The Voice - Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Join VAD as we learn about Peer Support from Christina Henderson from Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation Enterprises.  Out of Calgary, this a business works with all ages to promote healthy peer support options.

Transcript

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

Welcome to the Voice of Albertans with Disabilities podcast for November 2023. I'm Teresa Makarewich, your host and VAD’s program and service manager. Thanks for joining us today. Voice of Albertans with disabilities gratefully acknowledges that what we call Alberta is the traditional and ancestral territories and gathering place for the diverse indigenous peoples. Whose histories, languages and cultures continue to influence our vibrant communities. We make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to the many First Nations, Metis settlements and the six regions of the Metis nations of Alberta and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations. 

In today's podcast, I'll be talking to Christina Henderson from Peerspective Consulting and Facilitation. Their website opens with the saying the need to be understood and feel we belong is something we all have in common. Peer support is emotional and practical support between two people who share a common experience. The peer supporter has lived through that similar experience and is trained to support others. 

VAD has been talking with local agencies to learn about the resources that are available to the disability community, and I thank Peerspective consulting and facilitation for coming on the podcast to discuss the resources this organization provides. Together, we hold power. Please welcome Christina. Can you take a moment to introduce yourself?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Hello. Christina Henderson  Yes, I am the sole owner of Peerspectives consulting and facilitation in Calgary, Alberta. I have been an educator for 18 years and I am a parent of sons who are 27 years old, and both have special needs.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

OK, a little bit of experience there then. I have a few questions about Peerspective consulting facilitation enterprises to gather information for our listeners. So, to start with, can you tell us who you are and what your organization is?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Our organization of Peerspective is a hopeful authentic support that focuses on the strong and not the wrong. I offer peer support training and workshop facilitation to assist with creating brave spaces where people feel, heard, understood and that they belong. My goal with Peerspective is to educate people on how to focus on the strong and not the wrong, to see the strength in their lived experiences, whether personally or professionally.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

Can you give us some history about your organization, please?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Sure, I officially started Peerspectives in 2021. I like to say that I've been doing. It all my life, because the history of Peerspective comes out of my lived experience with my sons, they were born at just over a pound each. They were three months premature in 1996, and so I immediately became an advocate for people with disabilities because we quickly learned that at 18 months, one of my sons was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and we later found out he was also going to be nonverbal. My other son in grade three was diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder, which he is still challenged with today, but with my lived experience with that and being a teacher, so being in the classroom or both elementary and junior high levels for 18 years. I kept seeing that there were gaps in the system. That there was A lot Of I call, I'll say red tape to get through to get supports that were needed, but not even just the supports. But to get people to listen with empathy and understanding to stories that needed to be told so with my lived experience Again, raising my sons, I eventually decided that I needed to stop just talking about it and take action, and that's why I started Peerspectives. And now, as I said, I do workshops and I do training, I work with corporations, nonprofit, parent groups. Basically, whoever needs peer support, I would say, and I I do that because I have learned that our story is our superpower. And I I love what you say with together, we hold the power because that is so True and Just because you maybe somebody with a disability or an advocate for somebody with a disability doesn't mean that your voice should be silenced or not heard. So that's what my hope is with my organization is to have everybody's voice heard and heard with empathy and understanding and listening with heart and mind.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

How does Peerspective consulting and facilitation help people in the community?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

I like to get out there to community events so that people know who I am and I'm not just a face on social media, for example, I want people to be able to approach me, have conversations with me and get to know not just who Peerspectives is, but who I am because they're really one in the same. I'm the sole person with Peerspectives. I do all the training, et cetera. So things that  I've done in the past is I've become involved with Community Now magazine and they do a mental health summit, so this year will be the second year that I've been involved in that and it's bringing people together in the community to learn about the resources that are out there  For mental health. So, this year, last year as well, I'm on one of the panels to talk about mental health in the community. I also have Cofacilitated a teacher Wellness Day, so being a teacher myself, I retired a year ago officially, but I know once a teacher, always a teacher I think so. I have Co Cofacilitated a teacher Wellness Day and that's just bringing teachers together. They register for the event, but it's to bring that community together to realize that they're not alone. They can be from different schools, different age groups or teaching They’re not alone. So, bring them together and give them a day Just for them. I've also been involved I’m currently involved with the Young Caregivers Pilot project that is connected with Youth Caregivers Association out of Ontario and Caregivers Alberta out of Edmonton, and we're doing; They've contracted me to be the head facilitator for the project for Alberta. This is also happening in BC, but that's bringing, we're reaching out to young caregivers and when I say young, I'm talking 12 to 15 years old Is the target audience that we're doing. So, it's working with youth It’s working with educators. It's working with parents of children with special needs, and I've facilitated parent groups before. And the one thing we all have in common is exactly what my website says: is the need to be heard and feel we belong somewhere. And that's the key, I think. And when I facilitate, that's what I do. I facilitate, I don't. I leave the conversation so that people’s voices are heard. And that we learn from each other. Because that's what I've done for 27 years with my kids as I learn. The more that I ask questions and the more That I do In the community, The more we can bring community together. And the final project that I've I'm currently working on is called design the shift and it's about bringing people in the community together to work collaboratively so that resources in mental health, in Wellness period, different kinds of resources in the community. Come together, work together to build a stronger community, but also ensure that our resources are. Out there for the community to find them, because that's one thing that I struggled with as a parent is where these resources that I need to help support me. So, all of that is how I am how I get involved in working community.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

