in stations and close to yellow emergency call boxes, and direct access pay phones, capable of reaching Emergency Services at no charge. After 9pm, these stops are used instead of regular bus stops at transit stations. For passengers not at stations, the Night Stop Program also includes special request stops – meaning, if you don’t feel safe getting off at your regular stop at night, you can request to be let off closer to your destination; • Passenger Assistance Alarms, which provide customers on board articulated buses (60 foot, or double-long buses) a system to notify the Operator when there is an emergency at the back of the bus; • Enhanced mobile communications, including a fleet 100% equipped with radio and GPS technology, so that every OC Transpo vehicle on the road can be accounted for, communicated with, and located quickly and easily; and • Safety awareness campaigns for community groups and students, including Operation Lifesaver, a program designed to educate the hazards surrounding rail property and trains.
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In the near future, OC Transpo will be implementing Designated Waiting Areas (DWAs) as a pilot project to enhance security at transit stations. As part of this project, five transit stations across the city will be chosen to house the new DWAs. Incorporating principals of CPTED, DWAs will be located in accessible areas, sheltered from the elements, equipped with increased lighting, and clearly signed and identified. Similar to the Night Stop program, the DWAs will be in close proximity to yellow emergency call boxes and/ or direct access pay phones.
As of December 1st 2011, OC Transpo officially launched Transit Watch, a new safety and security awareness campaign. Currently in place in Calgary and Edmonton Transit, as well as numerous transit authorities in the United States, Transit Watch is the current best practice in transit safety and security initiatives, and is recognized across North America. Working in partnership with the Transecure Program, Transit Watch will bridge the gap between transit employees and the public in terms of providing awareness and information about noticing out of place objects or behavior, monitoring suspicious activity, and responding appropriately to potentially dangerous situations.
Currently in place in Toronto, Waterloo, and many other transit companies across North America; like Transit Watch, the concept of a DWA is easily recognizable. More importantly, DWAs provide a solution to one of the main issues with the existing Night Stop program: crime doesn’t only happen after nine. OC Transpo supports the message that safety and security is not something to think about once and forget – it must be taken into consideration in everything we do – get involved, because transit safety is your business. CS For more information about OC Transpo, please check our website at: www.octranspo.com
The Transit Watch message is simple: safety and security is everyone’s business. The Transit Watch program embodies the employeepassenger partnership earlier described, and encourages the active participation of both transit employees, passengers, and the public to promote and maintain a safe and secure environment. In contributing to the security equation by providing thousands of extra eyes and ears, Transit Watch is a collaborative approach towards enhancing awareness, security and response, with an end goal of getting people involved, alert, informed, and prepared. And while it’s true that your bus or train Operator may not be able to see everything, everywhere, every time; as a passenger, you can, and should be aware of what to do in any situation.
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FEATURE
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What is a concussion? A concussion is a brain injury that affects the way you think and remember things for a short time. It can cause many symptoms, but they can’t be seen on x-rays or computed tomography (CT) scans.
What causes a concussion? Any blow to the head, face or neck, or somewhere else on the body that causes a sudden jarring of the head may cause a concussion. Some examples are: being hit in the head with a ball or being checked into the boards in hockey.
What are the symptoms and signs of a concussion?
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A person does not need to be knocked out (lose consciousness or pass out) to have had a concussion. In younger children, the signs and symptoms may not be obvious. They may have stomach pain or upset. Their behaviour may change. They may not have headache or
Šcopyright iStockphoto.com | Nikada
show problems with thinking.
When can children return to school after a concussion?
Sometimes children who have a concussion find it hard to concentrate in school, and may get a worse headache or feel sick to their stomach if they try to learn. Children should stay home from school if their symptoms get worse while they are in class. Once they feel better, they can try going back to school for half days at first. If they are okay with that, then they may go back full time.
What should you do if a child gets a concussion?
Make sure he stops playing the sport right away. Do not leave him alone. Make sure he sees a doctor as soon as possible that day. If he’s knocked out, call an ambulance to go to a hospital immediately. • Do not move him or remove sport equipment, such as a helmet. • Wait for the paramedics to arrive. • • • •
How long will it take to get better?
The signs and symptoms of concussion often last for 7 to 10 days. Sometimes they last much longer, even many weeks or months. If your child or teen has had a concussion before, it may take longer to heal.
How is a concussion treated?
The most important treatment for a concussion is rest. That means no exercising, bike riding, play wrestling with family or friends, playing video games or working on the computer. Your child or teen may have to stay home from school because schoolwork can make her symptoms worse. If she goes back to school or resumes activities before she is completely better, her symptoms could get worse or take longer to go away. Even though it is very hard for an active person to rest, this is the most important step. Once he is completely better while resting, he can start to increase his activities slowly. It is important to see a doctor before returning to activity.
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After a concussion, when can my child or teen return to school?
Sometimes people who have a concussion find it hard to concentrate in school. They may get a worse headache or feel sick to their stomach if they try to learn. Your child or teen should stay home from school if her symptoms get worse while in class. Once she feels better, she can try going back to school for half days to start. If she’s okay with that, she can go back full time.
When can my child or teen return to a sport?
Children should not go back to sports if they have any symptoms or signs of a concussion. They must rest until they are completely back to normal. After they feel normal and have seen a doctor, your child or teen can then go through these steps to gradually increase activity: 1. Complete rest until all symptoms are gone. 2. Light exercise, such as walking or stationary cycling, for 10 to 15 minutes. 3. Try a sport-specific activity (such as skating in hockey or running in soccer) for 20 to 30 minutes. 4. Move to “on field” practice, such as ball drills, shooting drills and other activities with no contact (for example, no checking and no heading the ball). 5. Once cleared by a doctor, move to “on field” practice with body contact. 6. Game play. No child should go back to a sport until they have been cleared to do so by a doctor.
