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Reunion & Reintegration Retreat Pilot Project

by Sandra Doody, Winnipeg MFRC Family Separation & Reunion Coordinator

Ever sit down to talk about one project and find yourself agreeing to start another?

While sharing some information about a recent Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) National Conference over a coffee, Melissa Bryden, the Family Peer Support Coordinator with OSISS and I talked about the new Family Briefing package from the Joint Speakers Bureau (JSB). It was developed to complement the briefing that returning deployed military members receive in Cyprus. The JSB happened to be looking for a wing/base to run a pilot project and this motivated us to make it happen.

We formed our committee and asked Diane Brine, the Youth and Personal Development Coordinator, who is trained to deliver the JSB Family Briefing to come on board. We then reached out to the Helping Professionals at 17 Wing Winnipeg to assist us.

This was a joint Winnipeg/Shilo MFRC effort and as such, invitations went out to families in both areas. Family Separation & Reunion Coordinator Linda Beauchemin and Deployment and Special Events Coordinator Courtney Brister joined the team to accompany the families from Shilo. This partnership was very important to the success of the retreat and we can’t thank them enough for their contribution. A huge thank you also goes to Captain Wayne Johnston, founder of Woundedwarrior.ca, for his organization’s funding and assistance in our efforts.

We held our weekend retreat on March 13 and 14, 2010 at Camp Assiniboia in Headingley, Manitoba. The weekend featured a variety of presentations. Kathy Godfrey from Health Promotion spoke about Healthy Living and Padre Mark Mawson from 23 Health Services spoke about “Your Spiritual Self”. Melissa Bryden gave an OSISS briefing, James Knox, the Family Liaison Officer with the Shilo Integrated Personnel Support Centre (IPSC) spoke about Healthy Relationships and John Chabih from the Winnipeg IPSC gave a quick introduction to the outreach program he manages. We also provided a lighter side to the day with a craft session and a wonderful DVD called Humour Your Stress, which had everyone wearing a red clown nose by the end of it!

While the break-out sessions for the adults were running, a full complement of children’s programming was also offered. Children, ages 4 to 15, were guided through crafts and sport events. Child care was provided for those 3 years old and under.

The weekend retreat offered the families time to de-stress and take in some family fun activities. We had spouses, fiancés and parents attend the retreat and their feedback has been very positive. We believe that the retreat was a great success!