You kind of covered this in your answer to the last question, but What are some Of the projects that you've done in the community besides the ones you've just talked?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Besides those ones, Oh my goodness. I've been part of panel discussions usually connected to the mental health realm. And and pure, always pure sport. I've been involved in different conferences as an exhibitor, this year I’m excited to say as we get into conference season in January, I will be actually speaking at two of the conferences about peer support networks and education and the importance of them. So, I'm I'm very excited about that. I'm currently working on a book to bring my experience connected with peer support networks. The book is specific to education. However, many of the strategies that I talk about in the book can be applied elsewhere to create peer support networks.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

Wonderful, please share your thoughts on how Peerspective consulting your facilitation contributes to disability community to help better people's lives.

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

I think I Do that in a very organic kind of way, simply because of my experience. I can have a conversation with a parent and I can empathize with what they're going through, whether their child is  A toddler right up to adult because I've lived that with with both my sons on different areas, right, but also giving not just listening and and being there to walk alongside them on their journey, but also to provides hope for them. That when you're in the thick of it, when you're a loved one of somebody with a disability and you're in in the the muck as I as I refer to it. We don't often see Beyond that and. We don't see, for example, that we need to take care of our own self-care. So I talk about that. I have a workshop that's only on self-care. I talk about what it's like to be a parent of and get a diagnosis at the age of 18 months old  That my son has cerebral palsy  And may never walk, but also Teach people that whether it's the person with the disability or the person supporting that person, or people supporting that person-  to focus on the strong, because we often get tied into what the diagnosis is. And one thing that I've always made sure as best I can, because it's not Always easy. But with my boys I always Say to them, your diagnosis does not define who you are, it's a diagnosis and it's important that you have that diagnosis because it helps you to get the supports in the community that you  Need, you won't get them without it. However, for me and my experience, because that's all I can speak from. That's the purpose of the diagnosis is to get the support that you need. The purpose isn't to define who you are. People had told me right from my son being in kindergarten That  Oh, he'll always be in a wheelchair. And maybe he'll need a power wheelchair as he gets older. And he's 27 years old and he uses a Walker more than he uses a manual wheelchair. The manual wheelchair he now uses more for transportation, so, and he is He is a young man  I always say kid, but  I catch myself. He's a young man that, He doesn't let anything stand in his way. He goes out and does things that able bodied people are afraid to do. Because he challenges things, right? So, I think with my lived experience and also my experience as an educator, Then I'm both Book learned and I'm life learned and I can bring that to the community to offer something that's rich and authentic.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

That's wonderful. How does someone get a hold of Peerspective consulting and facilitation?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

So, you can e-mail me. That's usually the easiest way and it's Peerspectiveconsulting@gmail.com. You can also go through my website which is Peerspectiveconsulting.ca. So those are the easiest ways to reach me. You can also find me on LinkedIn. Just put my name in Christina Henderson, I come. Up so, LinkedIn, Facebook. I'm on Instagram. I'm on Yeah, those are probably the easiest ways. My number, if anybody wants to call me, is 403-463-5805. But as I said, as I'm in and out of Facilitations and that I usually e-mail is the easiest way to reach me.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

Perfect. What is an interesting Fact about Peerspective consulting and facilitation that everyone should know.

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Oh, my goodness. I pondered over that one a little bit. I have to be honest. An interesting fact. Well, for me. I think people need to know that this Is my hard work It’s a passion. It's based on my lived experience. It comes out of that, so it isn’t I’m not A1 size fits all because nobody's experience is the same as somebody else's. We could have a common thread that connects us so that we can communicate, collaborate but our experiences will never be exactly the same as somebody else's. Our story, I truly believe, is our superpower. When we look at the strengths that we have and and when I've talked to parents, caregivers, even corporate people that want to bring me in  So they have a team of peer supporters within their organization and  They see, once they've talked to me and once we've figured out a plan for what they want, the I am passionate about this and this. This is what I feel I'm meant to do, and I think that sets me apart from other people that are doing this work and that's not any slant against anybody. It's just to say that I think when you can bring your own experience, lived experience to it, that's beyond book learned. That's the next level and I think that's what I would like people to know about Peerspectives.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

Thank you for your time and energy today. Your support to the community is of value to all. Is there anything else you want to say today that I haven't asked you?

Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting & Facilitation

Just thank you very much for having me on. It was, it's been an honor to be here. I was thrilled when you reached out to invite me to  Be on the  Podcast and just continue Anybody listening, focus on that strong focus on your strengths because often we don't realize that the strengths that we do have and they can be little things that doesn't have to be something huge. You don't have to look for something like a Mount Everest, right? So, focus on the strong, not the wrong.

Teresa Makarewich, Program & Services Manager

I like that small achievable steps. OK. Well, thank you again for joining me in today's podcast. Voice of Albertans with Disabilities is a cross disability nonprofit organization of and for people with disabilities. We are guided by the principles of accessibility, equity and inclusion. Learn about VAD services on our website at vadsociety.ca or call 780-488-9088 For more information. If you have a topic you would like to hear more about in a podcast, please e-mail Teresa at VAD@vadsociety.ca with topic ideas, speak your suggestions or your feedback, signing off for the day together, we hold the power.