As we are well into the fall season, we hope you have been able to enjoy the cooler weather and changing leaves. | Families Matter Research Group Interactive Series Did you know we co-host virtual events with the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) throughout the year? Our most recent one was a panel discussion about the needs of children and youth in public safety families. You can watch the recording here: | Warrior Kids Camp - Wounded Warriors Canada An evidence-informed program that builds resilient children and youth impacted by a parental Operational Stress Injury (OSI). The Warrior Kids Camp and Virtual programs consist of two formats – a 6 week psycho-educational virtual group and a two-day in person overnight camp delivered at various locations in Canada. The programs have been developed to support children aged 8-16. | Kids Grief - Canadian Virtual Hospice A free online resource that helps parents support their children when someone in their life is dying or has died. It equips parents with the words and confidence needed to help children grieve life’s losses in healthy ways. | Strongest Families Institute Strongest Families stands with people in their most challenging moments, offering them practical tools and compassionate support to guide themselves, their family, or their children through emotional struggles. They are dedicated to making mental health solutions accessible and personalized, helping families create a peaceful, resilient environment where every child can grow and thrive. | Our Promotional Products We have worked hard to create some great Garnet Families branded products to give out at the many events we attend. From stickers and temporary tattoos to information folders and tote bags, we have a wide variety of items for people to take home at events. Here are a few of our branded products: | | | The Garnet Families branded folder holds information about us, sector-specific resources, as well as stickers and temporary tattoos tailored to the event's audience. The folder has our contact information printed inside, and a QR code to our important links printed on the back. | | | | The animals represented in these sector-specific stickers were chosen in collaboration with personnel within each sector. Currently, we have a sticker design for police, paramedic, fire, communications, corrections, search and rescue, and military. | | | | To go along with our sector stickers, we also have temporary tattoo versions of each design. These are very popular with children and adults alike. We have an otter design for communications, and a different dog design for each of the other sectors. | | | | Our Garnet Families tote bag features a line drawing of the animal for each sector with our logo in the center. Perfect for colouring in, or leaving as is. These totes have been a hit at recent events. | | | If you would like to promote Garnet Families at your event or would like us to attend, please reach out to Lisa by email at lisa.delaney@queensu.ca. If we can't attend the event in person, we are happy to ship promotional items to you. | Dr. Nathalie Reid (PSPNET Families) recently accepted an appointment as Assistant Professor, Trauma-Informed Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Regina.This appointment will complement, and was complemented by, her appointment as the Director of the Child Trauma Research Centre, University of Regina on October 1, 2024. While Dr. Reid’s research program centers the experiences of educators in conversations around wellbeing in schools, her role as the Director of the Child Trauma Research Centre at the University of Regina has brought her to engage in research in 6 priority areas: child and youth mental health and wellbeing; prevention and intervention with children and youth; educators, education, and students’ mental health and wellbeing in schools; the pre- and-post migration traumas of refugee and immigrant children, youth, and families; climate trauma; and supporting public safety personnel families. She engages in leading-edge, strength-based, and responsive projects that seek to innovatively engage with, support, and sustain the health and wellbeing of children and youth, as well as those entrusted with their care. She also focuses on innovative knowledge translation and mobilization to ensure that the research serves those for whom it is intended. Learn more at www.childtraumaresearch.ca. Read more about the Garnet Families team | | HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS | Awards and Recognition We would like to take time to celebrate some of the incredible acheivements of those on our team over the past several months! | Linna Tam-Seto received the Connaught New Researcher Award. Dr. Tam-Seto, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, received this award for her project “The effects of occupational stress injuries on the children of women Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces.” Dr. Tam-Seto is also a valued member of our research team.
