Prosper Place Pioneer · Meet the new staff at Prosper Place Colin can’t contain his excitement about joining the gang at Prosper Place. “It feels like I’ve come home. It feels

Issue 55, August 2019

Prosper Place Pioneer

Prosper Place

10455 – 172 St. NW

Edmonton, AB T5S 1K9

Phone: 780.426.7861

Fax: 780.426.7874

[email protected]

www.prosperplace.org

Created and published by members and staff of

Prosper Place.

Prosper Place is a peer-run organization for people living

with the effects of mental illness.

Inside this issue:

“Come Meet with Us” Pg. 2

Executive Director Message Pg. 3

Community Events Pg. 3

Program Manager Message

Meet the New Staff

Pg. 4

Pg. 5

Member Spotlight Pg. 6 - 7

Reflection & Quote Pg. 8

Member’s Voices Pg. 9

Tech Corner Pg. 10

Recipe & Jokes Pg. 11

Book Review Pg. 12

Menu Calendar Pg. 13

Events Calendar Pg. 14

Prosper Place Pioneer Issue 55, August 2019

2

Meetings are a very important part of Prosper Place. Meetings are open to members and

staff. Come join us for the opportunity to contribute to the team!

DAILY MEETINGS

Unit Meetings

Daily at 9:30 am and 1:00 pm

Each unit holds a meeting for members and

staff to sign up and decide which tasks or

projects need to be worked on.

Announcements

Daily at 10:30 am

One free coffee, tea, or juice is available.

Announcements let everyone know what is

happening at Prosper Place.

Come enjoy a coffee break with your

colleagues!

TEAM MEETINGS

• Fundraising Team

• Employment Team / Workshop Team

• Social Rec. / Special Events Team

• Newsletter Team

• Menu Planning Team

See events calendar for dates and times of all our

Team meetings.

NEW MEMBERS

Nicole L

Wendy M

SOCIAL RECREATION

Wednesdays 1:30 pm

Every day (except Friday) 2:30 to 3:15 pm

Come join your friends and enjoy games,

movie or activities!

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in the Prosper Place Pioneer are those of the authors, not necessarily those of

Prosper Place. Please feel free to contact Prosper Place at 780.426.7861 with any questions or concerns.

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

Brad S Heather P Caroline H Hank L Selma S Beryl C Debbie G Trinidee B Maria M Donna S Jason Y Tyler H Nick E Daniel G Dani O Terry L Graham T Richard S Joania M Daniel K Robert S Virginia N Michael M

DOOR PRIZE WINNER

Terry R.


3

Message from our Executive Director

As we continue to take in

the beauty of what mother

nature gives to us in the

summer, I wanted to share

with you a “great find”

that recently crossed my

path. The bottle itself

helps me to promote

healthy consumption of

water, but the text that is

printed on it has resonated

close to my heart. I read it

often and it helps me to

stay focused on the gifts

of each day.

Submitted By

Lori Pratt

Executive Director

Edmonton Heritage Festival | Explore Edmonton

Sat., Aug. 3 – Mon., Aug. 5

9330 Groat Rd NW

Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival

Aug. 15 – 25

10330 84 Ave NW

Cariwest Festival

Fri., Aug. 9 – Sun., Aug. 11 11230 119 Street NW


4

Message from our Program Manager

1.Identify the blocks Become aware of the impact on you and those around you when you are choosing to stay stuck in the past: a negative result filled with painfully draining emotions. Write down the ways that staying stuck in the past is preventing you from enjoying the present. 2. Learn Spend time learning from yesterday – the mistakes or the poor choices you made. Write down the mistakes you made and what you will do next time to create a better result and outcome. 3. Appreciate Spend time appreciating yesterday – instead of longing for the past with sorrowful feelings and thoughts, choose to express gratitude for all the wonderful things that happened, for every blessing you experienced. 4. Dream Focus on each new day as another opportunity to live life to its fullest – to create new possibilities and new adventures which you will be able to express gratitude for in the future.

LIVE………..