Each step must take at least 1 day. If your child or teen has any symptoms of a concussion (headache or feeling sick to the stomach) during the activity, he should stop the activity immediately and rest for 24 to 48 hours. He should be seen by a doctor before starting the stepwise plan again.
When should a child go to a doctor?
Every child who gets a head injury should be seen by a doctor as soon as possible. If your child or teen has been diagnosed with a concussion, it’s important to return to a doctor immediately if symptoms get worse, such as: • • • • • • •
S o u rc e : C a n a d i a n P a e d i at r i c S o c i e t y , D e c e m b e r 2011. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHILD AND YOUTH HEALTH AND SAFETY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CARINGFORKIDS.CPS.CA & WWW.CPS.CA MORE INFORMATION FROM THE CPS: IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHILDREN WITH SPORT-RELATED CONCUSSION, A STATEMENT OF THE CANADIAN PAEDIATRIC SOCIETY. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL OR PROVINCIAL INJURY PREVENTION CENTRE OR WWW.SAFEKIDSCANADA.CA FOR MORE INFORMATION.
more confusion, a headache that gets worse, vomiting more than once, not waking up, having trouble walking, experiencing a seizure, or behaving strangely.
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Problems caused by a head injury can get worse later that day or night. Do not leave your child or teen alone and check on her through the night. There is no need to wake her up during the night, unless there is a concern about your child’s breathing or sleep. If she seems to be getting worse, see a doctor immediately. CS
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hat is stopconcussions.com? stopconcussions.com is an online concussion/neurotrauma educational and awareness platform to address the growing trend of concussions in sports. It is a portal that players, parents, coaches, and officials can visit to seek information regarding concussions, with the goal of becoming more aware and ultimately safer individuals in their respective sports. stopconcussions.com will have sport specific programs to help change the mindset of the sport, not the game. Former Philadelphia Flyers captain, Keith Primeau and former European professional hockey player, Kerry Goulet officially launched stopconcussions.com on May 4, 2011 at the Hockey Hall of Fame. The main goal of this organization is to raise the awareness on concussions and the impact they are having on our youth today. Also to raise the awareness of the impact of putting players, in any sport, back into the game too early. As Keith and I began talking about concussions and head trauma over 5 years ago, we started to get calls from concerned professional players, youth trainers, coaches, parents, and those suffering from this invisible injury. We realized that they felt very confused and distraught by the overwhelming abundance of information and at times, misinformation. As we are both post concussion sufferers, as well as a parent and coaches of youth athletes we too, at times, became overwhelmed and confused as to where to turn for advice and information. Since Sidney Crosby, one of the best hockey players in the world, was injured we have been made more c r i m e s e n s e m ag . c o m
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aware of the problems concussions bring into our lives. It is important for you to learn more about this injury since we can’t see it, smell it or touch it. Only you can tell your parents, your coach or the doctor how you feel. Understand it is not COOL to hide it and we no longer just suck it up. It is okay to talk about how your head feels after a fall or a bodycheck. Today it is important to take concussions seriously. It is important to understand that a concussion is a brain injury and must be handle immediately and effectively. As a young person playing sport or participating in individual activities you must be aware of the dangers of hurting your head. That is why Keith and I have approached this issue from an inside-out concept; players helping the medical and sports world understand the injury. We also have a great medical support team with Dr. Robert Cantu and Chris Nowinski along with a tremendous research team headed up by Dr. William Montelpare. We have added Malcolm Sutherland to handle all of our educational platforms for coaches. He helped created the TIPS manual with myself and Dr. Montelpare. Stopconcussions has established an alliance with Shift Concussion Management to launch the first complete SCC Concussion Care Clinic located at the Chesswood Arena in Toronto. This is a 24/7 clinic to deal with concussion issues in all sport. Here is the toll free number 1-855-223-1002. As you read further you will get a true understanding of the injury and Keith answers some questions about concussions and the myths!
What is a concussion (say: kun-kuh-shun)?
A concussion is when you hit your head really hard and temporarily hurt your brain. We don’t always get concussions when we hit our heads because our brain is protected by our hard skulls and floats in a special protective fluid. But, if you hit your head hard enough, your brain can shift inside your skull and can bounce against the skull’s boney surface.
Symptoms
A concussion changes the way your brain works and how you feel. If you hit your head hard enough, you may feel dizzy or shaky, get sick to your stomach, be confused, or have trouble remembering what happened. You may even feel like you’re in a fog and have a headache. Sometimes you can be unconscious (knocked out or passed out) for a short period of time. This could mean you’ve had a concussion.
Keith answers some questions about concussions and the myths! Question: “I suffered a concussion in my game last night. People say I took a vicious elbow to the head, but I don’t remember the hit at all. Once I got off the ice and into the dressing room I felt really dizzy and threw up once. I still have a really bad headache today. I’ve heard about the symptoms of concussions but never realized they could be this bad!”
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Keith: “It sounds like you took a pretty hard blow to the head. Elbow’s to the head usually cause your brain to rotate in your skull causing more damage. As for your symptoms, they may feel un-bearable right now but they will get better with rest and recovery. It is important to keep your daily activity very low key to allow your brain time to rest.” Question: “Last game I was skating behind the net during warm up. I guess I wasn’t watching the players shooting because I got hit in the side of the head by a slap shot. My legs buckled from under me and I fell to the ice. I got up and tried to shake it off. I remember getting hit but everything after that is kind of blurry. I have a real bad headache too. Could I have a concussion?” Keith: “Ouch! Sounds like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time! Your symptoms and the fact that you lost control of your muscle control indicate that you have suffered a concussion. Helmets go a long way to prevent these injuries but they can’t stop everything. Just imagine how bad this could have been if there were no helmets! Make sure you have a properly fitted good quality helmet to lessen the chances of suffering a head injury.” Causes: Your brain is kind of like jelly and it floats in a fluid that helps protect it from everyday shakes and bumps. A hard thump to your head can cause your brain to slide into the inside walls of your skull. You can even get a concussion if you get hit in the neck, face or body because these can cause a sudden jarring of your head. Even a sudden stop, like bumping into the boards, can bounce your brain around and cause a concussion.
