PAN’s first regional training took place this past week in Kelowna. PAN worked in partnership with Interior Health on this project, and send our thanks to Kate Fish and Maja Karlsson at IH for working with us on this event. We couldn’t ask for better partners.
Rel8 Okanagan folks use mime to portray the power of peer connection.
We met on the traditional territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) people, who started us off with songs and an urge to look after each other and ourselves with the strength of the water nearby. Thank you to Elder Grouse (Wilfred) Barnes and drummer Margaret Manuel for welcoming us to the territory.
Overall the training was a great success. People came into Kelowna from across the region, traveling from Kamloops, Vernon, Nelson, Merritt, Williams Lake, Penticton, Cranbrook and of course Kelowna. On the first day we had 40 participants including 10 Health Outreach Nurses from around the region, and the rest of the group was comprised mostly of community based organizations, both PAN members and non-PAN members. Maja Karlsson, Kate Fish and Jessica Bridgeman from the health authority also joined us. On day two we had a special health authority guest join us for the morning session, Lori Hiscoe, who manages the communicable disease department at Interior Health, so it was great to see her and have her participate.
The first day was a full day session with Vikki Reynolds (Resisting Burnout & Responding to the Darkness in Our Work). Vikki is a dynamic and spirited presenter. She takes you on a journey, bobbing and weaving, up one side of the mountain and back down the other side, and in between you cross a few rivers and run a few rapids. I was exhausted for her at the end of the day, but was also amazed and energized. It’s a heavy topic but her approach is unique and fascinating to experience. Participants really appreciated the session and were so incredibly grateful.
The second day featured a morning session with Alison Kyte from the Canadian Mental Health Association (Kelowna chapter) who was hired by the health authority to develop a peer support toolkit for HIV/HCV organizations. (PAN is working with Pacific Hepatitis C Network to provide the module on HIV/HCV stigma.) The toolkit is very comprehensive and has been a great collaborative effort from Alison and many community-based groups in the region. We look forward to sharing this tool with members when it’s released in the new year.
The afternoon of the second day was focused primarily on providing an opportunity for the community-based groups that were present to provide some overviews of the work that they do in the region. We used the Ignite format for these presentations because it’s fun, a little competitive and creates some real energy, which can be needed on the afternoon of the second day of a two-day training. Groups have 5-10 minutes to present, and are warned they’ll get cut off with a buzzer if they go over: ready, set go!
Everyone rose to the challenge beautifully and this series of Ignites didn’t disappoint. There were nine different presentations and there were some really great ones. A real highlight for me, and judging by the audience response, everyone, was the presentation by Mitch Hunter and Andrew Ehman from Rel8 (PLDI grads by the way and proud of it). They didn’t utter a word but we all had a clear picture of what they do, how they do it, and why they do it. There was a lively Q & A that followed the Ignites and it really was the perfect way to end the two days of training.
Thanks to everyone that attended from around the region, you were an amazing bunch. We left Kelowna inspired by the work being done and the commitment of all involved.
Suggested readings from the conference
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