Vol 4 · Issue 4
December 2020
N
E
W
S
L
E
T
T
E
R
Welcome to the 4th issue of the
English Community Organization Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean
Organisme communautaire anglais du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean
Newsletter.
We hope that our readers find the information it contains useful.
May the Holiday
Season bring you peace and joy with your
families, and may the New Year be filled
with good health and happiness.
Merry Christmas from the
ECO-02
Board of Directors
KAREN
Do you have questions
about:
Where to go to receive a certain medical or
social services?
Where to find English resources for various
health concerns?
How to navigate the Saguenay/Quebec health care system?
Would you like to sit on the
Board of Directors?
Our ECO-02 Board is composed of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and three Directors.
We hold 4 to 5 meetings a year.
Anyone who is interested and would like to obtain more information on becoming a Director, may send an email
stating there interest to:
Debbie Ford-Caron, ECO-02 President [email protected]
ECO-02 held an AGM on September 14, 2020 and the following community members were elected to the
Board of Directors for a one or two year mandate
ECO-02 Board of Directors for 2020-2021
Debbie Ford-Caron – PresidentEleanor Perry Morissette – Vice President
Let
ECO-02
help you
find the
answers
to your
questions.
We are a click away.
Email: [email protected] Facebook group: @ECO.SLSJ
Meet Elie-Pierre Blessy currently residing in Chicoutimi. Elie-Pierre was recently hired as the Executive Director for ECO-02. He was born and raised in the Ivory Coast, which is located on the south coast of West Africa.
He will finish his degree by December 15, 2020 and he is very anxious to start working full time.
Interview Questions Family situation (Kids, pets, etc.)?
I am single and I have 2 brothers and one sister. I am the youngest in the family. I have a dog that is with my parents back home.
Her name is ‘China’ and she is a black Rottweiler.
What do you do?
I am currently studying at UQAC to complete my Business Administration degree.
How long have you lived in Saguenay?
I have lived in Saguenay since January 2018.
Why did you move to Saguenay?
I moved to this region to complete my bachelor’s degree. My parents suggested that I should live with my uncle who is an Electrical Engineer
Professor at UQAC. He has lived here since 2000 and he has been my mentor. Next, my sister is a role model for me. She studied at UQAC and she is now an Engineer living in British Columbia.
What is your most favourite part about Saguenay?
I really like to walk in Parc Riviere du Moulin, this is a relaxing place where you can go and get some fresh air.
I also, really like the Saguenay “poutine “which I believe is the best in Canada.
Where is your favourite place to go in Saguenay?
My favourite place to go is ‘Place du Royaume’. A mall where you can have fun and shop.
What do you do in your free time
I like cooking, playing soccer or basketball.
I also like reading and watching movies with my cousins.
What do you miss most from back home?
I miss the warmth of the sun from back home.
Sometimes I would go to the beach and enjoy the hot weather and the warm water. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to enjoy the winter in Saguenay. I am thinking of doing winter sports like snow boarding.
What is your least favourite part about Saguenay?
I do not like the cold weather in the Saguenay.
I came from a warm country, and adjusting to this climate is hard for me.
What is the hardest part of living here in Saguenay?
Being far from my family and my country. Not seeing them this Christmas. I would like to say that the winter here in the Saguenay is extremely cold.
Congratulations to CHSSN
Throughout 2020, CHSSN is celebrating our origins and
our development into a dynamic, innovative, engaged
movement, active across the province. This special
edition of NetLink looks back at the beginnings of
CHSSN through the eyes of some of the people and
partners who pioneered its rise to success.
COMMUNITY
NETLINK
can be found on the
Our staff has increased. A new employee has joined our growing TEAM as
our Project Coordinator. Her name is, Anika Kuhnert. She will be
developing the current programs for ECO-02 and finding new and
exciting projects for our community.
You may contact Anika Kuhnert at: [email protected]
ECO-02 (English Community Organization Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean) Has a New Executive Director
Elie-Pierre Blessy was hired as our Executive Director for ECO-02 this past October.
Mr. Blessy will complete his Business Administration degree from Université du Québec a Chicoutimi in December 2020.
He grew up in the Ivory Coast, Africa where his parents are currently living. He arrived in Saguenay three years ago to complete his studies at the university. His first language is French, and he is currently perfecting his English language skills.
He is eager to work full time after graduating. Like many students this year, he will not celebrate the usual graduation ceremonies that many have experienced before him. Instead, a virtual graduation ceremony will take place. COVID-19 may have changed many traditions/celebrations but not his spirit or drive to succeed.
Some of his favorite pass time activities are: basketball, soccer, reading and cycling.
To contact Mr. Elie-Pierre Blessy, call him at the office: 418-543-4302 or send him an email at:
[email protected] COVID-19, he may not always be in the office, so please leave him a message on the an-swering machine and he will call you back at his earliest convenience.
