February 11 Newsletter (Members)

Latest News & Events for {firstname} {lastname} on February 11, 2025. Dear {firstname}, As February unfolds, a month that highlights the importance of relationships and meaningful connections, we are reminded of the strength found within our community...our Social work community. The Social Workers Association of Alberta (SWAA), continues to grow —building partnerships, strengthening networks, and creating opportunities that support and elevate our profession. We’re excited to share important updates, reflections, and opportunities to engage as we move forward—together. February Fusions: Fostering Connections & Building Networks with SWAA! This February, we’re excited to continue building a strong and supportive community for Alberta’s social workers. We encourage you to renew your SWAA membership for 2025 to stay connected with your professional network. By renewing, you’ll continue to enjoy access to exclusive resources, advocacy updates, and professional development opportunities. As we prepare for Social Work Month in March—a time of recognition, advocacy, and engagement—February offers the perfect opportunity to reflect on the bonds we share and the work we do to empower communities. This month, we focus on strengthening connections, fostering collaboration, and celebrating the impact of social work. Stay tuned for exciting updates and opportunities to get involved as we gear up to celebrate Social Work Month 2025! Be sure to follow us on social media to stay informed about the latest news, events, and advocacy efforts shaping our profession. Thank you for being a valued member of the Social Workers Association of Alberta. Together, let’s continue to make 2025 a year of growth, connection, and meaningful impact for social workers across the province. Important Update: SWAA Contact Phone No. Change Please be advised that we have decommissioned our previous contact number (877-587-7922).  You can now reach us at: ???? 780-220-7570 ???? hello@myswaa.ca ? Inquiries tab on the Members Portal For any inquiries or assistance, please feel free to contact us through our new phone number or email. Thank you for your understanding and continued support! ________________________________________________________________________ Invitation for Board Applications. Call for director applications for our Board! Do you work in rural Alberta? Are you a member of a Queer, Indigenous or other diverse community? Are you trained with a BSW or have a diploma? SWAA is looking to diversify our board to reflect the diverse cultural, religious, sexualities, genders, geographical areas, educational levels and areas of practice of our membership. Regardless of your identities, if you are passionate about your work and our profession, you are encouraged to apply SWAA is committed to promoting the profession, advocating together for what matters, and supporting social work in Alberta. Diversity, anti-oppression and member involvement are key foci for SWAA.  Do you have a passion to be involved in shaping and leading the future direction of the Social Workers Association of Alberta? We invite you to consider applying for the Board of Directors!  Who is eligible? A voting member of SWAA who is in good standing. For more information, or to apply please follow this link or visit the new page on our website. ________________________________________________________________________ Social Work Week with SWAA! Join us from March 17–21, 2025, as the Social Work Association of Alberta (SWAA) celebrates the incredible contributions of social workers across Alberta! This year, we're bringing a mix of fun, connection, and inspiration to Social Work Week with engaging daily which might include: Meme Monday: Share your Favorite Social Work Memes....Share Laughter Top Notch Tuesday: Shout out to a Social Worker your admire...A top Notch Social worker. Who's Who Wednesday: Get on Camera! Share the Spotlight! Let other SWAA members get to know you, and get to know your fellow SWAA members Tranquil Thursday: Thursday is for selfcare....Tell us about how you recharge Feeds Friday: Engage with us on Social media...Fill the timeline...Tell us What Qualities Make a Social Worker? We will share you with how you can engage in each activity. Keep your eye on our social media, and your emails. For inquiries, email us at hello@myswaa.ca Our practicum students have shared insightful reflections for several significant days this month. Please read more here: Black history Month: February 2025 - Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generation: Every month in February, Canada celebrates Black History month and seeks to honour and amplify all of the voices, achievements and stories of resilience of Black Canadians. Black Canadians and their communities have shaped Canada’s history and enriched Canada’s cultural diversity and compassion that have helped lead to the growth of a more equitable and inclusive nation. Black History month was first officially recognized in Canadain December 1995 in the House of Commons when this motion was put forward by Dr. Augustine and carried unanimously. Read the article here           ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 13th annual World Hijab Day: February 1 2025. February 1st marked the 13th annual World Hijab Day, a global event inviting “people of all backgrounds to stand in solidarity with Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab and to challenge the prejudice and misconceptions they often face because of this choice” (World Hijab Day Organization, 2025). Founded in 2013, this annual event was created by Bangladeshi-American Nazman Khan who had the idea to promote better cultural understanding by inviting women from all backgrounds to wear hijabs on that day. This movement has grown to include the participation of over 150 countries around the world, who engage by holding their own education, advocacy, and community building events to amplify the voices and highlight the stories of these women.  