PHSA’s front line employees are more than health care workers – they are parents, spouses, siblings, children and friends – and they are ready to provide the care you need. Go behind their masks and hear their stories.
Health care workers are here for you. Behind each mask is an individual-a parent, child, spouse, sibling and friend-who is ready to take care of you and your loved ones.
“It means a lot to us that we can be here, and give back to the community,” says Cassie Robertson, a respiratory therapist at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. COVID-19 has impacted all of us professionally and personally-at work, at home and in our communities. The video above tells the stories of some of the members of our health care team, from nurses and paramedics to doctors, laboratory technicians and porters. Go behind their masks to learn about them and their loved ones.
Every worker in B.C. has the right to a healthy and safe workplace. Workers have the right to know about the hazards in their workplace, to participate in health and safety activities, and to refuse unsafe work without repercussion.
As businesses look to return to operation following COVID-19–related work stoppages or interruptions, they are expected to develop plans to minimize the risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 at the workplace. Below is information on what workers can expect at their workplace during this process.
The COVID-19 crisis has changed life in Canada in extraordinary ways, particularly for Canada’s youth. For the first time in their lives, youth across the country have been asked – or required – to stop attending school, manage e-learning from home, avoid contact with friends and loved ones, reorient their part-time or summer employment opportunities, and stay safe at home.
Canada’s youth have not received much attention during the current crisis and supporting and engaging them is crucial to ensure the long-term success of this generation. Racialized, Immigrant and Indigenous youth, as well as youth with disabilities, continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and must be prioritized in Canada’s COVID-19 response efforts.
The Association for Canadian Studies’ COVID-19 Social Impacts Network, in partnership with Experiences Canada and the Vanier Institute of the Family, recently conducted the largest and most detailed nation-wide COVID-19 survey to-date among the 12 to 17 year old population in Canada. The survey results provide critical information on their attitudes and behaviours during the COVID-19 crisis with an aim to better understand their lived experiences in these unprecedented times.
This virtual press conference will share insights from the survey of over 1,000 youth from across Canada, highlighting the significant implications of the COVID-19 crisis on the lives of Canada’s young people.
DASH is playing a proactive role by reaching out to teachers and administrators from Indigenous and remote British Columbia communities to ask how we can help support them in keeping their students healthy, active and connected during this time of school closures due to COVID-19.
According to the BC Government website, only 33% of rural BC communities and 35% of rural BC Indigenous communities have access to recommended broadband internet speeds. Therefore we estimate that around 144 rural communities and 86 Indigenous Schools or about 49,668 rural students and 3,300 Indigenous students may not able to take advantage of the multiple online resources.
DASH aims to help source quality resources such as books, printed activity sheets, games, videos and other relevant materials to support students without adequate access to the internet in staying healthy, building family connections, and developing resiliency during stressful times.
Do you know of communities, schools or families that may not have adequate access to the internet and may benefit from receiving healthy living resources as described above? If so, please contact us at: info@dashbc.ca
Thanks to your donations, as of May 1, 2020, we have reached an estimated 10% of the Indigenous Schools or 330 students requiring assistance.
Premier John Horgan has released the following statement about racist activity in British Columbia during the COVID-19 pandemic:
“Everyone has a right to live without fear of violence or discrimination. Yet we are hearing disturbing stories of a rise in anti-Asian racist behaviour since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People are being targeted as they go about their daily lives. It is unacceptable. I have said it before: hate has no place in our province and it will not be tolerated. Our strength is in our diversity and we reject all forms of racism, discrimination, intolerance and bigotry.
“Racism is also a virus. Through challenging times, British Columbians must stay united. We are always stronger and more resilient as a province when we treat each other with kindness, generosity and respect. To do so, we must all stand together to call out racism and discrimination when we see it.”
We’re Moving towards a Healthier, More Equitable Society. Don’t Let Progress Stop
Heartbreaking stories have emerged from their regular invisibility during the pandemic — hungry children, isolated elders, violence and child abuse, often with poverty or trauma at the root. Injustices experienced by many people in Canada predated the pandemic, and it hurts to witness it.
Meanwhile, equitable societies are better for everyone in them. In January, an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal called for immediate action on injustices through a “health in all policies” action plan. Suddenly, we’re seeing it unfold. We mustn’t forget this as the lure of austerity policies and economic recovery post-COVID 19 forces these injustices back under a cloak of “normalcy.”