ECO-02 PROGRAMS AND UP COMING VIRTUAL WEBINARS
Mental Health workshops for the staff and students at Riverside Regional High School and MacLean Memorial School are currently being offered.
Cyber Fraud webinar on :January 21, 2021— Time : 10 to 11:30 AM
Save the date:February 20, 2021
—Community Health Information Session as to what services are being offered in English in the region, province and federal resources.Time : 10 to 11:30 AM
For the Seniors—webinars on Nutrition and Movement provided by the CHSSN through CHEP (Community Health Education Program) were offered . More webinars to come. Watch your email for information.
Cummings Centre Virtual Learning Library membership
offered to our seniors 50 and over free of charge. This is where exciting lectures and events that are in the video library can be found. An invitation will be sent to the member’s email a couple of days prior to each free live event. Funding for the Virtual Learning Program is generously pro-vided by the Leonard Albert Family Foundation. If you would like more information on this subject please contact the office.NEW LINKS TO ENGLISH ORGANIZATIONS IN QUÉBEC. Check them out!
AMI-Quebec
—Counseling and Mental Health https://amiquebec.org AMI-Quebec Action on Mental Ill-ness helps families manage the effects of mental illIll-ness through support, education, guidance, and advocacy. Our programs are free!Please note: due to the Coronavirus outbreak, our workshops and support groups will be held online via your
computer or smartphone.
Learn:
https://www.learnquebec.ca/home Learn tutoring offers online help for elementary and high school students , no charge, and workshops for parents
Dialing 811 promptly puts you in contact with a nurse in case of a non-urgent health issue.
Here are a few examples of situations in which you can call Info-Santé 811:
• You need an English interpreter while accessing healthcare services
• You have a seasonal flu that persists several days and you are wondering if you should go see a doctor
• Your child wakes up with a high fever and you are wondering if you should take them to emergency
• You are wondering what to do in order to relieve itching and swelling caused by an insect bite
• You have questions regarding health network resources
Action on Mental Illness 1-877-303-0264 COVID-19 1 877 644-4545 Drugs: Help and Referral 1-800-265-2626
Elder Abuse Hotline 1-888-489-2287 First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help 1-855-242-3310
Food Bank 418-698-8808 Santé / Info Sociaux 811 811
Interligne (for sexual orientation and identity) 1 888-505-1010 (call or text) Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868
Men’s Sexual Assault 1-866-466-6379
Narcotics anonymous Quebec 1-855-LIGNENA (544-6362) National Eating Disorder Information Centre 1-866-633-4220
Quebec Poison Control 1-800-463-5060 Saguenay Food Bank 418-698-8808
SOS Spousal Abuse 1-800-363-9010
Suicide Prevention 1-866-APPELLE (277-3553)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Phone numbers
This pocket-sized booklet is
designed for English-speakers
living in the SLSJ region. It
contains useful terminology
and phrases that can be used
when interacting with a variety
of health care practitioners.
To find out how to obtain a
copy, please send us an email:
[email protected].
Here is a little more detail on the COM-unity Project.
The aim of this project, is to speak to English-speaking seniors and understand why they call Quebec home and understand their sense of belonging to the province. We are interested in speaking to seniors who have lived through key historical moments (the Quiet Revolution, the creation of Bill 101, the rise of the PQ, the October crisis etc.) or seniors that may have immigrated after the second world war.
Essentially, we are interested in sitting down with seniors and talking to them about their sense of belonging to the province as an English-speaking person and senior, how the province has changed and essentially, why they feel they belong here and why Quebec is their home.
To do so, we will be interviewing and filming these conversations with these seniors, so we can produce a set of short videos, documenting their stories and views . To be able to actually interview people, the fist thing we must do, is find seniors with interesting stories and set up phone calls and pre-interviews with potential candidates. For this reason, we are inviting partners to share this information with their respective networks, so that we might be able to find interesting candidates.
Here is the link our website, which provides more information on the project: https://www.seniorsactionquebec.ca/en/our-projects.html
ECO-02 is building a bank of curriculum
vitaes (CVs) for future full or part -time
employment. If interested, send your
curriculum vitae to: [email protected] attention:
Elie-Pierre Blessy
Éducaloi
Your Starting Point for Legal Information in Quebec COVID-19: https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/web-guide/covid-19/
Legal Information Specific to Youth: https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/categories/for-teenagers/
Bullying and The Law: https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/web-guide/bullying-law/
Sexual Assaults—Reporting, Getting Help, Remedies: https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/web-guide/sexual-assault/
Teens in Trouble with the Law: What you Need to Know:
https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/web-guide/teens-trouble-law/
For more information about the law in Quebec, your rights and responsibilities, please see the full Éducaloi website here:
Prep: 30 minutes Rest : 1 hour
What do I need?
2 oz. Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup each: corn syrup and icing sugar
1/4 cup dark rum or orange juice
2 cups Oreo Baking Crumbs
1 cup finely chopped pecans
