High River Flood Family Study

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker is hosting a FREE event to give back to kids in the community, to help enrich their lives through sport, play, and fun, and to help them learn important life skills. Do you have a child/children between the ages of 7-12 years? Do they want to want to learn or improve their soccer skills by receiving training from athletes from MRU's Mount Royal Cougar Athletics Men’s Soccer Team? Do they want to learn how to build resilience skills (perseverance) ...to help them bounce back when faced with any of life’s challenges both on and off the field, through fun child-centre activities? If so, please join us at the Building Resilience in Kids event on April 8, 2017 from 12:30pm to 3:30pm indoor at the Crescent Point Regional Field House in Aldersyde, Alberta. Kids will also receive a free Adidas soccer ball! Parents can either drop their children off, or stay and watch the fun. All are welcome! If you are interested please register at the link below: https://resilientkidsday.eventbrite.ca *Space is limited and tickets are given on a first come first serve basis. Those interested are encouraged to register early.

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker just launched a new study called Alberta Resilient Communities - ARC - Research Project. ***Her research team is currently in HIGH RIVER right now and are LOOKING FOR MOTHERS AND/OR FATHERS AND SCHOOL-AGED CHILD(REN) (5 TO 18 YEARS) who personally experienced the 2013 Alberta Flood, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY.*** Participation would involve a separate, private, and confidential interview with at least one parent and one child from each family (although all family members are invited to participate if they would like). Childcare is available for younger children or children not participating. Please see the poster below, for details. For more information or to participate please contact Dr. McDonald-Harker by phone at (403)828-5802 (call or text) or by email at [email protected]

If you want to help people in Fort McMurray affected by the wildfire, please consider donating money to the Canadian Red Cross. One of the preliminary research findings that has come out of this current High River Family Study, is that High River families needed *cash donations* most of all during the 2013 Alberta Flood (not just item donations). Here is the Canadian Red Cross website, and they have already set up a donation link. Thinking of the people of Fort McMurray who are being impacted by the wildfire, as well as the people of High River and other communities in Alberta for whom this is bringing up difficult memories of the flood they experienced just 3 years ago. You are all in our thoughts! #ymm #ymmfire http://www.redcross.ca

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker and Dr. Timothy Haney are now beginning to release the research findings from their study on the impact of the 2013 High River, AB Flood on the family. Overall, 151 participants were part of this study which utilized a qualitative research methodology. A total of 105 face-to-face interviews were conducted with High River, AB parents, and a total of 8 focus group interviews were conducted with 46 key community representatives from local non-profit organizations in High River, AB in order to better understand family members difficulties, struggles, strengths, coping strategies, and needs resulting from the flood disaster. Below is the first report- a brief research snapshot of the findings from the focus group interviews. Stay tuned for the release of more findings!

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker is part of a new study entitled "Alberta Resilient Communities" along with her co-researchers Dr. Julie Drolet from the University of Calgary and Dr. Robin Cox from Royal Roads University which is funded by Alberta Innovates Health Research. This new study examines resiliency among children and youth post-flood. They are looking for youth to be part of a resiliency innovation challenge/activity, which is one part of their study. If you are between the ages of 18 to 25 years and interested in sharing your ideas about resiliency, disaster risk reduction, and social innovation, please see the flyer below to learn more about this challenge/activity and how to participate.

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker and Dr. Tim Haney will be giving a talk this Wednesday March 25 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm at Mount Royal University, hosted by the Institute for Environmental Sustainability (IES). All are welcome to attend! Their talk is entitled: '"The River is Not the Same Anymore": Human-Environment Interaction in the Aftermath of the High River, Alberta Flood', and is based on their findings from this research study conducted in High River. This talk will be taking place in the Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning, in room EC1145. You can RSVP by emailing Paris Afshordy at: [email protected] Come on by if you are interested!