March 26 Newsletter 2021

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March 26, 2021 newsletter from Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

Youth Job Connection Program

The City of Ottawa is currently recruiting youth aged 16-18 to benefit from the Youth Job Connection Summer program.

Here is a brief outline of the program:

  • Month of July and August 2021
  • Full-time or part-time hours
  • Youth will complete a 20hrs paid employability workshops
  • Youth with no previous work experience
  • Ages 16 to 18
  • Attending school and returning in September
  • Resident in Ontario
  • Eligible to work in Canada, SIN number
  • A contract must be in place prior to the individual commencing new employment
  • Employer Incentives offered to employers to offset the cost of hiring each youth hired and eligible for the YJC program

If you or your youth would like to know more about the Youth Job Connection Summer program, please contact [email protected].

An April break filled with fun and creativity with the Ottawa Public Library 

April break is just around the corner, at long last! To add to all the excitement of the arrival of spring, the Ottawa Public Library has planned a range of activities under the theme “Imagine” for kids aged 4 to 12. There is something for everyone! On the agenda from April 12 to 17: yoga, dance, arts and crafts, reading, writing and plenty of laughter — not to mention concerts for the whole family each afternoon at 3:30 pm! 

So not to worry, parents! Your kids will be anything but bored. They will find everything they need at the Library to learn, play and let their imagination soar. Hop onto Zoom, YouTube or Facebook to join in on a variety of fun online activities. 

Reading is the richest road to literacy and knowledge. Reading at any age, though especially for the young has immediate and long-lasting benefits such as reasoning, comprehension, memory, vocabulary, empathy, self-awareness and decreased levels of stress. OPL librarians have put together an exciting booklist to enthrall young readers of all stripes special list of children’s books for the occasion.  

For more information on this program, visit BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca. 

Committee approves strategy to advance gender equity 

The City’s Community and Protective Services Committee today approved a comprehensive strategy to close the gender gap so that everyone, regardless of their gender, age, abilities, religion, race or income, can fully take part in all aspects of life in Ottawa.  

The Women and Gender Equity Strategy outlines how the City will integrate gender equity in all its processes, services, strategies and policies. The City will implement actions that remove systemic barriers faced by women and gender diverse people and ensure equitable access to City services. 

Based on public consultations and stakeholder input, the strategy is focused on four outcomes: policy change, safety, equitable representation, and gender inclusivity. The strategic framework for the first phase, taking place in 2021 and 2022, outlines key actions that the City would take to address those areas, including prioritizing women in the housing blitz, piloting free menstrual products, hiring from equity-deserving groups, and reviewing policies on sexual and gender-based harassment and violence.  

Online engagement opportunity - Climate Resiliency Strategy

The City is developing a Climate Resiliency Strategy to assess how Ottawa is vulnerable to climate change and identify strategies to mitigate the greatest climate risks.

Climate change will impact us all in our daily lives. Heatwaves will increase heat related illnesses, shifting freeze-thaw cycles will cause more damage to roads and more intense rainfall will increase the risk of flooding. To develop a strategy that meets the needs of everyone in Ottawa we need your input on:

  • How climate change is affecting you and your community
  • The future impacts of climate change you are most concerned about
  • How we can best prepare Ottawa to be resilient to the impacts
  • What you are doing to adapt to current and future climate change

Have your say

The city wants to hear from you! Complete the survey to let us know what climate impacts you are most concerned about, how climate change is affecting you and how we can help you prepare for the future.

To learn more, visit https://engage.ottawa.ca/climate-resiliency and subscribe to the climate change e-newsletter(External link) to receive updates.

Online Event – Let's Talk: COVID-19 and the Black Community 

Join Black Ottawa Connect and the Ottawa Young Black Professionals for a Q&A Panel with local Black Health Care Professionals.  This Panel will take place on Saturday, March 27 at 10:00 a.m., and aims to provide community members with an opportunity to learn about choices available to them to maintain their health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Please register for this panel here.

The Latest COVID-19 Updates for the City of Ottawa      

  • “The numbers on Ottawa Public Health’s dashboard represent people – grandparents, mothers, fathers, siblings, aunts, uncles, friends. Neighbours, knowledge keepers, people we passed on the street, on the bus. Our collective efforts will prevent more loss, as will the vaccinations that are just starting to make a difference for older adults’ risk in our community.” Read the latest statement from Dr. Vera Etches.
  • ICYMI – Watch the presentation by the Ottawa Disability Coalition, Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa Accessibility Office on COVID-19 vaccination for people with disabilities in Ottawa.
  • FYI: personal support workers who have not yet pre-registered for a vaccine can complete the online form. PSWs who don’t have an OHIP card can call 613-691-5505 to pre-register. After that, you'll be given an appointment in the coming days/weeks.
  • Check out OPH’s multilingual resources to get answers to your COVID-19 vaccine questions in Arabic, Somali, and Simplified Chinese:
  • On the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 death in Ottawa, Mayor Jim Watson hosted an interfaith service to honour all City of Ottawa residents who have lost their lives to COVID-19.