Other Problems from Concussions
Getting your first concussion is bad, getting another one is worse. Getting another concussion will make you feel worse than the first time and it will take a lot longer to get over it.
Question: “I had my first tryout with a Jr. B team last night. The players are all a lot older and bigger than I’m used to. One hit really rang my bell and I have not been feeling like myself today. I really want to play the exhibition game tonight, but I have heard that if I get hit hard again I could hurt myself even more. It would be better to wait for the next tryout after I have some rest.” Keith: “You should definitely listen to your conscience and take some time off. Junior B is a big step up for someone who isn’t used to the size and speed of older players. You need to make sure you are 100% healthy before returning to play or you run the risk of getting hurt again, and this time it could be much more serious.”
What Can You do if You Think You Have a Concussion?
The first thing is to stop doing what you’re doing and tell an adult, like your parents or your coach. Let them know what happened and how you feel. For example, you hit your head on the ice and now you feel like being sick or you’re dizzy.
Question: “I was crashing the net hard and tripped on someone’s stick which caused me to crash headfirst into the boards. The hit really dazed me, and I feel really confused. I’ve been having the season of my life and the scouts have even been talking about me. I don’t want ruin a chance at the OHL by telling the coach I don’t think I should keep playing, but I don’t want to ruin my life either if I keep playing…” Keith: “There are some injuries that you may be able to play through the pain with, but injuries to your brain are different. If you keep playing you are much more likely to suffer a second concussion, and in such a short period of time this would be devastating to your health. You are young and there will be plenty more opportunities to impress the scouts. You want to make sure you are 100% healthy to be able to show them your full potential, and playing with a concussion does not allow you to play your best.” Question: “I’ve had concussions before, and it always felt like a guessing game on when I should be able to play again. About a month ago I suffered a more serious concussion and the doctor gave me some strict guidelines to follow. This took the guessing out of deciding when it was the right time to return to hockey, and I am thankful for it because when I did return to play I felt like I had done the right thing to protect my brain.”
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Keith: “Recovery timelines for concussions, like you said, are hard to determine. Return to play guidelines are useful because they give you tangible steps to follow as you progress through your recovery. Seeing as you have had concussions before, it is important that you take all the time necessary to heal and not rush back to play. It sounds like you have done this and most likely are performing at 100% now that you have let your brain fully recover.”
Hockey Tips: Playing Again
If you’ve hurt your brain it’s going to take some time to get better. Your parents and doctor can help you with this. You’ll need some extra rest and will have to take it easy for a while. If you take now you’ll be able to play a long time. Here are some steps to help you get back in the game! 1. No activity, complete rest. Once you get the okay from your doctor you can go to step 2 2. Light exercise such as walking or stationary cycling, for 1015 minutes. If you feel really good after doing this then you can move onto the next step 3. Hockey-like activity (e.g., skating), for 20-30 minutes. Again, if you feel good and nothing hurts, then it’s onto step 4 4. Practice activities like puck-handling and shooting drills but with NO CONTACT (no checking). If you’re still doing really well and feeling good then you can move onto step 5 5. Once your doctor says it’s okay you can practice with body contact. If that goes well, and you don’t feel anything like you did when you got your concussion then you can go onto the last step. 6. Get Back in the Game!
Concussion Awareness Drills
stopconcussions.com has been developed to educate management, administrators, coaches, trainers, officials, parents and players on the cause, effects, consequences and management of concussions and is also responsible to gather research to facilitate information on concussions, injury prevention and safe hockey behaviours. You as a coach are the second line of defence (after your trainer) for assessing this invisible injury and by working hand in hand with your trainer and the parents you will help us reduce the incidences of concussions in our game.
Be the Best Skater You Can Be! Having strong skating skills lets you: • Keep your balance when you make contact with someone else • Develop a strong core/body that lets you handle making contact in all situations • Improve your turning and pivoting skills • increase opportunities to play at higher levels of hockey Head Up – Head on a Swivel! Keeping your head up allows you to: • See everyone and everything around you so you can avoid accidental contact • See where your teammates are so you can work with them and help them keep their heads on a swivel • See where your opponents are on the ice so you can apply strategies for success through effective positioning
We have developed a full library of drills designed to help teach proper hitting techniques and establish the principles in concussion awareness on ice and off. We have created a training program that helps prepare athletes in there off season to deal with concussions. By adopting our stopconcussions.com principles you have not only made an investment in your own team but the future minds of the world. There is life after hockey and we want to secure that players understand if they educate themselves, they are more prepared to deal with this invisible injury. By being proactive as a team manager, coach, trainer and player you will be able to manage the injury more effectively and thus reducing the opportunity of long term effects and most importantly getting you player back on the ice healthier and clear of mind! Our youth program has two distinct parts to help change the mindset of our sport. As concussions are the leading concern in hockey or for that matter all sport, we need to return to the basics and stopconcussions.com along with the Play it Cool Hockey research team has created a comprehensive platform to help all involved develop a safer game. Stopconcussions.com has designed a complete coaching protocol, including drills and small area games and Play it Cool Hockey has created a system to help collect research data so we understand our game and concussions better. Dr. William Montelpare, Keith Primeau and myself have developed a three-lesson plan that provides your organization with the tools to make prevention a part of your daily coaching practice: Lesson 1 – Skating Lesson 2 – Awareness Lesson 3 – Risk Management and Risk Reduction Here are the critical points needed to be taught. You may have seen these before but we have tailored them to prevention first and skill development second.
