The SCALE Program (Supporting Caregiver Awareness, Learning and Empowerment) aims to empower caregivers with practical information and skills to focus on their own mental health and well-being needs by offering:

• Weekly educational webinars (LIVE or RECORDED) divided into two 4-week sessions (see below for upcoming session topics).

• Strategies, tools, and resources to better cope with difficult caregiving emotions

• Free and confidential online group and/or individual counselling (OPTIONAL). Space is limited, registration is based on first come, first-served basis.

Caregivers have told us that just a small gesture of kindness goes a long way. A simple ‘how are you?’ can mean so much to someone who is having a tough day. To amplify this message, the OCO launched its Kindness Campaign on International Kindness Day – a day where we are all encouraged to show kindness to one another.

The idea of the Kindness Campaign was brought to us by a caregiver partner, Sara Shearkhani. Sara shared her idea that aimed to make caregivers visible and inspire our communities to reach out to a caregiver and deliver this simple act of kindness.

Twenty years ago, the word “caregiver” was not in my vocabulary or the buzz word it is today. When you hear “caregivers” most people think of seniors being cared for by adult children, who may even be seniors themselves. I come from an entirely different caregiver population, one with little-to-no awareness.

My caregiving journey began in 1999. Little did I know that our youngest daughter, almost 15 at the time, was struggling with self-esteem and anxiety issues and that Anorexia and Bulimia were rapidly taking over her body and mind and devastating the rest of our family.

“Where do we go from here?” I remember asking myself.