Archive for category: Stories

Hi, I’m Matt! My role at COR is the Director of Youth Support. I have the privilege of being involved with and overseeing all of the homes and programs that are specifically for Youth. I’ve been at COR for over 11 years now! It seems like a long time but it has all gone by incredibly quickly. When I finished my Kinesiology Degree I was looking for work while I made the decision of obtaining further schooling in the areas of occupational or physical Therapy. A couple of my university professors were on the Board at COR and I had heard them speak briefly about COR. That intrigued me to look into the disability field and I started searching for jobs in that area. Through my church, Shannon Weibe found out that I was looking for work and encouraged me to look into COR. I took her advice and the rest is history!

I’ve absolutely loved being a part of COR’s decision to serve Youth. From the very beginning, there was so much positive energy and excitement at the thought of being able to help kids and provide them with a loving home and stable environment. The prospect of possibly preventing years of unnecessary trauma and countless transitions really resonated strongly for me. Being involved in coordinating the first youth home in COR and seeing everyone come together and be creative in our approaches and with the unique hurdles that youth face was definitely one of my favorite projects so far. My proudest moments at COR come from my deep-rooted desire to be the best “cheerleader” I can possibly be. My role allows me to see different leaders come and go on a regular basis. There is truly no better feeling for me than seeing Leaders succeed and being able to cheer them on in whatever capacity I can. It could be as significant as taking time to coach and mentor someone, or as simple as sending an encouraging message or bringing food to a meeting to show gratitude. It is a core value of mine to be able to support people and give them the opportunities they need to succeed.

My advice to anyone who is looking to join COR is to embrace the challenge! I think people can sometimes see the work that we all do from a very superficial lens. It looks fun to accompany someone to the park or the mall. It seems very easy to share treats, give hugs, or enjoy a hobby with someone. The truth of the matter is that the work we choose to do is hard. It’s hard because we’re choosing to do things the right way. We’re choosing to invest in people and build on genuine relationships. When you can embrace the challenge and realize that the hard work you’re putting in is bettering the lives of the people you serve, it makes everything worth it.

Fun Facts about me:

I love food. I make it a point to travel based on opportunities to try new and intriguing foods. Sharing food with others is a Love Language of mine and most of my social interactions are based around the food that is involved.

I am an introvert at heart. I enjoy spending time alone recharging my batteries through video games and movies. When I’m feeling a bit more social, golfing and eating at new restaurants is usually how I like to spend my time with others!

Hey, my name is Darby! I am the Team Leader within COR Youth and have been at COR for just over 2 years! I first learned about COR while I was pursuing my Bachelor of Kinesiology at the University of Regina. Throughout my time at the university, I had the opportunity to see a few different presentations from COR in my disability studies courses, as well as listen to my professors talk very highly about the organization and the work that COR does. I knew from those experiences that working with people with disabilities was an interest of mine, but it took me a couple of years to fully figure that out after I obtained my degree. Upon completion of my degree, I worked as a Health Coach for a couple of years before realizing that my true passion was not helping people with their fitness goals, but connecting with them and building a relationship that was more meaningful than that. After some soul-searching and researching, I rediscovered COR, applied, then began my journey in 2020.

One of the best things about COR is that everything we do is rooted in building strong, healthy relationships. Whether that is with the people we support, with our team members, or with the community, everything we do is based on Gentle Teaching and that really allows for everyone to feel safe and valued in their relationships, which in turn creates an environment in which we can help support the people we serve to the best of our abilities. As a team leader, I love being able to create a safe space for my team to be vulnerable in as this helps us have more open and honest communication which I find then directly correlates to the strength of our team when supporting the youth that we support.

My proudest moment so far at COR has been around starting up a brand-new youth home with a brand-new team and seeing that team become such strong, incredible supports. I am so proud of my team for continuing to show up even when things were not always easy and constantly working at becoming stronger, more compassionate people both in the boys’ home and out of the home as well.

My advice to prospective candidates is always to be open-minded and ready to be vulnerable when it comes to building relationships with the people that we support. The key to success is being genuine and bringing the best version of yourself to the table. There will be times when things get tough and Gentle Teaching may not make sense, but don’t be afraid to ask questions and maybe sit in some discomfort to really begin to understand the beauty of Gentle Teaching.

Fun Facts about me:

If I were to choose a favourite book, I would probably have to pick “Radically Happy” because it was such a relaxing book to read and it gave me many tools to use when I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

My favourite quote is, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

Some things that I enjoy doing in my free time include working out, playing with my dogs, reading, playing video games, and having coffee/connecting with my friends.

 

Hi! I am Joana! I am the Employment Partnership Consultant for the 4to40 initiative which is to connect people experiencing disability with forward-thinking employers who embrace a flexible 4 to 40-hour work week. In this role, I am responsible for supporting both the employee (person experiencing a disability) and employer as people enter the workforce, many for the first time! I also support the hiring and training of job coaches who provide hands-on support and mentorship; my primary focus is to build strong, trusting relationships with current employer partners!

I also recently started a new role as Cultural Advisor. In this role, I deliver Cultural Awareness training to COR’s support teams, while engaging with our entire COR family to help bring awareness to and celebrate the many events, activities, and cultural traditions of the diverse people who make up the COR family! I engage our Leadership Team in cultural topics and discussions to strengthen our diversity and nurture a culture of belonging among our whole COR family.