Always From in Front, Not Above the Shoulders! Checking from in front with your hands and stick down shows: • Respect for your opponent • You know how dangerous checking from behind and to the head are • You understand the rules of the game and that these types of checks are bad penalties that can hurt you opponent and your team Know the Danger Zones! Knowing the danger zones means you: • Understand the meaning of the term “the checking perimeter”, and are aware of the location of the checking perimeter • Know to keep your head up and head on a swivel when near the checking perimeter so that you can avoid collisions and injuries Angle, Angle, Angle! Approaching the boards on an angle helps you: • Rub your opponent off the puck and stay with the play • Keep your head on a swivel making your field of view of much larger • Keep skating after you’ve retrieved the puck Be Ready for Contact! Being prepared lets you: • Communicate with your teammates so everyone is ready when contact is coming • Be ready to initiate and receive contact by keeping your legs moving and your core strong • Keep your head up, and keep your head on a swivel in order to expect contact Heads Up! Don’t Duck! Smashing your face will prevent you from breaking your neck! • Getting your arms up when going into the boards lets you absorb the impact of hitting the boards • Getting your arms up when going into the boards lets you avoid going head first into the boards and helps you keep your chin up CS
Written and presented by Kerry Goulet The following guidelines are designed to help you get the most out of your game for yourself and your players.
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o lose a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. To have a child die by suicide is worse than what most of us can imagine.
Over the past year, the Ottawa community has been moved and galvanized by a number of high-profile suicides of adolescents. There is a growing sense that ‘enough is enough’—as a community, we must find ways to protect our children and youth against this risk and to bring the issue of youth suicide out of the shadows. The Community Suicide Prevention Network came together in early 2011 to better coordinate existing services—like those provided by hospitals, child and youth agencies, public health, police, school boards and mental health programs—and to find new creative ways to make Ottawa a ‘suicide safer community’. In February 2012, the Network hosted a youth suicide prevention summit for Ottawa. The Network recently produced a mini-guide for youth, parents and adults who work with young people. It’s called Know What to Do and focuses on simple tips for responding when a young person is going through a crisis or having thoughts of suicide. Here are some of the highlights.
Know what to watch for Mental health experts advise parents to watch for changes in behaviour in their children and teens. These are the kind of changes that many parents have come to expect with the upheaval of adolescence. But they should not be taken lightly. Parents should keep communicating with their teenagers and watch for an overall pattern that can include: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Changes in behaviours, friends, or normal activities Changes in physical health and/or hygiene Low energy, poor concentration Declining school performance Increased absenteeism Marked personality change Increased risky behaviour Prolonged negative mood or attitude Sudden positive mood after a long period of being ‘down’ Preoccupation with appearance and/or body image Comments about feeling worthless, helpless, or hopeless Comments about suicide and/or dying
Sometimes when a person makes the decision to end their life, they will feel content, making their friends and family feel that they are suddenly better. Since young people are focused on their peers, it may not be an adult but rather a friend who notices what’s going on. All kids and teens should be encouraged to speak up if they are concerned about a friend—to tell a trusted adult, whether their own parents, a friend’s parent or a teacher, guidance counsellor or coach.
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Know what to say
Emergency services
Do ask the young person directly if they are thinking about or have thought about suicide. The experts are clear that asking directly will not put them at greater risk of suicide.
Some other tips from the experts are: • Stay calm and listen • Be sensitive to how the person is feeling • If you have noticed warning signs, talk with the person about what you have observed • Give the person the crisis line phone numbers above • Don’t forget to take care of yourself – it’s especially important when supporting others.
So if a parent, teacher or friend is noticing these changes, what can they do? Sometimes it’s not easy talking to our kids. Professionals who work with youth suggest being patient, compassionate, and non-judgmental. Be sensitive, but direct, and let the young person know you are concerned. A way of opening up the topic might be: “I’ve noticed that you’ve been not yourself lately, I’m concerned about you. Could we talk about it?”
Young people having thoughts of suicide may tell friends but ask them to swear secrecy. Parents can let their children and teens know that this is one situation where they should never keep a secret. It’s more important to save their friend than to save a friendship.
Know what to do
If your efforts to communicate are not working—or reveal that your child or teen is having suicidal thoughts, is depressed or in crisis—parents should know that they don’t have to handle the situation alone. Consult a professional. This could include calling a crisis line, making an appointment with a counsellor, and getting in touch with the young person’s school. Parents can initially talk to a crisis line, counsellor or psychologist on their own, if their teen is not willing to cooperate.
If you or someone you know is facing a life-threatening emergency, you should call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. The Regional Psychiatric Emergency Services for Children and Youth are located at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Emergency Department, at 401 Smyth Rd. Adults should go to an emergency department of either the Ottawa Hospital, the Montfort Hospital, or the Queensway-Carleton Hospital.
Note: To get copies of the free Know What to Do guide, please contact the Ottawa Public Health Info Line at 613-580-674 (TTY: 613-580-9656, Toll free: 1-866-426-8885) Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.
Crisis Lines in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario YSB’s 24/7 Crisis Line For children, youth and families Within Ottawa 613-260-2360 Outside Ottawa 1-877-377-7775 (toll-free) www.ysb.ca/crisisline (0 to 18 years) Mental Health Crisis Line Within Ottawa 613-722-6914 Outside Ottawa 1-866-996-0991 (toll-free) www.crisisline.ca (16 years and above) Tel-Aide Outaouais Gatineau: 819-775-3223 • Ottawa: 613-741-6433 Rural Outaouais: 1-800-567-9699 (toll-free) These crisis lines respond 24/7 and can often connect you to other services. For example, the YSB 24/7 Crisis Line, geared to children, youth and parents, has a mobile team that can go onsite to defuse a crisis. They will also follow up to connect the family and young person to appropriate services.
