East Kootenay Addiction Services Society

Thank you to the Foundry East Kootenay Youth Advisory Council for creating this video that explains what Foundry is all about. The Youth Advisory Council is a... very important part of Foundry. They are part of the overall decision team on what our Foundry is going to be? They have so much positive energy and they are looking forward to Foundry opening it’s doors. We are raising $1.4 million. To find out more or to donate please visit https://www.ekfh.ca/foundry-east-kootenay/

https://scopeblog.stanford.edu//did-covid-affect-your-use/

This is a bit lengthy but please take the time to read. As most of you know I am the Executive Director of the East Kootenay Foundation for Health. Pretty fanc...y title! That being said, what I really do every single day is fundraise. I AM A FUNDRAISER! For those of you who have known me for a long time you know that when I show up in your place of business, I am usually there to ask for money, a sponsorship, or a prize for our auction for one of the many events that we have. I have been doing this for over 25 years either through one of my many volunteer positions or through one of the non-profits that I have been so lucky to work for - Fort Steele Heritage Town, the BCSPCA, or the EKFH. Do I love my job?? I did until COVID-19. It has brought about a whole set of challenges that no one could have predicted. Especially in the fundraising world. Suddenly I miss organizing those events that kept me awake at night. I miss presenting to a room full of local businesses at the Chamber lunch or to the service clubs around the East Kootenay. I miss going for lunch with people selling them on the benefits of the latest project that we are working on. I miss driving to Golden to talk to people about the Golden and District Hospital and Durand Manor. There are so many things that I miss about my career. The way things used to be. Thanks to my amazing team at the EKFH office of Beth and Erin (forever grateful to these two amazing ladies) and all of our wonderful donors from the East Kootenay Communities, (the best communities in the in the world), we have had great success in 2020. In 2020 after COVD hit the world hard, we saw the East Kootenay come together to finish off our $1,000,000 SPECT CT Campaign. We are still waiting for it to be up and running but hopefully that will happen soon. We also saw the Elk Valley come together to raise over $300,000 in about 6 weeks, to bring, for the first time ever, an Ultrasound to the Elk Valley Hospital. It is already up and running! In December we funded an upgraded PCR instrument for the lab that increases COVID-19 testing and has a turnaround time of 2 hours to get results. For our 2020 Starlite Campaign we created the Not Alone Campaign to bring a Foundry to the East Kootenay. This is a walk-in wellness centre for youth that focuses on mental health and substance use but also has a wide array of other service for youth ages 12-24, including primary care and peer counselling. We kicked off the Not Alone Campaign November 1st, 2020. To date we have raised close to $500,000! Our goal to make this happen is $1.4 million. We have $900.000 left to raise. The support I see is overwhelming and I am overflowing with gratitude to every individual, and every small and large business who has supported everything that the East Kootenay Foundation for Health does. But I am worried. I know that we are all so hopeful that COVID will bugger off but it is taking its sweet ass time! The Not Alone Campaign is the MOST important campaign I have ever been involved in. We are losing more youth to suicide and over doses then ever before. COVID is just adding to the mental stress that youth are experiencing every day. I am determined to make this happen but I need your help. Yes, this is me with my fundraising hat on but this is also me speaking from my heart. If you can give, whether it’s $20 or $200,000, please do. If you know someone who I need to meet to tell them all about Foundry please introduce me. Even if Foundry saves one life, it is so worth this ask. It could help one of our own children or grandchildren. Help me reach our goal and make Foundry a reality. Yes, I am mentally exhausted just like many of you at this moment but I still have hope that we will raise this money within 6 months. These kids are our future and they need our help. I bet every single one of us knows a youth who has left this world way too early because of mental health or substance use challenges. Foundry will help so many people. Please visit https://www.ekfh.ca/campaign-oct2020/ to find out more or to donate. If you have ideas or questions please give me a call or a PM. Thanks for reading and please pass this on to as many people as you can. I know together we will build Foundry East Kootenay sooner than later!

Sold as down. Positive for benzodiazepines and high fentanyl concentration

PRICK! is a private and confidential on-the-spot STI testing event for gay, bi and trans men, Two-Spirit and queer people. For our Kootenay PRICK! events, an AN...KORS staff member will introduce you to an Interior Health Nurse who is able to provide tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis (A,B &C), HIV and syphilis. Nurses can also provide education, resources and referrals for other related health concerns (ie. other STIs and vaccinations, PrEP and mental health.) You can use your given name, fake name or initials the main focus is to create more testing options for people in our community. Call 1-800-421-2437 book an appointment

The Canadian Mental Health Association for the Kootenays is offering a two day ASIST Course in Cranbrook. Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) i...s an intensive, interactive, and practice-dominated course designed to help caregivers recognize and review risk and intervene to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. The course will be held on November 26th & 27th from 9am-5pm. The cost is $200 per person and includes materials. For more information and to register for this course please email [email protected] or call Natalie Hake at 250-426-5222 ext 3063 See more

An excellent announcement

Y Minds orientation session will be held tomorrow at the main offices of CMHA Kootenay

The Canadian Mental Health Association for the Kootenays is hosting a FREE three hour online event: The Cycle of Violence in Relationships and Identifying the ...Signs Mental, emotional and physical violence in a relationship occurs over time. Discover the pitfalls and warning signs, as well as options for healing and support in this online workshop. Instructor: Nikki Hemstad-Leete October 2nd 9am-12pm Please register at [email protected] or call 250-426-5222 Funding provided by Civil Forfeiture Grants

CMHA Kootenays is proud to partner with the East Kootenay Addiction Service Society and the YWCA of Greater Vancouver to deliver this 7 week group for teens aged 13-18. Y-Mind Teens is intended to deliver a program for teens who experience stress, worry, and/or mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety. This program is offered at no cost, and will provide participants with 7 sessions over 7 weeks. Please note that this is a closed program, and requires participants to be committe...d to attending these 7 weeks. The sessions will run for about 1.5 hours, and dinner will be provided at each session. The orientation session will be Wednesday, October 21st at 5:00-6:30pm, and the sessions will begin on Wednesday, October 28th from 5-6:30. The location of the sessions will be at CMHA-Kootenays main office 300-1000 21St Avenue North. Due to COVID-19 protocols, we will only be taking 6 participants at this time. If you have anyone who may be interested please encourage them to attend the orientation session, so we can meet with the teen, and gather more information from them.

We're holding an ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) workshop - check out our website for more details: https://kootenays.cmha.bc.ca/asist/ Att...ending this two-day course will train you to intervene with an individual who is suicidal. Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don’t need any formal training to attend the workshopanyone 18 or older can learn and use the ASIST model. This workshop is not recommended for people who have had a recent suicide loss.

Congrats to our Community Partner ANKORS for receiving non-profit organization of the year! https://www.facebook.com/watch/

Provincial services for those in health care impacted by overdose

Recovery Day BC - #OvercomingAddiction Virtual Festival this Saturday 6 pm to 7:30, a perfect time to gather in small gatherings over dinner and show. Streamed live right here. Everyone welcome. #StopOverdoses #RecoveryMonth #RecoveryDay

Our Invermere office is hiring a Youth Substance Use Counselor. Come work with us!

Our Invermere office is looking for a Youth Substance Use Counselor. Come work with us!

Today is Overdose Awareness Day. Last week we launched the Compassionate Action Modules and highlighted the #PEEP committee. We recognize that now more than ev...er, we need to work together. Check out the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiyYMXKbJL0 The Peer2Peer Project, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research #IOAD2020 #OverdoseAware