At the beginning of July, the anti-racism task force was assembled at the request of our CEO, Janet Noel-Annable. The group was asked to prepare a report containing recommendations to address racism within the organization.

The task force team met weekly over an eight-week period in July and August. The group has finalized the report, describing six areas of recommendations to address racism in the workplace.

The six areas of recommendations are as follows:

  1. Organizational Values and Anti-Racism Statement – Create a statement that acknowledges an organizational anti-racism stance.
  2. Education and Awareness – Create awareness and build knowledge on the topic of anti-racism.
  3. Reporting and Responding to Racism – Hold all stakeholders of Christian Horizons accountable for incidents of racism.
  4. Data collection – Collect, analyze and report on racial and ethnic demographics of Christian Horizons.
  5. Supports For People Using our Services – Create Anti-racism resources to assist the people who use our services.
  6. Recruitment, Employee Development and Leadership Advancement – Increase the racial and ethnic diversity of leadership groups and to have cross-cultural representation at all levels of the organization.

The report with the detailed recommendations and action items has been shared with Janet Noel-Annable for consideration. Thank you to everyone who reached out to the members of the task force to share their feedback.​​

Note: You can view the Anti-Racism Statement from #1 (and mentioned in Janet’s On the Horizon Video) by clicking in the webpage banner link or by visiting directly:  www.christian-horizons.org/who-we-are/values#CHAntiRacism​

THE FLU SHOT

It has been a unique year with illness continuously being a concern. With COVID-19, we have adopted extensive handwashing, hand sanitizing, physical distancing, and masking practices. These precautions will assist us as flu season draws near. One further step toward avoiding the flu is to get the flu shot.

The Annual Universal Influenza Immunization Program (UIIP) in both Saskatchewan and Ontario, offers free flu shots to anyone aged 6 months and older living and working in the province with a valid health card. The program is widely accessible through doctors’ offices, public health units, local pharmacies, hospitals, Family Health Teams, Community Health Centres, and Community Care Access Centres.

The flu shot helps strengthen the body’s natural immune response against the flu. The shot stimulates the immune system to build antibodies against the virus making it stronger and ready to fight off the flu. This year, we are encouraging employees to get a flu shot, early. The sooner you get it, the earlier you are protected!

When considering a flu shot for the people you support, employees are encouraged to share information about the available vaccinations and work with the person, their family/ substitute decision-maker, and their doctor to assist in making an informed decision.

COVID-RESPONSE – BENEFITS UPDATES

During the COVID-19 response planning we made enhancements to our benefits provisions. One provision included offering benefits to employees in temporary position. To support our recruitment challenges, we are continuing to offer Group Benefits to people in temporary positions. We hope this will support the hiring process, as well be an incentive to existing employees who step into temporary roles.

All temporary positions will be treated like a permanent position for the purpose of Sun Life group benefit eligibility. New hires will be eligible after probation and existing employees accepting temporary position will be eligible on position start date. To have a full understanding of the benefits available, please see the benefit summary forms on CHconnect.​​