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participants in the Community Suicide Prevention Network’s summit – writing their ideas on a banner
Making our community ‘suicide safer’
What does it mean to create a suicide safer community? The framework was developed by the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. It’s a community-wide approach to addressing what is not a simple issue. Preventing suicides means not only having services in place and easy to access for those in crisis, but promoting the health and wellness of all citizens. In other words, prevention starts with developing good mental health and resiliency, especially in children and youth.
youth speaker “Peter” at theCommunity Suicide Prevention Network’s summit.
The work of the Community Suicide Prevention Network is being supported by all levels of government, with start-up funding from the province of Ontario and the City of Ottawa, as well as CHEO, the Royal and the Youth Services Bureau. All four local French and English school boards are members, as are the Ottawa Police Services, the United Way, parent groups and members of the media. The Network’s Know What to Do guides were recently sponsored by Bell.
The Network’s action plan has a 3-year timeline, but in the meantime, there are many resources available to parents and those who work with youth. Below is a round-up of some of the services available and actions already being taken. (Information on the Network is available on Facebook.com/ preventingsuicide and Facebook.com/prevenirlesuicide.)
CHEO
The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario is a pediatric health and research center in Ottawa that provides family-centered patient care and research. CHEO is the home of psychiatric emergency services for children and youth in Eastern Ontario, and its practitioners believe that “there is no health without mental health.” CHEO’s Mental Health Program provides a range of specialized mental health services for children and youth, including prevention, early intervention and more intensive diagnostic and treatment services.
Specialized clinical services:
• Inpatient services, which include a 15-bed adolescent unit (ages 13-17) and a 10-bed children’s unit (ages 12 and under). Both units provide crisis stabilization, assessment and transitional care. • Emergency Services, which provides psychiatric emergency, crisis intervention and urgent services. • Behavioural neuroscience consultation and liaison, which provides mental health consultation and intervention for children and youth who have both medical and mental health issues affecting treatment or recovery.
Specialized outpatient services:
• Mood and Anxiety Clinic • Dual Diagnosis Clinic • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/Disruptive Behaviours Clinic • General Mental Health Clinic • Section 23 Day Treatment Services for children and youth who have severe mental health needs which interfere with attendance at regular schools. These Day Treatment programs are delivered in partnership with M.F. McHugh and Le Transit schools. • Outreach Services are provided to Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. Services are provided through regional clinics and telehealth services. • Health Promotion / Early Intervention Services, which includes Youth Net/Réseau Ado, a program run by youth for youth for the promotion of mental health services and the facilitation of access to mental health services.
Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa
The Youth Services Bureau (YSB) is accredited by Children’s Mental Health Ontario, which means it has a rigorous approach to working with youth, measuring the results and keeping up with new knowledge in the field. Yet its mental health services have a relaxed, youth-friendly feel that puts teens and young adults at ease. YSB plays an active role in suicide prevention efforts, having worked for some years with the Ottawa Suicide Prevention Coalition and now co-chairing the Community Suicide Prevention Network. YSB’s free, bilingual mental health services include: • Youth Mental Health Walk-in Clinic • 24/7 Crisis Line for children, youth and families in Eastern Ontario • Youth and Family Counselling Services • Home-based and school-based programs The YSB’s Walk-in Clinic is a great way to access counselling without a waiting list, and also may help a skeptical teen to ‘try out’ getting professional help. The Youth Mental Health Walk-In Clinic accepts youth ages 12 to 20, their parents and/or guardians, who can be seen individually or as a family. It’s free, and it’s open every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 8 PM (last sessions start at 6 PM) at 2301 Carling Avenue, 2nd floor.
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YouthNet
YouthNet Ottawa is a regional mental health promotion and intervention program run by youth, for youth – created with support from Dr. Ian Manion and Dr. Simon Davidson, from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. YouthNet’s objectives are to help youth develop and maintain proper mental health, instill coping strategies for dealing with stress, and decrease the stigma attached to mental illness. YouthNet focuses on doing this through education and intervention. YouthNet educates service providers, families, the community, youth, and policy makers on youth mental illness issues. YouthNet has the tools to help identify youth in need of an intervention in order to prevent a tragic situation. For fastest service, the best time to walk in to the Clinic is at noon or early afternoon. Clients spend approximately 90 minutes with a counsellor and leave with a written summary of the session, including strengths and skills that have been identified, and ideas for moving forward. Clients have a range of concerns including depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, bullying, identity issues and family conflict. The YSB’s 24/7 Crisis Line gets about 6,000 calls a year, from young people and from worried parents. Its team works closely with hospital crisis services, and includes a mobile team that will, when needed, come to a caller’s home or meet a young person in a place where they feel safe. Their number one goal is to make sure each young person is safe. They work to defuse the immediate crisis and try to get agreement on a plan for the next steps—connecting the young person and/or family with mental health or medical services. YSB offers a long-term Youth and Family Counselling Service and several other mental health programs. YSB also has a downtown Drop-in, shelters and health clinic to serve youth living on the street or in unsafe conditions. YSB runs youth justice programs for youth in trouble with the law—including those with mental health issues—and employment programs. More information is available at www.ysb.ca. The 24/7 Crisis Line number is 613-260-2360 and outside Ottawa, 1-877-377-7775 (Toll Free)
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YouthNet has several initiatives in place to help youth understand mental health and develop their skills: • recreational activities, such as visual arts and creative writing; • a summer program exploring the benefits of using outdoor activities; • Girls Talk sessions structured around topics such as stress, self-esteem, media and body image; and • Guys Talk sessions promoting mental health, coping strategies, anger management skills, and employment strategies. For more information: http://www.youthnet.on.ca/
The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
The earlier a person receives treatment for mental illness, the better their chances for recovery –this is a fact that The Royal knows well. As an organization specializing in mental health care and research, The Royal knows the importance of addressing mental health issues early in life and is working to help people in the community do just that. The Royal has several programs related to youth mental health and suicide prevention. Is It Just Me? is an educational program that brings high school students to The Royal to learn about mental health. The students hear from other young people who share their experiences with mental illness; from clinicians who explain the signs of mental illness and what to do about them; and
from researchers who explain exactly what goes on in the brain. The aim is to demystify mental illness, empowering young people to talk about mental health and ask for help when they need it. The Royal is also home of D.I.F.D., a youth-driven program focused on raising awareness and inspiring conversations about youth mental health. Created by friends and family of Daron Richardson who lost her life to suicide at the young age of 14, D.I.F.D. is inspired by hope for a future where young people will reach out for help without fear or shame. D.I.F.D. supports research and initiatives aimed at transforming youth mental health. The Royal also works closely with other community organizations as the co-chair of the Community Suicide Prevention Network, aimed at making Ottawa a Suicide Safer Community. Of course, as a mental health centre, The Royal is directly involved in the treatment of youth who are suffering from severe mental illness. In addition, some of The Royal’s current research projects study suicidal ideation in youth and mental health education in high schools. Depression, which is one of the most common mental illnesses among youth, is also a key focus of The Royal’s research. For more information, visit www.theroyal.ca and www.difd.com, or contact Karen Monaghan, Communications Manager, 613-722-6521 ext. 6449, karen.monaghan@theroyal.ca.
