Community
So many losses to cope with

So many losses to cope with
Shaylyn is only 26. She experienced miscarriages and lost multiple friends, relatives, and pets starting in 2012. The losses continued and just kept on building with 8 souls lost in 2019 alone. She was working through it her way but in the back of her mind she knew some help may allow her to move towards a better quality of life. She put her thoughts out there asking the universe for some assistance when she saw a bus ad “Got Grief?” and the phone number to register for the RDPCN Grief program. She immediately called to register for the program and is very glad that she did.
One of the valuable lessons that she learned was not to feel any anger or resentment to the person who passed. She could be mad at the situation they left her in but not mad at the person. She found comfort in the class exercise of writing a letter to the person lost and then writing a response from them. It felt like she was receiving comfort and support, and this helped her shift to the positive. She also realized she is a caregiver, but she needs to take some time and care for herself and give herself some time to work through all of this. She gained knowledge on how to do this.
Overall the Journeying through Grief program helped her to get on a more positive path. She realized how resilient she is and how she can move forward with her life. She gained self-confidence and can now walk away from non-constructive conversations. She learned it is okay to ask for help and okay to be vulnerable. The program gave her space to express what she was feeling and give in to her emotions. Often people don’t know how to be around you during your time of loss but having experience communicating with others in similar situations in the program gave me the practice and confidence that I needed to move forward. Shaylyn says, “I would highly recommend Journeying through Grief to anyone with loss in their life.
Click here for more information about the services offered by the Red Deer Primary Care Network.
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Business leaders decide it’s time to reduce the number of homeless in Red Deer

News release from the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce
Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce to form Task Force on Homelessness in Red Deer
The Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce will be convening a Task Force of community and business leaders to address the issues of homelessness and identify actionable steps which can be taken to tackle this generational challenge in Red Deer.
“With the release of the City of Red Deer’s Point in Time (PIT) Report on homelessness last week we are very concerned and disappointed with the effectiveness of the strategies currently in place, and the urgency by which we need to turn this situation around within our city,” commented Scott Robinson CEO of the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce. “Clearly our current strategies are not enough, and we need to elevate the urgency by which we get things done to reduce the number of citizens who are without a place to live. The growing number of people who are homeless is not sustainable and is impacting on our sense of pride, safety and attractiveness of our city to business and industry.”
“We will share more about this Task Force and the next steps in the coming weeks. Time has run out to act with conviction, courage, and clarity. Our community and citizens deserve that from our community leaders, and we are ready to bring the business community and the urgency required to the table.”
Over the next 60 days, the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce will be reaching out to its business and social agency partners to build the Task Force on homelessness and establish a strategy to address the critical steps that need to be taken to reverse the trends and further our community’s vision as a vibrant and healthy city.
Matt Cassidy, Chamber Board President. remarked “Our Chamber is positioned to be the collaborative leader in connecting our business community, social agencies, and elected officials together, to find tangible progress on this complex issue. All businesses rely on the vibrancy of our community as they strive to be sustainable, innovative, or grow, and the results of the PIT Report indicate that we need to do much more. This task force will help hold our leaders accountable for the actionable progress needed and engage one another effectively.”
“In speaking with our membership, and those working closely with the vulnerable populations there are best practices and models for delivery that are successful in other parts of the world that we need to start implementing” says Robinson. In addition, we need to look at ways that our private sector can get more involved and bring their expertise and strategic thinking to the table. As a collaborative community we also need to ensure that governments at all levels are delivering on their promises of affordable housing and eliminating barriers to expediting these investments.
Established in 1894 the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan, collaborative business leader representing over 825 member businesses. As one of Red Deer’s oldest and most established membership organizations we are striving to build a vibrant community that fosters an environment where businesses can lead, be innovative, sustainable, and grow.
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