Members Market
As we move into the New Year, echoes of sleigh bells ring in the distant past. While the holidays may be behind us, the joy and cheers they brought still linger. The Kilala Lelum community wasted no time this December, filling our calendars with festivities.
From gingerbread houses to our Holiday Members Market, Christmas crafting and jubilation were plenty. Shelly, Jessica, Klay and the RC team worked hard to organize and plan this event to celebrate our members. Delicious foods and drinks ornamented the space, while members set up their tables full of crafts. Some vendor items included stocking stuffer treat bags, dazzling beaded earrings, Pokémon art, and handmade wreaths as seen in the photo above.
Apart from a wonderful opportunity to snag those last minute gifts for friends and family, the impact of this event ripples further. Those who worked so hard to make this market happen facilitated a space that embodies what we, Kilala Lelum, are at our core. A place to uphold and celebrate the medicine and creativity inherent to the members of our community. Entering this space meant the rest of the world slowed down for a while. All that mattered was asking how exactly they were able to situate the wreaths so perfectly, or what Shelly and the team put in the cookies that kept me going back for more! Good healing can happen when we ease into with a warm drink and a room full of those we call our community.
December Drums
If you look at this picture close enough you can hear the sounds of soon-to-be drums filling the hummingbird room. Lead by our Cultural Wellness team and Wendall, the drum making workshop this past December was surely a hit!
Make sure to stay tuned about any future events put on by this wonderful team. You may want to refer a member or even take some time for yourself to join in on the next one!
MOP Gives Via Telus Totes
As the holidays approached, the MOP (Mobile Outreach Program) team was busy bustling away in the otter room. Lined up like an assembly line were chic telus tote bags.
Seen are Seán (left), Rory middle), and Scott (right). In their hands are the goodies and essentials filling these bags destined for our members. Items included were chocolates, toiletries, candy, hot chocolate, and other gifts.
Program Highlight: Chronic Pain Management
The goal of our program is to improve access to non-pharmacological chronic pain care for our members. The reality of chronic pain is that it is very complex, challenging to treat and impacts almost every part of an individual’s life. It is also very tied to mental health and substance use challenges. Treatment must be holistic, targeting every part of the medicine wheel from physical to spiritual wellbeing. Chronic pain care, at it’s core, is helping our members to become emotionally, spiritually and physically healthier versions of themselves.
Our aim is to meet folks where they are at, and to help them become more self efficacious in managing and understanding their pain. Those who tend to find the most benefit are the folks who are more well-equipped to engage in their care, as it is an active process that often takes many months. However, we still aim to connect with all members no matter where they are at in their lives, and focus on fostering relationship and trust – the rest will come in time!
The chronic pain program consists of physical therapy, exercise therapy, cultural and community programing (such as land outings) and needling treatment and medication management. You can refer anyone to the program – they don’t need to have chronic pain. Part of chronic pain treatment is preventing pain from being chronic in the first place. Anyone who you think would benefit from moving more and improving their relationship with their bodies – refer on!
Physiotherapist Anna – Her sessions focus on shared learning and helping members to better understand their pain, what it means and how to improve their relationship with it. She is active in her approach and does mostly exercise/mindful movement with members, as well as some manual therapy when necessary.
Exercise Therapist Lydia – She is very skilled in helping folks learn how to move in ways that feel good for them – whether it is strength training, cardio, stretching or more gentle mat work. She also goes to the pool and community gym with our members! If someone’s pain is already fairly well managed and they are more functional, they can be referred to Lydia directly first. She also works with members who don’t have pain and who want to exercise for any reason (did you know that there is substantial evidence for exercise as a primary treatment for substance use disorders?! cool!!!).
Physician David – David has a special skillset called myoactivation needling, which is a great passive modality option for members if they aren’t quite ready for more active approaches to their care. We recommend following it up with physio or exercise therapy, as these are the things that will change pain over the long term, but myo is still an excellent option for short-term management.
Elder Sandy – He guides our team with his wisdom, and helps bridge the gap between physical therapies and cultural care. He helps us to better connect with the offerings of the cultural wellness team and the RC team. He is our trusted Matthew the Van driver and brings our team and a few members on outings to the land once a month.
MOA Cherry – Cherry manages our schedules and helps us hold down the fort from an admin and logistics perspective. She is with us at 687 for two days/week. We wouldn’t be able to function without her and she is incredibly valuable to us!