Read the article here The Grieving Helper -A discussion of grief and loss in frontline work. A Webinar brought to you by: SWAA  Presenter: Krista Osborne - Registered Clinical Social Worker, and an Assistant Professor with the University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work Frontline workers experience loss on a regular basis in their careers. This loss is often tragic, deeply felt and leaves profound grief. Yet, professionally we are expected to keep moving and continue helping. Overtime, this can impact workers mental health, physical health and develop into compassion fatigue. This workshop will be a brief overview of grief and loss from a trauma-informed lens.  The goal is to help you reframe your experiences of loss at work. This will help you understand your professional losses, the impacts and how to support yourself and others while you grieve.  Dates: March 19, 2025 Time: 5:30 -7:00 PM MST) Learn more and Register Here  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Empowering Providers: Supporting Gender Diverse Youth and Their Families A Webinar brought to you by: SWAA & CASW Gender transition involves navigating complex social, legal, medical, and mental health systems. It can be hard for the caregivers of Two Spirit, trans, non-binary, and other gender-diverse youth to find the right information. In this webinar, social workers will build capacity to support caregivers of gender-diverse youth as they learn to be gender-affirming and find the services their families need, with a focus on an Alberta-context. Using case examples, we will explore common challenges caregivers face, offer tangible evidence-based strategies, and clarify processes for accessing care. PolicyWise for Children & Families is a non-profit organization working with diverse communities to improve policies and practices that benefit well-being. Webinar Key Objectives: Increase awareness of challenges supportive caregivers face as they navigate their youth’s gender transition. Build understanding of social, legal, and medical gender transition processes in Alberta and mental health impacts for gender-diverse youth and their caregivers. Learn evidence-based ways social workers can support gender-diverse youth and their caregivers. Dates: February 27, 2025 Time: 5:00 PM GMT (10:00 AM MST) Registration: To register visit casw-acts-ca  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Power of Showing Up Arnica Foundation In-person workshop by Tina Payne Bryson, PhD, clinician, consultant, and internationally recognized co-author with Dan Siegel of The Whole-Brain Child, No-Drama Discipline, The Yes Brain and The Power of Showing Up. Apply the framework of interpersonal neurobiology to child development, clinical practice, and parenting in a clinical setting. Understand implicit memory, and how to work with, and even effectively use our own emotional and physiological responses/reactions when working with families and their trauma.  Utilize Whole-Brain strategies to lay the groundwork for promoting integration and mental health in parents and their children. Utilize intervention and questions for reflection to support the development of parental earned secure attachment and the building of a coherent narrative. Dates: April 8 and April 9, 2025 8:30 AM to 4PM daily. Hotel Arts, Calgary, AB Early Bird: $495 per person (February 28, 2025) Regular: $550 per person Learn more and registration https://arnicafoundation.ca/events/ members.myswaa.ca/event/details/  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palliative Care Webinar Palliative Care Institute Presenters: Sheila Killoran & Danica Hans Palliative care relieves the physical symptoms and supports the psychosocial needs of people with a serious illness. The goal is to help people live as well as possible, this is the same as social workers goals. Palliative care can be delivered by generalists anywhere in the healthcare system. Social workers are doing palliative care when they improve quality of life, provide interventions, identify unmet needs, anticipate, and support declining function and social needs. Social workers help people maintain dignity and comfort while they navigate their serious illness. Our presentation aims to empower and equip social workers to have knowledge, resources and education needed to deliver palliative care with their clients.    