Guest blog by Tandi van Tol, caseworker at Jewison House
At Jewison House, we are taking full advantage of implementing CARE principles in our sequential planning leading to the annual 3-mile race. CARE, Children And Residential Experiences: Creating Conditions for Change, was developed by Cornell University to improve services for people in care.
Jewison’s unit manager and I both personally benefit from running and usually enjoy making a big deal of the 3-mile race.
This year, we took things to the next level which was inspired through Jewison’s clinical director, Sophie Grahame, who is currently on medical leave.
If you are a runner, you will understand that running is so much more than just physically running. There are so many benefits for one’s mental health, and it builds an overall strength within that teaches a person to persevere through difficult times, and to show up even when you don’t feel like it. Belonging to a running community provides a sense of inclusivity and connectedness.
Sophie is an avid runner who was training for her first full marathon when she had to take a medical leave. I decided that Jewison House was going to run the 3 mile this year in support of Sophie.
Through this inspiration, we started off by designing a t-shirt for “Jewison’s Track Team”. A youth within the program designed the front logo for the shirt. Having shirts made will provide a sense of inclusiveness and team for the youth.
Running coach, Jen Ruland from Endurance Journey Coaching in Regina has volunteered her time for four weeks to teach the youth how to run. This has helped the youth to try something new and has helped build their self-esteem. This also contributes to strengthened relationships with the youth care workers at Jewison House who are fully on board with getting ready for the 3-mile race with the youth.
We have been able to implement many groups and colouring competitions regarding the 3-mile race and the valuable lessons we can learn through trying something new and different.
Stay tuned to see how our youth did at the May 16th run!