COVID IMPACT Study

The Bridge Engagement Centre is a community research office in downtown Ottawa. The Bridge conducts Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) under the auspices of The Ottawa Hospital, The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and The University of Ottawa. The aim of the Centre is to co-create innovative evidence based sustainable solutions addressing the root causes of poor health – namely isolation, mental illness, poverty, and trauma.

The Bridge is currently conducting a project that assesses the impact of the pandemic on the health and socioeconomic situation of lower income and precariously housed populations and communities. This project will be conducted alongside community peer researchers with lived experience of poverty and/or homelessness. The community peer researchers will conduct the data collection for the project by way of survey completion with participants. . Participants will receive $30 for about an hour of their time answering questions. 

Who can be part of the study? (inclusion criteria)

  • 16 years or older
  • Living in the Ottawa area for at least 6 months
  • Homeless or at-risk of homelessness
  • Identify as a visible minority (black, Indigenous, Asian etc.) OR polysubstance user (someone who uses drugs)
    • If a participant uses alcohol and marijuana with other drugs, they can be a part of the study

Who can’t be a part of the study? (exclusion criteria)

  • Did not consent to the study
  • Can't do the survey because of health reasons

Participants can do the survey in different ways:

  • Online by themselves using a computer that has internet access
  • Over the phone with a community peer researcher
  • In-person with a community peer researcher

For more information contact:
[email protected] – 225 Donald St, Ottawa, Ontario – 613-241-0677

COVID-19 Vaccination Updates in Ottawa

All residents 75 and over can now book to receive a COVID-19 vaccination

Ottawa residents age 75 and over (born in or before 1946) can begin booking appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Residents age 75 and over citywide

Visit Ontario.ca/bookvaccine to access the provincial booking system or call the provincial vaccine booking line at 1-833-943-3900 between 8 am and 8 pm, seven days a week. Only book or call if you are eligible.

Appointments will be available at four community vaccination clinics:

  • Nepean Sportsplex (now open)
  • Ruddy Family YMCA-YWCA (now open)
  • Eva James Memorial Community Centre (opens Tuesday, March 23)
  • City Hall (opens Tuesday, March 23

Pop-up clinics in high-priority neighbourhoods

Additional pop-up clinics will be available in previously identified high-priority neighbourhoods. If you are age 75 and over (born in or before 1946) or an adult recipient of chronic home care, and you live in one of these neighbourhoods, please call 613-691-5505 to verify your eligibility and book an appointment.

Service providers can take your call between 7:30 am and 6 pm, Monday to Friday, and 8:30 am to 4 pm Saturday and Sunday.

To enable physical distancing and to reduce the number of people in the clinic, please arrive for your vaccine no more than 10 minutes before your appointment time.

First Nation, Métis and Inuit populations

Ottawa Public Health is partnering with Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health to provide a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for First Nation, Inuit and Métis community members age 40 and over at the St-Laurent Complex, located at 525 Côté Street. Call 613-691-5505 to book an appointment.

Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team is providing vaccinations for all Inuit adults. To book an appointment with Akausivik or for more information, call 613-740-0999.

For more information, please visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/IndigenousVaccine.

Confirm your eligibility

Please visit Ottawa Public Health’s  COVID-19 vaccine eligibility screening tool. If you are unable to book an appointment when your eligibility is first announced, you can still receive the vaccine at a later date.

Extended weekend hours at multiple testing sites

In recent weeks, Ottawa’s assessment centres have experienced a growing demand for testing and increased on-site volumes. To expand capacity, and to ensure Ottawa residents continue to have timely access to COVID-19 testing, a number of assessment centres have extended their weekend hours.  

Beginning Friday, March 26, the CHEO Assessment Centre, Brewer Assessment Centre for Adults, Moodie and Ray Friel testing sites will all have extended weekend hours until further notice.  

COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre – Moodie 

Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (testing only, full care clinic not available on weekends) 

COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre – Ray Friel  

Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (testing only, full care clinic not available on weekends) 

COVID-19 CHEO Assessment Centre and Kids Come First Care Clinic at Brewer Park Arena  

Friday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

COVID-19 Assessment Centre for Adults at Brewer Park Arena  

Friday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

Over the coming weeks, the Taskforce and its partners will continue to evaluate and respond to assessment centre volumes in an effort to maintain accessible COVID-19 testing for Ottawa residents. 

Vaccine Information in Sign Language 

OPH is proud to announce our recently published COVID-19 Resources in American Sign Language webpage that provides accurate, reliable and up-to-date COVID-19 resources to Ottawa’s Deaf and hard of hearing community. The webpage includes several instructional and informational videos on topics such as physical distancing, mask wearing, mental health and more, all in American Sign Language.  

OPH has shared the webpage with members of the community through our social media channels, and would encourage elected officials to do the same by sharing/re-tweeting the following tweets: 

 

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