Ottawa Public Health
Suicide is a major public health concern. As a result, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is an active member of the Community Suicide Prevention Network, the Ottawa Suicide Prevention Coalition, and is partnering with many organizations to help make Ottawa a Suicide Safer Community. OPH’s 32 Public Health Nurses have an active presence in Ottawa schools, as they work in every Ottawa school in all four publicly funded school boards. Public health nurses visit each school at least once a week, and provide youth with the opportunity to identify and address health issues that are relevant to them. Not surprisingly, youth often identify mental health as a significant concern. By planning, organizing and leading activities to address their own health issues, youth develop a sense of belonging within their schools as well as resiliency.
OPH is currently partnering with Ottawa schools, to provide programming to build resiliency and reduce risks of suicide in youth. The program entitled “Healthy Transitions” will run in grade 7 or 8 classes in all four Ottawa area school boards. The program aims to increase youth’s positive coping skills, enhance knowledge of mental health, and provide knowledge on how to stay mentally fit. As well, OPH delivers the Playground Activity Leaders in Schools (PALS) program, which combines daily physical activity, bullying prevention and social skills development to enhance the physical and mental health well-being of elementary students. To promote the optimal mental health of young children, OPH has partnered with Crossroads Children Centre and Centre Psychosocial to pilot an integrated early years screening program for children ages 18 months to 4 years. This pilot will provide enhanced early identification of developmental, mental, social, and emotional issues in young children, with the objective of reducing the percentage of children who are not ready for school. Further, OPH is financially supporting YSB’s mental health walk-in clinic, and YouthNet/Réseau Ado at CHEO, allowing more youth and families to get support. CS For more information on OPH programs and services, please visit ottawa.ca/health or call Ottawa Public Health Information at 613-580-6744 (TTY: 613-580-9656). You can also connect with OPH on Twitter (@ottawahealth) and Facebook for the latest public health information.
Other Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Resources Bereaved Families of Ottawa www.bfo-ottawa.org Centre Psychosocial www.centrepsychosocial.ca Canadian Mental Health Association–Ottawa Branch www.cmhaottawa.ca Crossroads Children’s Centre www.crossroadschildren.ca Distress Centre – 24-hour line 613-238-3311 www.dcottawa.on.ca Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre www.ottawainuitchildrens.com Ottawa Suicide Prevention Coalition www.ottawasuicidepreventioncoalition.com Parents’ Lifeline of Eastern Ontario www.pleo.on.ca Student Support Leadership Initiative http://www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca/about-mentalhealth/school-based/ssli Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health www.wabano.com
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I
s your summer job search underway? Whether you’re dreaming of a job in the sun with the local tourism office or gearing up for long days sweating it out in a busy marketplace, you may end up handling plenty of cash. Are you ready for that? Because it’s not just about doling out the correct change. It’s about knowing your money. Maybe you take it for granted, but the cash in your wallet is jam packed with technology to protect it against counterfeiting. Never given counterfeiting much thought? Think a forgery, fake, phoney, funny money isn’t a big deal? It is.
Programs for Schools and the Public Canada’s Currency Museum plays a key role in fostering confidence in the cash that we use every day. It helps us to grasp the value of money and
Studies show that most counterfeits are passed in the retail environment. That makes cash handlers the first line of defence against counterfeiting. Whether it’s a $5 or $100 bill, making, knowingly having, or trying to use a counterfeit is a criminal offence that is punishable by up to 14 years in jail. Organized crime groups are often behind the production and distribution of counterfeit bills, and the profits they make from counterfeiting often fund other serious crimes in your community. No one wants that. So do your part to stop crime. Spotting a counterfeit depends on knowing and routinely checking the security features on genuine bank notes. Now is a really good time to learn because the Bank of Canada is in the midst of rolling out a new series of polymer notes. Maybe you’ve already heard of Canada’s switch from paper to bank notes printed on this smooth, light-weight film. The new $100 came out last November, and the $50 was issued 26 March 2012. The $20 will be out late this year, and the $10 and $5 by the end of 2013.
economic concepts that aren’t necessarily easily understood. Since not everyone can visit
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the Museum in person, several programs are designed to be delivered externally. No classroom or community is out of reach.
Counterfeit Detection Kit A curriculum-based program that teaches how to tell a real note from a counterfeit. The kit includes engaging activities, presentations and lesson plans, while providing a useful job-readiness skill.
So get to know Canada’s new money and add an important job-readiness skill to your resume.
(for grades 10 to 12)
Inflation Busters A fun and dynamic lesson on how economics affects us all. (for grades 9 to 12, CEGEPs and community colleges) For other programs and for more information, visit www.currencymuseum.ca.
