Swing into Spring is one week away!

A note for those who have purchased tickets: This is a ticketless event. Please sign in at the registration desk when you arrive. If your tickets were purchased through your organization, please check in under your organization’s name. Otherwise, please check in using your last name. Thank you.

We’re looking forward to seeing you on April 9th!

Time sensitive! Registration deadline Friday March 27th

At the end of March 2015, BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services will launch a new resource about weight bias and stigma for health professionals across BC, and we are seeking participants to support our evaluation!

What are weight bias and stigma?
Weight bias is defined as the negative weight-related attitudes, beliefs, assumptions and judgments toward individuals who are at the ends of the weight spectrum. Weight stigma is the possession of some attribute or characteristic – such as excess weight or being underweight – that is devalued in a particular social context.

What will I learn?
BalancedView is designed to enhance the awareness, knowledge and skills of health professionals in the area of weight bias and stigma, including:

• Describing some of the consequences of weight bias and stigma
• Learning about challenges experienced by people who are overweight or obese when accessing the health care system
• Exploring commonly-held beliefs about individuals who are overweight or obese and reflecting on personal attitudes about weight and shape.
• Describing strategies for implementing a health-centred approach in practice

How can I participate?
The evaluation phase will begin March 30th, 2015. The resource is expected to take 2-3 hours to complete. Participants will be asked to complete the resource by April 30th, 2015. Evaluation participants will receive up to $100 in honoraria for completion of the resource (including pre and post questionnaires), and brief follow-up questionnaires at 3 and 6 months. The total time commitment, including completion of the resource and follow-up evaluation questionnaires, is estimated to be 3-4 hours.

We are interested in getting participation from diverse health professionals including medical, mental health, allied health and public health professionals. If you are interested in being part of the evaluation of this resource, please submit your information by clicking here. The deadline for submission is Friday, March 27th, 2015.

For more information about this project, please contact Charlene King at charlene.king2@cw.bc.ca.

Dear Community Partner,

This community update is about recent announcements by the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation, and the Ministry of Justice.

Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (MSDSI)
MSDSI recently announced the following changes which will come into effect on September 1st 2015:

– Child-support payments will be fully exempt for families receiving income and disability assistance.

– The earnings exemption for families with children who receive income assistance will increase from $200 to $400 a month.

– The earnings exemption for families with a child with a disability will increase from $300 to $500 dollars a month. (Please note that families receiving disability assistance are already eligible for the Annual Earnings Exemption so this change does not apply to them.)

– Single parents receiving income and disability assistance will be able to continue receiving income assistance for up to 12 months while they train for a new job.

– Single parents receiving income and disability assistance will have access, through Work BC, to:
• Tuition and education costs for approved training programs that last up to 12 months for in-demand jobs
• Transportation costs to and from school
• Full child care costs during training

Please contact Robin Loxton at 604-872-1278 or 1-800-663-1278 if you have questions.

Minister of Justice
On March 12th, the Minister of Justice introduced the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act. If passed the Act will improve access rights and clarify rules covering the training and certification of guide and service dogs. The Act will also improve the tenancy rights of people who use guide and service dogs and will ensure that retired dogs will be able to continue to reside with their owners even if their owner has a new guide or service dog.

Please contact Jane Dyson at 604-875-0188 if you have questions.