November 7th was Day 2 of the Canadian Caregiving Summit and it was just as exciting as Day 1! The theme of Day 2 was “Defining the need for a national caregiving strategy.” The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence told us that Canada (like many other countries) has reached a
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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Canadian Caregiving Summit: Day 1 – All the Juicy Bits!
I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the Canadian Caregiving Summit from November 6-8 in Ottawa, Canada. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilling it was to join with so many national and international caregivers, researchers, front line workers and policymakers. Together, we kickstarted a movement for public policy
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Passionate Ordinary
I feel so lucky to be part of a small group of writers in my town. We are all women. Most of us are mothers and caregivers. Whenever it pleases us, we convene in someone’s living room with coffee and someone’s gift of muffins or cookies. Recently, our chosen topic
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Natural Caring: A New Way to Think About What We Do Best Everyday
Today I listened in to a podcast called “Caring Counts: A Celebration of Natural Caring” featuring Canadian social innovators, Paul Born, Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack. Vickie and Al are champions of natural caring, which they define this way: Natural caring is love in action. It is freely given. It involves
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: A NEW WAY TO SHARE CARE – IT’S AS EASY AS ABCD!
I’m just back from a truly inspiring conference hosted by the Asset Based Community Development Institute (or ABCD) and their Canadian partner, Deepening Community at the Tamarack Institute. The conference was titled “ABCD For Healthy Neighbourhoods” and what I learned from John McKnight, Cormac Russell, Al Etmanski and Paul Born (they are
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE FABULOUS NOBILITY OF AN ORDINARY LIFE
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard Last week, my friend and fellow caregiving activist Helen Ries and I met for coffee. We were on a mission that day to chat with two remarkable innovators from Australia, Eddie Bartnik and Anne
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: ADVOCATE WITH EMPATHY: A Chat About How It Works
Yesterday, my caregiving colleagues Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack hosted me in a fascinating chat about advocating with empathy. Have a listen to our discussion and let me know what you think. Have you been successful in advocating with empathy? What kinds of advocacy have worked for you as a
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: ADVOCATE WITH EMPATHY: A Chat About How It Works
Yesterday, my caregiving colleagues Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack hosted me in a fascinating chat about advocating with empathy. Have a listen to our discussion and let me know what you think. Have you been successful in advocating with empathy? What kinds of advocacy have worked for you as a
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Innovating for Caregivers at The SIX Vancouver Summer School
I’m on a plane now, reading over the notes I’ve made from the last four days. I’ve just come from a week of listening, sharing and thinking about how society can be shaped and shifted to support family caregivers. I was thinking too, about how care is at the heart
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Future Planning When Capacity is An Issue: A New Deal
In my last blog post, I wrote about the messy business of overriding bad decisions that vulnerable loved ones sometimes make. The potential for anything from hurt feelings to fisticuffs is clear and present when families disagree with a vulnerable relative on treatment plans, housing solutions, care needs or any
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