With this award, Tam-Seto will explore the effects of occupational stress injuries such as traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, acquired during Canadian military service, on the children of women Veterans. | | Rose Ricciardelli was named a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). Dr. Ricciardelli is a Memorial Univeristy sociologist, and is the first person to be named a fellow of CAHS from the Fisheries and Marine Institute at the univeristy. We are proud to say that Dr. Ricciardelli is also a researcher with Families Matter Research Group. The CAHS fellowship is considered an incredible honour in the Canadian health sciences community, and recognizes creativity, leadership, and a dedication to advancing the health sciences field. | | Hybrid Partnership Meeting Ahead of CIMVHR Forum 2024, our team hosted a hybrid meeting for those involved in the Garnet Families partnership. Thank you to our partners who were able to join us virtually and in-person! | | | We had a great turnout at the Garnet Families Partnership meeting. | | | | Important discussions were had about the future of the partnership. | | | | So many stripes! We made sure to document the unplanned matching outfits. | | | | Alyson Mahar, co-director of the Garnet Families Partnership, hosted the virtual attendees, while Director Heidi Cramm led the in-person group. | | | CIMVHR Forum 2024 Our team had a wonderful time at CIMVHR Forum in Winnipeg. Many team members had podium and/or poster presentations at the conference, showcasing their important research. Garnet Families co-hosted the Families Roundtable with CIMVHR, which had an incredible turnout of participants and sparked some great conversations and connections. We are grateful to Queen's University for allowing us to use their information booth to highlight the Garnet Families Network and Partnership, as well as other great things going on at Queen's. This conference gives our hybrid team dedicated time to come together every year, and we had a great time catching up and working together in-person! | Looking to participate in a research study? | Project Title: Exploring the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members and Veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST) While it is well known that sexual trauma increases the risk of negative outcomes for many populations, there is a lack of understanding of how military sexual trauma affects 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans. We would like to talk to you about your perceptions and experiences with sexual trauma during military service. If you would like to participate in the study, we would like to talk to you for approximately 60-90 minutes, or if you have questions, please email ot.militarystudy@utoronto.ca. This project is being funded by a Department of National Defence, Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Targeted Engagement Grant. This study has been approved by the University of Toronto Health Sciences Research Ethics Board under Protocol 46402 and by the DND/CAF Social Science Research Review Board under the approval number SSRRB #2158/23F | Check out the Special Issue of the Journal of Military, Veteran, and Family Health (Vol. 10, No. 4; April 1, 2024). Articles in this special edition highlight emerging research, innovative approaches, challenges, trends, and future directions in the field of military family health research. Dr. Heidi Cramm and Prof. Nicola Fear were Guest Editors for this edition and provided invaluable expertise and support. Many Families Matter Research Group and Garnet Families researchers had their work published in this issue of the journal. If you haven't already, we encourage you to have a read. Read the Special Issue Listen to episodes of the CIMVHR podcast, Beyond the Battlefield. Hosted by Dr. Nicholas Held, each episode of the Beyond the Battlefield podcast features conversations with leading researchers and/or those with lived experience about issues affecting military personnel, Veterans, and their families. Episode 1: “We serve too: Families beside the uniform” with Heidi Cramm and Nicola T. Fear. Episode 2: “Who's stoking the home fires? Gendered expectations of military families” with Deborah Norris and Linna Tam-Seto. Episode 3: “Ask us what we need: Involving service families in the research process” with Laryssa Lamrock and Sharon Lawn. Episode 4: “Constant change: The impact of service life on children and care partners” with Danielle Post and Marg Rogers. Episode 5: “Who am I? The complex identities of military and public safety family members” with Nathalie Reid and Rachael Gribble. Episode 6: “Intentionally inclusive: Seeking diverse perspectives to strengthen military family research” with Ashley Ibbotson and Vince Connelly. Listen to the podcast episodes | We had the privilege to participate in a variety of events over the past several months including: TEMA Foundation Nova Scotia Education Day RMCP Mental Health Week Education Events Public Safety Canada Health Fair Correctional Services Canada Mental Health Week Events Ontario First Responder Mental Health Conference York Paramedics Mental Health Event Corrections Ontario Wellness & Peer Support Days Toronto Police Association Family Wonderland Day Wellth Management Podcast Corrections Ontario Family Days UCCO-SACC Ontario Symposium Ontario Police College Mental Health Awareness Evening & March Past Correctional Services Canada Peer Support Training St. Clair College Rise Above Conference Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs Fall Symposium We've been honoured to participate in family days, peer support and wellness events, multi sector conferences and international forums across the country over the past few months. Thank you all for the warm reception, conversations, and trust you've placed in Garnet Families as we work to respond to the community needs through knowledge sharing and community building. If you have an upcoming event where there is the opportunity to spread awareness of Garnet Families and PSPNET Families please contact Lisa at lisa.delaney@queensu.ca so we can determine together ways we can participate. | | | | |
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