WriteForward Team Update

The WriteForward project team is delighted to welcome Berniece Gowan as Project Coordinator. Berniece has joined us to cover for Deanna Jager while Deanna is on leave. Berniece has spent the last 11 years in and around the community adult literacy field. In her 10 years working as a project manager with Literacy Alberta she was primarily involved with providing support, training and professional development to adult literacy/learning practitioners.  During that time she had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jenny Horsman, a community educator and researcher whose focus is on the impact of violence on learning. The work with Dr. Horsman created an opportunity for Berniece to integrate the previous 20 years working as a social worker in the non-profit community with the knowledge she was gaining about literacy. Finding creative ways to build literacy awareness into services and programming that address the complex needs of vulnerable populations continues to be a passion for Berniece. Berniece has spent the past year working with the team at Campus Alberta Connections, Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education on a number of projects connected to the community adult learning system. She is truly as asset to the WriteForward project.

Please join us in welcoming Berniece to the college and department.

My BVC is a community where people take care of each other

Post written by Sandi Loschnig, Adult Literacy Research Institute, CEFL

Calgary’s downtown core is slowly returning to a new “normal.” Here and there, puddles of silty water still remain, sludge-filled reminders of the flood that surged through the city only weeks ago. The Central Library remains closed, the unmistakable smell of mud and wet books wafting from within.

One block away at Bow Valley College, campus life is resuming in a tentative, shell-shocked way. The downtown college was evacuated and all four buildings closed from June 21 to July 4. Our rural satellite locations were also hard hit. Outside of the city, the High River campus hopes to reopen soon.

On Thursday, July 4, Bow Valley College president Sharon Carry welcomed staff back to the downtown campus and announced that learners would return to classes on Monday, July 8.  She began by thanking Bow Valley College staff who have been working 24/7 to get the college up and running again - the IT department, maintenance, security, management and faculty.

"This has been an unprecedented time for the College and our great City. The floods have certainly tested our limits, but have also revealed a resourcefulness, humanity, and commitment to service that really exemplify Bow Valley College. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to our learners, faculty, and staff who have been incredibly supportive and patient while we have worked to get the College back on track." (Press Release, Bow Valley College, July 5, 2013)

The College community came together in countless ways to help each other during the crisis. Not only did people work endlessly on fixing our campus, but we also extended our support in each other’s homes and communities by providing food and shelter, wading in on the clean-up, caring for pets and even washing much needed laundry.

It’s been almost a month since the most severe flood in over one hundred years swept through Calgary and large parts of southern Alberta. Whole towns and neighborhoods have been busy cleaning up, negotiating with insurance agents, and starting the hard work of rebuilding.

But it’s not over yet.

The long process of healing has just begun.  A natural disaster such as a flood has a huge impact on the emotional and mental health of individuals that were directly and indirectly affected.  During the first week that students were back in classes, Liz O’Shea, Coordinator, Counselling and Specialized Support, held several information sessions on the emotional and social impact of a natural disaster.

Faculty and learners alike may be experiencing stress. Right now, it might be normal to have heightened feelings of anxiety. When it rains, we might worry about flooding. Irritability, confusion, indecisiveness, shortened attention span and trouble concentrating - all are common following a disaster. These symptoms gradually decrease over time and most people recover.

However, O’Shea noted that some people may experience more severe reactions such as nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbing, panic attacks, rage and intense agitation. These may be warning signs that a person needs professional help.

What can you do?  

During the information session with learners, students suggested several ways of coping:

·         Exercise regularly

·         Eat nutritious meals

·         Get enough sleep

·         Do yoga and meditation

·         Spend time in nature

·         Talk to friends and loved ones

·         Look out for one another

O’Shea also recommended avoiding alcohol and drugs (they increase depression), spending time with positive people and reaching out to others for support. It is this final sentiment that Liz O’Shea spoke about when she said “My BVC is a community where people take care of each other.”