Feel, Look and Flip Feel, Look and Flip is a phrase that reminds you how to check key security features on the new $100 and $50 polymer notes.
Feel •
Feel the smooth, unique texture of the note. It’s made from a single piece of polymer with some transparent areas.
Look • •
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Look for transparency through the large window and the outline of the frosted maple leaf window. Look at the details in the metallic portrait and building in the large window.
Flip •
Flip the note to see the metallic portrait and building repeated in the same colours and detail on the other side of the large window.
For more information including videos on polymer notes and how to check the security features of paper notes, visit www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes.
Dealing with Suspicious Money
So once you’re hard at work in that new job, check your notes and prevent a counterfeit from ending up in your till or in a customer’s change. And remember that anyone could have a counterfeit and not know it.
Be professional and careful not to accuse someone of trying to pass a fake. Advise the client that you suspect the bill is counterfeit and can’t accept it. Ask for another bill and check it too. Suggest that the client take the suspect bill to local police for verification. Once they’ve left, inform your boss who will also contact police to report a possible attempt to pass a counterfeit. These simple actions will help put counterfeiters out of business. CS Used with the permission of the Bank of Canada www.bankofcanada.ca
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An executive summary of life course of youth gang members. Written By: katharine kelly, ph.D associate professor clerk of senate carleton university
his study examined the life histories of 16 gang-involved young men and youth from the Ottawa area using in-depth interviews. The focus of the project was the institutional supports provided to youth and whether youth were receiving supports. Institutional support included schools, recreation, spiritual/religious support, and health and mental health. We also considered parenting and community factors. The research also looked at the structure and roles in gangs, how youth entered gangs and the benefits and challenges of being gang involved. Overall, youth received considerable support but despite this were not protected from becoming gang involved.
Schools were key sites for support and integration and they were also places where youth acted out. Schools employed a range of responses to youth who had school-based problems. All schools responded to the problematic behaviours but were less effective in addressing the underlying causes. About half the participants were referred for assessment of learning disabilities and for mental health problems and half were not. One key area where support seemed to be lacking was mental health support. Here we found that immigrant youth do not seem to have been screened for exposure to trauma and thus no plans were made to address these traumas. But, we also found cultural resistance to seeking mental health care and to accepting mental health diagnoses. The initial lack of assessments, in turn, impacted on their integration into Canadian society and, in particular, to their involvement in the educational system. Schools assessed some individuals but not others. It is not clear why this occurs and this requires further investigation.
300 McGill Street Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9J 1W5
Phone: 705 743-3911
Email: branson@bransonmachine.com  hepburn@bransonmachine.com
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©copyright iStockphoto.com | duncan1890
Efforts need to be made to increase awareness of cultural differences especially around issues of respect. These misunderstandings contribute to conflict in the schools and the community and to immigrant youth getting into trouble.
Youth had access to recreation and most participated – all at school and about half in the community. Access in the community was limited by resources, by knowledge about programs and opportunities, and by challenges for working parents (most of whom did not have cars) to get youth to programs. Youth “time out” of recreation programs around age 14 or 15 which is the same age at which they are becoming actively gang involved.
one specific risk was that all participants report hanging out with gang-involved youth in the neighbourhood on the sports fields and being exposed to violence and drug dealing. Most youth had involvement with religious institutions in that they attended services. But, full involvement was impacted by access factors – youth often had no means of getting to services unless they were taken by an adult – and by a disconnect between the challenges of their daily lives and the issues that their various faith groups addressed. Most began to drift away from attending services in their early teens.
Parenting was raised by participants as a major challenge. Specifically, the youth felt that their parents had expectations that teachers and other adults in the community would be working with them to supervise young people. But, this did not happen and, as a result, they were not made aware of the problems youth were facing or the risks they were exposed to. For example, one specific risk was that all participants report hanging out with gang-involved youth in the neighbourhood on the sports fields and being exposed to violence and drug dealing. They felt that in their countries of origin their parents would have been warned by others and here they were not. This made it easy to hide what was going on from parents. They say the Canadian approach of individualising responsibility for children was in conflict with a model where responsibility is more community-based. To address this they recommended educating parents about the system. In addition, they felt parents would benefit from information on the warning signs of drug and alcohol use and of gang involvement. For youth themselves, an issue that they felt needed to be addressed was hostility in the wider community to youth who are immigrants or marginal to society and bullying (teasing) at school. Efforts need to be made to increase awareness of cultural differences especially around issues of respect. These misunderstandings contribute to conflict in the schools and the community and to immigrant youth getting into trouble. Communities also mattered. While all communities have some resources, there were few resources for older youth. This is likely to be challenging since this is an age where youth are anxious to be doing less structured activities and in developing their own competencies in less structured surroundings. Communities are also where youth came into close contact with drugs, drug dealers, and gangs. This has to be addressed. If only by letting youth and parents know the problems and risks. CS
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ife is wonderful, but at times it can be difficult. Trying to be yourself while fitting in with a particular crowd, and also being the person that your parents want you to be can prove to be quite challenging at times. It’s bad enough you have to worry about things like peer pressure, acne and your voice changing. Now, imagine all of those things happened at the exact same time; besides making for the most awkward date known to man, chances are it would also make you into a very stressed individual. We all get stressed out from time to time, but it’s how you cope with it that matters. Exercise through sports, doing brain teasers or just hanging out with friends are great stress busters. There are however, some activities that many believe will reduce stress, but will actually only increase its levels and further deteriorate your health. Unless prescribed by a licensed physician, make sure you ALWAYS say nope to dope! Getting high should only be reserved for pilots and their passengers. Sadly, a growing trend has emerged in an attempt to ‘soar’ without the use of a plane or any type of drug. Youth (from as young as 9, all the way to 19) are engaging in what is known as ‘The Choking Game’; where a person commits an act of self strangulation (either alone, or in front of a group), through the use of objects such as: belts, rope, ties, scarves and extension cords. The ‘high’ occurs after the strangulation ends, and oxygen rushes back to the brain. In some cases though, the only rushing that occurs is to the hospital, or even worse still. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) cited more than 80 deaths/year related to this game from 1995-2007. The stats are shocking; the worst part is that many people have never even heard of this game before. ‘86% of parents report not knowing about the Choking Game prior to their childs involvement’. It’s imperative that everyone becomes aware of these types of trends and know how to read the warning signs when they are happening in front of you. CS For more detailed information about The Choking Game, how you can become involved with preventative initiatives and educational resources on how to keep such a dangerous ‘trend’ from being a contracted word for tragic end, check out these great sites: www.gaspinfo.com/en/home.html (Organization) www.tweenparenting.about.com/od/ healthfitness/f/ChokingGame.htm (Info) www.chokinggame.net It may be referred to as a game, but there’s no joking when it comes to choking. Remember, life is beautiful.