Date and Time : March 6, 2025 from 6:30 PM (MST) Learn more and Register  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Save the Date: Allies For Youth Connections Conference Theme: Empowering Hope through Authentic Connections Keynote Speakers: Dr. Michael Ungar, Ph.D | Dr. Melanie Doucet, Ph.D | Ashley Rhodes-Courter | Leigh Sheldon (Pihphichow) | The Allies 4 Youth Connections Conference will bring together service providers, researchers, experts, and the youth to focus on the growing population of young people (12+) with increasingly complex needs. This conference will specifically focus on youth homelessness, indigenous youth & social justice, ethnocultural youth & trauma, and the voice of youth. We keep in mind that all youth, deserve the opportunity to live their lives in a meaningful way, to feel safe, and experience a sense of inclusion and belonging. This work with our youth incorporates the most recent research, literature and trends in areas such as trauma, attachment and brain development in children and youth; harm reduction; resilience; strength-based practice; collaborative, multi-disciplinary practice; trauma-informed intervention. Dates: May 12-13, 2025  Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall.  For More Details:  A4YC.ca   |   SWAA-Events  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- International Conference on the Prevention of Youth Homelessness. Youth Homelessness Prevention This conference will bring together researchers, service providers, lived experience experts, advocates, and thought leaders from Canada and around the world to advance cutting-edge research on prevention and drive innovation in policy and practice. It offers a unique platform to explore evidence-based solutions to youth homelessness. Be part of the global movement shifting the focus toward prevention—don’t miss this transformative event! Presented by By A Way Home Canada & the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness February 24-25, 2025. Learn more and register here  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indigenous Wellbeing Conference 2025.  Empowering Care Networks for Community Healing and Resilience The Indigenous Wellbeing Conference 2025 is designed for those who dedicate their lives to helping others, such as caregivers, social workers, community leaders, counselors, and mental health professionals. This year’s theme focuses on building personal resilience while continuing to support others. Attendees will hear from inspiring speakers like Arvol Looking Horse, Ted Nolan, Michelle Thrush, and experts such as Dr. Michael Yellow Bird and Francoise Mathieu, who will share insights on traditional healing, resilience, storytelling, wellness, and community-building. The conference offers workshops, keynote talks, and interactive sessions to equip participants with practical tools for their well-being and work.  Date: February 24-26, 2025 Location: River Cree Venue, Enoch Cree Nation, Alberta, Canada This years Theme:  Empowering Care Networks for Community Healing and Resilience  Learn more and register here   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Invitation to Help Promote Research Study on School Social Workers and Autistic Students Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University Are you a current social worker in Canada, or have you been one within the last 5 years? Are you interested in helping identify the training needs of school social workers in working with autistic students? If YES, please join this study!  Your experience is valuable to us, whether it includes working with autistic students or not. Join our study and make a difference.    The survey is confidential and will take approximately 30 minutes. Participants can enter a draw to win one of 26 gift cards ranging from $25 to $100.  Please click the link below to learn more about the study, and access the screening questionnaire.   Survey Link The study has been approved by Laurier’s Research Ethics Board 8738 For more information or questions, please email Alisha at stub6340@mylaurier.ca  Interested in sharing your events with fellow SWAA members? Reach out to us at hello@myswaa.ca to learn more about our advertising rates for members. Current Job Postings: The following employers are currently recruiting social workers and you can find details at myswaa.ca/socialworkcareers: Registered Social Worker: Living Well Counselling Services Inc. - Calgary, Alberta Family Resource Navigator: YWCA of Northern Alberta - Edmonton, AB.   Social Worker - General: Edmonton Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) - Edmonton AB Adoption Agency Social Worker & Director of Operations: A Small Miracle Adoption  - Edmonton, AB   Director, Child and Family Services: TalentNova - Ft McMurray, AB Instructor, Community Social Work: Faculty of Social Work, Portage College - Lac La Biche Campus, AB Instructor, Addictions Counselling: Faculty of Social Work, Portage College - Lac La Biche Campus, AB Care Coordinator: Elizabeth House - Calgary, AB Programs Supervisor: McMan Youth, Family and Community Services Association - Red Deer, AB Social Worker (Clinical Specialization): Williamson & Associates | Trauma and Relationship Therapy - Olds, AB Community Outreach Worker: City of Spruce Grove - Spruce Grove, AB Volunteer Coordinator: Women's Centre of Calgary - Calgary, AB Counsellor – Full Time: Aventa Centre of Excellence for Women with Addictions  - Calgary, AB Victim Support Advocate: Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre - Calgary, AB Assistant Professor, Child Studies and Social Work: Mount Royal University - Calgary, AB Counselor I: MacEwan University - Edmotnon, AB Mobile Rural Navigator, Client Services: Alzheimer Society -  AB and Northwest Territories  Copyright © 2024 The Social Workers Association of Alberta PO Box 464, Edmonton Station Main Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2K1 CANADA unsubscribe from this list