Prior to COR, I was working as the Respite Coordinator and Admin at Inclusion Regina; when Inclusion Regina and COR merged together in 2019, I joined COR as the Employment Partnership Consultant. In 2020, I proudly led the development of a new program to support families in need: Short Breaks. It’s been 4 years since I have been at COR. Time flies when you are doing what you love. When I was working at Inclusion Regina, I remember meeting with Michael Lavis, COR CEO, and Ben Morris, Director of the COR Studio. They both made an impact on me and I went home and started researching COR. I wanted to learn more about Gentle Teaching and fell in love with the COR philosophy of gentleness. Even before joining COR, I started to use Gentle Teaching with my kids. It looks like I was destined to join COR!

I have had many favourite projects during my time at COR so far! I always learn something new with every project and try to make it my own! I always put pieces of what I know, my values, and my education into each project. I have a Bachelor of Science with honours in Sociology; I am also working to complete another degree in Justice Studies at the University of Regina. I have always tried to incorporate both my learning and experience into my work. I love the 4to40 Initiative because I have seen how employment can transform the lives of the individuals we serve. Particularly, one project I love is the Job Club training that I co-facilitated with Peco Nagai, Educational Facilitator at Campus for All at the University of Regina.

I also love the Short Breaks Program, which is a new program in partnership with the City of Regina and Hope’s Home. It has a special place in my heart because we started this program in October 2020 when we were going through the Covid Pandemic. It was a scary time for so many people, but mostly for the individuals we serve and individuals with Intellectual disabilities living in the community with families, as at that time, all programs/activities were on hold or moved online. Short Breaks was one of the only programs where people were still able to come and socialize. It helped people navigate the uncertainties related to Covid and having a place to come to do art, participate in activities, and mostly socialize – it had a positive effect on everyone. I value connection, socializing, and being part of the community; the individuals we serve are equally the same, they strive for social interaction.

Lastly, I love the Cultural Awareness training which I had the opportunity to develop and have started to deliver to COR employees. I am able to hear first-hand lived experiences and understand how we can better support employees that work at COR. It has also been a lot of learning for me. I am grateful to be able to facilitate this training and get to know our COR family on a deeper level.

Some advice I have for people who want to join COR is to have an open mind and an open heart to receive, share and grow as an individual, but also as a team player in the community. What I have learned working at COR and through the many learning opportunities such as Gentle Teaching 1 and 2, SafeTALK, Person-Centered Thinking, and Coaching; I am able to apply it in my personal life and the lens through which I look at people and situations have changed. We all have a cultural and diversity lens and through the years of being at COR, I have been able to develop both cultural competency and cultural humility. They are both important, even essential in the field we work.

Fun Facts about me!

I love reading biographies of individuals that have influenced the world; Becoming by Michelle Obama is one of my favorites! Being a person of color, it’s inspiring.

One of my favorite quotes is:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi.

This has stuck with me because as one individual we can all influence change and we can do so in gentle ways and it starts with us. As a mother, I want to be a role model to my kids and as a woman of color and a first-time immigrant in Canada, I want to influence and inspire people around me in small ways. After all, this is all we need, right? Making and influencing small changes that can have a big impact on society, at least on our own family and kids.

I love spending time in nature with my kids and my husband, going on long walks and going hiking are my favorite activities. I also love watching a good movie based on real life. I just discovered Hot Yoga and I love it too.

Hello! I am Casey! I am the Employee Experience Advisor. Primarily I am that familiar face for new supports as they are interviewed, on-boarded, and begin their journey with COR. I have been at COR for 3 years now! The way that I found out about COR was that I actually saw a posting for the Director of People and Culture role. I began exploring the website and inquiring about the organization – everything resonated with me. I don’t even know how much time I ended up spending watching every video and reading all about COR. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of COR before! I ended up applying; I didn’t get hired for that role, but ended up being offered a new position – Employee Experience Advisor! And…. here we are 3 years later…. Time flies!

I have many favourite projects that I am involved with at COR! Most notable would be 100 Acts of Kindness, the Golden Ticket, and Employee Appreciation. I think the 100 Acts of Kindness would be my favourite! Shifting internally last year through Covid – doing a 3-hour Facebook Live Event where we read nominations for our awesome #CORFam for being awesome and seeing people come to the office and receive their nomination and receive their COR swag was awesome! It was amazing to see everyone again and there was a buzz around CORhq!

I think my proudest moments are seeing people grow through the organization. There have been people we have interviewed as supports who we hired and who have grown into Key Supports and Team Leaders. Seeing them grow through COR has been inspiring! Some advice that I have for people who want to join the COR family is that we always try to keep our interviews as relaxed as possible and more of a conversation while getting to know each other – just be your true authentic self. Our interviews are all values based; just be yourself and don’t stress about the ‘interview’. I would also recommend anyone who wants to make a difference in someone’s life to check us out and apply to be a support. When we are looking through resumes we are looking for that heart and genuine interest and passion in being that positive person in someone’s life, so make sure that interest and passion shine through! I’ve never been part of an organization that genuinely cares so much about its employees and community!

Fun facts about me:

• My favorite book is 4 agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• In my spare time I like to be with my family, Workout, play flag/touch football, or do anything active!