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Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. They can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).Public arenas such as churches, schools, community agencies play an important role in protecting the health of community members, through their response, public awareness announcement, educational role, their own modelled health behaviours and their informed decision-making.On December 31, 2019, Chinese health authorities identified a new (or novel) coronavirus (referred to as 2019-nCoV) through a series of reported cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China. The disease is now spreading and has made its way to Africa, North America and Europe.This past weekend I observed three varying responses to the virus which concerned me:
- I observed a group of elementary children being lectured for 20 minutes on the threat of the disease, the likelihood that either they or their family members will be exposed to it, how contagious it is and that there is a 14% chance that if a family member gets it they will die;
- I learned of a single mother who was sent home from work and told she must stay home on unpaid leave for two weeks because a family member had recently returned from Hong Kong;
- I also read a social media group spreading many myths about the disease and cautioning everyone to avoid interacting with anyone of Asian descent.
In an effort to provide safety and protection, I encourage you to view health and safety from a broad and holistic perspective still embracing a compassionate and inclusive approach where we refrain from discrimination, undue hardship and causing fear and stress. -
Nov9Fri
Crisis Management -- Preventing a Fiasco
Guest Blog: Barrie Doyle, Crisis Management Consultant November 9, 2018Two stories popped up this past week that illustrate the need for heightened sensitivity and realization around crisis management and training. Both happened in Ontario but could have just as easily happened anywhere. -
We are often asked if schools follow the same standard of protection that Plan to Protect® recommends. Often the standards schools follow are the objections that Board members and leaders use to refute the best practices that are laid out in policies and procedures. How safe are our schools?
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Who do you reach out to when you need care and support?
Last week I was interviewed by a young journalist from Huffington Post and asked why victims of child abuse reached out to clergy to disclose their abuse. The interviewer was writing in response to recent disclosures of abuse: #MeTOO and #ChurchTOO.
As I responded to the questions, I thought of many individual cases of abuse where each individual disclosed their abuse to someone they trusted. Some of the names have been changed to protect the victims.
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A Toronto not-for-profit that specializes in providing inclusive sports and recreation programs has strengthened relationships between staff and clients by increasing its abuse prevention.
Variety Village runs inclusive fitness, sports and recreation programs for people of all ages. People of all ages use Variety Village. Programs range from activities for parents and infants to fitness classes for seniors. Elite athletes train there. Children return each year for summer camps and day camps.
This familiarity creates a family atmosphere, so the organization has to be diligent to avoid anything that could lead to allegations of abuse. Today, staff, volunteers and campers congratulate each other with high fives and fist bumps. All participants must check in and check out for camp programs, regardless of how long staff or volunteers may have known the campers. -
Rapid changes in youth culture and communication can make it hard for adults to know how to teach youth how to build and create healthy relationships. That's one reason why Southwestern Ontario YFC/YU prioritizes consistent training about abuse prevention...
This hasn't hurt staff and volunteers' ability to build good relationships with students, said Deller. Students may wonder sometimes why a staff or volunteer can't give them a ride alone, butthey understand when staff and volunteers explain the safety reasons for it. These are the same reasons why staff and volunteers give students side hugs or fist pumps instead of letting them sit on their laps or giving them hugs. -
An Ottawa-area church plans on spending part of 2018 teaching their community how to recognize and prevent elder abuse.Cedarview Alliance Church in Nepean has prepared workshops about the topic, with funding from the federal government's New Horizons for Seniors Program. The grant from Employment and Social Development Canada helps organizations deliver programs that benefit seniors, including public education about elder abuse.
"I think some people may be at the hands of abuse and not realize it," said Mills. Seniors need to feel confident to report suspected abuse. Community members need to know warning signs so they know when they need to contact someone if they suspect abuse. People are often more educated about recognizing and responding to child abuse than they are to elder abuse, said Mills. -
Jan12Fri
The heartbreaking story of Jules Woodson, who was sexually abused by her youth pastor 20 years ago
January 12, 2018Earlier today I received a Facebook share from one of our clients, which was entitled, “Memphis Mega Church gives standing ovation to pastor after apology for sexual assault.” I followed the link and began reading the heartbreaking story of Jules Woodson (she wants her name shared according to the article below) who was sexually abused by her youth pastor 20 years ago.
As more information about the Memphis Mega Church pastor, Andy Savage, who sexually molested one of the young people in his program 20 years ago comes out - we at Plan to Protect® are heartbroken for victim/survivors like Jules who have had to experience such traumatic incidences of assault.
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Nov8Tue
Professionally Speaking
Learning from Public Schools on staff disciplinary issues November 8, 2016All three of my children are teachers. My son teaches grade three students. My youngest daughter graduated with her Early Childhood Education. Victoria, as many of you know, is a licensed teacher in Ontario but is applying her education to abuse prevention and protection, as our Director of Training with Plan to Protect®.
Each month, we receive a few copies of Professionally Speaking: The magazine of Ontario College of Teachers. Each issue has inspiring articles on bullying, classroom management, and modernizing teacher education. We often try to integrate the learnings from the magazine into our training initiatives at Plan to Protect®.
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Jun30Thu
SOCIAL NETWORKING AND THE INTERNET - Minimizing Risk for children and youth and the churches!
June 30, 2016A father of a 12-year-old announced in our training seminar recently that he found over 400 text messages on his son’s phone from a male that was 30 years older than his son. He didn’t even know they were friends. Apparently this was an occasional helper at a youth drop-in center where his son would go after school.