During the past few weeks, we’ve experienced many things:  the sheer power of nature; coping in the face of hardship; and the enormous generosity of strangers. The flood brought informal, unplanned learning into our lives requiring patience, care and working alongside one another. These will help us as we move carefully into the formal learning stream once again.

If you, or someone you know is experiencing severe stress reactions in the aftermath of the flood, there is help available:

Students - Bow Valley College Learner Success Services:  Room N231, Phone 403-410-1440, css@bowvalleycollege.ca

Staff – Employee Assistance Program, Forbes Psychological Services: (24/7) 1-800-420-2204

Distress Centre 24 hour Crisis Line: 403-266-4357

Online Resources

http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/Advisories/ne-pha-ahs-support.pdf

http://bowvalleycollege.ca/campus-services/learner-success-services/community-resources.html

www.learningandviolence.net/takecare.htm

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/handouts-pdf/Reactions.pdf

The Stories from the Field project is a research project that is collecting information and stories about teaching and learning practices in adult literacy and essential skills. Using interviews with practitioners and research, we will write articles highlighting current issues and innovative work taking place in adult literacy and learning throughout the province. Check out http://centreforfoundationallearning.wordpress.com/projects-in-progress/stories-from-the-field/ for more Stories from the Field.

Light Grey

I don't know what this post will look like by the final sentence, but I am writing it anyway. On Thursday, June 20, 2013, many of us were evacuated from our homes and workplaces. I had just dropped my daughter off at her end-of-season soccer party, and was about to stop for groceries, when I heard that Sunnyside was being evacuated. Within an hour, I was in my kitchen with three dogs, one whom had been neutered earlier that day, my eleven-year-old daughter, my one-year-old son, my husband, my mother, and my brother. 

There was no calm before the storm in my kitchen. My brother was pacing and needed a cigarette, my mom was making outrageous plans that we were all contesting, my husband was mumbling in Spanish, my daughter was panicked, my son was laughing at the madness, and Kyuubi the dog was attempting to lick his absentee package. 

In total disbelief that we would actually flood, I said, "I can't figure this out. I'm not leaving." 

"Jenny!" my mom yelled, "We have to leave. It's a mandatory evacuation." 

"Fine, you go and we'll catch up with you later. I can't do this. Kyuubi just had surgery, and I don't even know what to bring for Leo." 

"Mama, are we going to die?" my daughter cried. 

"Oh my god, no, we are not going to die." I screamed. "Calm down!"

Two hours later we were walking out of Sunnyside, car seat on stroller, dog with incision hobbling along, police on megaphone, line of cars.

Then texting Rousseau. Jennefer Rousseau. Online English instructor Rousseau. 

And so it was that we ended up in the basement of Jennefer's house. I don't know where we would have ended up without her and I am so grateful that she not only took us in, but also made us feel at home. She should set up a bed and breakfast with the way she cooks! And the kindness and concern did not end there. I was in constant contact with my team and with others from CEFL, through email, phone calls, texts, and in-person. Thank you so much to all of them. I am one lucky girl.

___________

The water that swelled and spilled into our streets, our homes, and our workplaces, has left its mark. We have thrown away chairs, photos, and documents. We have ripped out tiles, shelving, and drywall. After mopping, and bleaching, and spraying, and mopping more, our basements are still streaked with the light grey of mud. Most of the evidence that the flood ever happened, is disappearing and more quickly than I thought it would. We are all moving on, moving forward. There was a parade this morning and we are resilient. It's true, we are. But, things look different now. Our thoughts and feelings have been flooded too and I don't know how to respond to this new way of seeing. We are still streaked light grey and that's okay.

Washed up near my house.

My grandpa's briefcase.

My grandpa's documents and letters.

People's belongings in the streets of Calgary.

Maureen and I in the mud.

If anyone still needs help with clean-up or childcare or anything else, please let me know. I will lend a hand where I can. Thank you SO much to all my friends, family, and colleagues, who have gone over and above. You guys are amazing.