Upcoming Program and Peer Support Group Registration

Program Description: 

A “Do No Harm” peer-led approach to peer support. This is available online across Canada and is peer-led by trained peers and follows the OSI-CAN model of peer support. These groups are run as hybrids that can be attended both in person and online. Groups included through WWS include for General Peer Support for Uniformed Services, Spousal Peer Support, Couples Peer Support (this is couple to couple support not a group with multiple couples), Military/Service Sexual Trauma Survivors Peer Support, and Faith Based Peer Support (available by phone only currently as a one to one call). All peer support groups run on a bi-weekly basis.

• This is not therapist-led peer support.
• All peer support facilitators are OSI-CAN trained and certified to lead peer support. This is a requirement due to the content that is covered in peer support groups, as those who are in the acute stages of their injury are also able to access these groups online so special training is required. 
• For the Service Sexual Trauma Peer Support Group, the security is extremely tight, and for this reason, WWS does not advertise this group on our events page. If this is a group that you are looking to access, please contact our administration. You only need to say that you are hoping to join this group, and which uniform you serve/or served, and our admin will put you in contact with the group facilitators to do a soft intake interview with you.
• As groups are primarily online there is room for up to 30ppl (additional groups may be started if group sizes exceed 30ppl). General peer support for uniformed services runs two times a day every other week.

Program Description: 

This workshop is a 3-hour introduction to horses for the purpose of maintaining wellness.

• If you had a negative experience with horses you are hoping to get over or are thinking of taking equine therapy but are hesitant to join because the thought of doing therapy while working with a large animal might be intimidating, or you want to learn new ways of communicating through body language, this is a perfect workshop for you.
• In this workshop, participants learn non-verbal communication skills that can be used in everyday life, as well as build confidence, and look introspectively at themselves because, while we can lie to ourselves and to others, the beauty of horses is that we cannot lie to them. They meet us where we are at.
• This seasonal program involves a blend of classroom learning and hands-on experience working with our horses outside in the round pen.
• Group size maximum capacity is 4ppl OR 2 families (no more than 4ppl per family)

Program Description: 

Have you ever thought about taking up painting, or painting but wanted to learn how to paint with a new style, or just paint to find peace? In this workshop, our facilitator teaches us how to paint everything from Picasso to Ted Harris, to the Northern Lights and everything in between in a step-by-step process that literally anyone can follow. If you don’t feel like trying what is being taught the way it’s being shown because you want to try your own interpretation or choose your own adventure, that’s great too!

• All supplies for this program are provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own supplies if that is their preference.
• This program is now available as an in-person and online hybrid.
• Group size maximum capacity is 6ppl in person, plus 6ppl online

Program Description: 

Like horses, bees are beautiful and intelligent creatures (more than we realize!), and like horses, you cannot lie to a bee about where your energy is at.

• This workshop is a great introduction not only to caring for bees but, more importantly, to understand them, their benefits, such as the delicious honey they produce and its many uses, and what bees can teach us about where we are at with our own energy.
• Through learning to listen to the sound of their buzzing, as well as learning the differences in their bee-haviour, and that moment of realization when we listen to them and notice the shift and calm that starts to happen when we let ourselves relax around them so we can visually and audibly start to see/hear the difference in how they perceive us s humans, it is incredible to realize how grounded they can help us become when we start to understand them, and recognize they have helped us to become more in tune with ourselves.
• Bee keeping suits are provided
• Group size maximum capacity is 4ppl

Program Description: 

Music is a universal language that can be spoken by everyone. It helps us release those emotions we struggle to put into words, it has the power to lift our spirits, it can help us relax, and it can help us unwind and just have fun!

• In this workshop, peers come together to play instruments, sing, and just have a good time in a space without judgment.
• If you have never played guitar but want to learn some basics, or you want to try a space drum or play the spoons, or if you think you sound like a screeching cat but don’t care because you just love to sing, or you have the voice of an angel, this is a great fun workshop to take part in.
• All instruments are provided, so you do not need to bring your own.
• If a person wishes to bring their own instruments, they must confirm with our administration in advance that it is okay, as space is limited.
• During the spring, summer, and fall, this workshop is done outside when the weather permits.
• Group size maximum capacity is 6ppl

Program Description: 

Yoga and meditation have been centuries-old methods used to learn calming breathing techniques, as well as to help people connect with their spirituality, and learn to ground themselves to help them maintain their balance and find inner peace/calm.

• All materials, such as yoga mats, blankets, and meditation pillows to sit on, are provided, but participants are also welcome to bring their own.
• The Wayfinders Wellness Society (WWS) facilitator has specifically geared her program to speak more to the mindset of the first responder and military/veteran community, as she is a first responder herself and understands those needs.
• This program is offered in person during the spring and summer and online during the winter. Wayfinders Wellness Society (WWS)'s outdoor yoga and meditation platform is used as much as the weather permits for an added sense of calm, peace, and tranquility.
• Group size maximum capacity is 6ppl for in person

Program Description:

Part of many wellness practices often involves finding ourselves more involved with connecting to the earth. What better way to do this than through gardening?

• In this program, our participants will come together as a community to plant, maintain, and care for our community garden and learn about the produce that we grow at Wayfinders Wellness Society (WWS) each year and why we plant the things we do from a professional horticulturalist.
• We will learn not only the nutritional benefits of each herb and fruit or vegetable, but also why certain things are planted together and how they work together to not only be visually pleasing to the eye, but also how each thing helps each other to grow better.
• Once harvest season comes around, the fruits of everyone’s labor will be distributed to all of those who have participated throughout the summer, and any left-over abundance will be donated to other first responders, military/veterans, and their families in need.
• Group size maximum capacity is 6ppl

Program Description: 

Part of maintaining balance for many, includes reconnecting with our spirit, and learning from our elders the ways that have worked traditionally for thousands of years. It can open our minds to help us learn ways in which we might further learn to shift our perspective on how we look at the importance of maintaining our spirit, our humanity, and even the role our families and community play in helping us maintain our wellness with injury like PTSD/OSI.

• Wayfinders Wellness Society (WWS) works with several Indigenous Elders from Calgary, Cochrane, and surrounding areas to provide the gift of passing knowledge through traditional teachings and ceremonies, meant to bring the community together.
• Through participating in more intense ceremonies such as sweats, which are different from the ceremonies we hold in the Wayfinders Wellness Society (WWS) tipi (or house in the winter), these are more personal, and a person needs to be both mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared.
• During ceremonies and sweats, Wayfinders Wellness Society (WWS) encourages its participants to follow the traditional protocols when preparing to attend, which are reviewed upon registration (such as the importance of tobacco in a ceremony, dress attire, etc.).
• Group size maximum capacity is 8ppl