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BLAST TUNNEL Measuring 387 ft. in length it was built to divert the shock wave for a nuclear blast away from the main doors.
T
he sound of sirens fills the air as the announcer’s voice declares an emergency situation throughout Canada. This is what you would have heard had there been an
actual nuclear attack on Ottawa during the Cold War. As guides play this warning, they watch the excitement and fear grow on visitors’ faces as the aged broadcast carries through the room, static crackling from a 1960s radio. These are the thrills of the CBC Studio; just one of many rooms that visitors, especially youth groups, like to visit.
There is no doubt that the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum is a unique and quirky place to experience. It abounds in mystery and people are increasingly drawn to tour the halls of this subterranean Cold War relic. Remarkably so this year, as more and more requests trickle in for “End of Days” celebrations, signaling the approaching end of the Mayan calendar and, fortunately for the museum, a renewed interest in fallout shelters.
Built from 1959 to 1961, the purpose of this 100,000 square foot building was to protect government and military officials in lieu of a nuclear attack, on downtown Ottawa. This monument lends credence to the threat of nuclear war on Canada during the height of what could have become the most devastating of wars for the world.
the bunker
Today, thanks to dedicated volunteers in the community, the Diefenbunker has become a living museum and a National Historic Site where people can learn about the Cold War. These volunteers, many of whom still work here today, certainly give this museum an edge over other historic sites. As some of them offer guided tours of the bunker, they have the opportunity to share with groups their own personal experiences of the Cold War and of working in the bunker. This truly impresses on people the influence of the Cold War on Canadian society, deepening their overall understanding of Canada’s role during the Cold War period.
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The Diefenbunker does not only reserve itself for guided tours. The museum also offers a range of youth programs from birthdays to high school workshops. With anti-bullying messages gaining prominence in the media, the Diefenbunker strives to develop varied programs that remain educational but relevant to the public. A conflict resolution workshop is in the works and will be offered to elementary and secondary level school groups. What better place to learn conflict resolution than in a place that would have been right in the thick of international conflict during the Cold War?
WAR CABINET ROOM This is the room where the Prime Minister, the Governor General, and 10 cabinet ministers would have made crucial decisions about Canada’s actions in the Cold War. This is also where we offer our High-school workshop on Continuity of Government.
NBC SUIT
Stands for Nuclear Biological Chemical suit. This suit would have been worn by military officials who had to go outside after a nuclear blast, to protect them against radio-active fallout. Reasons for going outside were 1) to bury clothing of survivors who could have arrived at the bunker with radio-active particles on their clothing (taken off in decontamination area), or 2) to make their way to the shed to get the bulldozer used to unblock the main exit of debris (should there be debris trapping people in the bunker).
Participants will simulate a lockdown scenario inside the Bunker, where their decisions will determine the fate of a Cold War world. For this, students will have to work together as a team, building important skills in communication and leadership. The museum’s ever-growing library and archives, makes it an invaluable resource centre for students and Cold War enthusiasts alike. Not to mention, the period style exhibit spaces are great sets for filming!
Diefenbunker
Canada’s Cold War Museum P.O. Box 466, 3911 Carp Road Carp, Ontario K0A 1L0 613-839-0007 or toll free 1-800-409-1965 www.diefenbunker.ca
This small rural community museum has grown exponentially in the last few years and its programs and events continue to reach new audiences daily. As exciting changes are still underway, it will be interesting to see what more this museum will offer as less of its visitors will have lived through the Cold War. CS
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Working to build a safer city. Partnering to make it happen. At Crime Prevention Ottawa, we know there is strength in numbers. We work closely with government, police, school boards, businesses, community services, child protection, the United Way and local residents to reduce crime and build safer communities. Our vision? To create a city where individuals, families and neighbourhoods feel safe and are safe.
How we do it
Our work is based on collaborative, evidence-based approaches to crime prevention. We bring together the latest research and professional experience to prevent crime. Our priorities? • to reduce violence against women • to reduce crime in high risk neighbourhoods • to focus on youth in high risk environments We do so by building partnerships, supporting local initiatives and promoting policy solutions. We foster community action. We know that together, we can make a difference.
Safety starts at home
Join us in building a safer Ottawa. Whether you’re one person or part of a community organization, you can support efforts close to home. How? Get involved: Take part in efforts to combat violence against women, prevent youth gangs and empower young people. Implement safety initiatives in your own home or neighbourhood. Use the Neighbourhood Toolkit: This practical guide offers tips and advice on dealing with issues such as drugs, identity theft, domestic violence and street racing. Access it on our website and learn how to start a Neighbourhood Watch program, organize a community clean-up, and much more. Sign up for our newsletter: Find out about the latest crime prevention initiatives, events and other community safety news. Register on our website to receive our newsletter by email. www.crimepreventionottawa.ca