Submitted By

April Scott

Program Manager


5

Meet the new staff at Prosper Place

Colin can’t contain his excitement about joining the gang at Prosper Place. “It feels like I’ve

come home. It feels good to be here.” Prosper Place is embracing growth through the Wellness

Network Learning Community collaboration and a new peer focused initiative. Hope is in the air

at Prosper Place. Hope is in Colin’s heart.

Colin started his professional career as Director of Family and Community Support Services in

Hanna, Alberta (his hometown) in 1986. For the past 20 years he has worked in the field of

mental illness / mental health. He had a very positive experience when he worked as executive

director with an organization that was formed by families, people living with mental illness and

professional allies. Families (who were peers by definition) got together in common goal to

advocate for community supports.

Colin knows we’ve come a long way over time but there is still so much to do, so many people

with so much potential given the opportunity to grow, and learn, participate fully in society, and

know they belong.

Colin moved on to work for the Support

Network where he supervised the brand-

new Wellness Network. Peer Navigators

who were recruited for their lived

experience and skills and they supported

people living with mental illness in their

self-directed search for the services,

programs, and supports to promote their

recovery and wellness. He took WRAP

training at that time and it gave him a

deeper understanding of the process of

recovery and wellness. As a person who

lives with mental illness and addictions

(started smoking when he was in Grade 6), Colin feels a strong connection to the communities

we serve at Prosper Place.

Colin is a visual artist and has painted over 100 paintings in the past 50 years. He writes every

day, stream of consciousness, essays, and has been working on his autobiography for the past

15 years. He loves high definition TV and watches news, comedies, science and nature shows.

Colin’s father was the owner and operator of a butcher shop and grazing land operation. He

prides himself on being able to carve a large turkey, hot from the oven in under 10 minutes and

bring the beautifully arranged slices of turkey on a platter to the table while the meat is still hot.

His friends like it too so they always have him over for Thanksgiving dinner. He suspects they

also like him as a person and not just for his carving skills.


6

Foosball Fundraiser

Our First Annual Foosball Fundraiser was a SUCCESS!!

Many thanks to all those that made this day

possible.

We are looking forward to the second annual

“Human Foosball for Mental Health” Fundraiser

2020!


7

WE LOVE OUR BINGO

Pauline G. and Marilyn P. (on left) were fierce

competitors at our June 26th Bingo.

After our Canada

Day Celebration

July 2nd Eang,

Brian U., Asif S.,

Jerred, & Tim (on

right) played for

prizes.

Respect, Responsibility &

Relationship Workshop

with Mike.


8

Quote:

“There never has been one like me before, and there never will be one like me again.”

- Howard Cosell

Submitted by: Heather P.

JUST A SUGGESTION ….

When one has a lot of hours in a day free, and one has no structure or definite

schedule from day-to-day, life presents a different but equally difficult challenge.

How do you fill your hours in a day that will give your life meaning, relevance or

fulfillment. This seems to be a situation that confronts people who are retired or on

government assistance. Sometimes the challenge becomes too overwhelming. The

only way out of this situation is to engage yourself in community activities or

organizations that provide meaningful and fun activities thereby giving your life a

schedule or a sense of structure and purpose. Prosper Place is one such organization

in Edmonton where one can find meaningful activities and to interact with people

similarly situated as we are. Human connection and engaging in enriching activities

provides mental stimulation that can help prevent regression or even Alzheimer’s.

Different strokes for different folks as they say, and people will have different

preferences in terms of the activities or organizations they want to engage in or

patronize. At any rate, the key is not to spend your days in idleness at home. As

someone who has tried it for weeks, I know the feeling is not good at all. So as a

segment of society, let us try if we are able, to go out of our homes at least from

Monday to Friday and engage ourselves in meaningful activities and human

interactions in organizations like Prosper Place. Indeed, it is heathier for our mental

and social well-being to do so.

Submitted by: Michael M.


9

What is Your Cultural Heritage?

Kat

Norwegian/Irish/Cree

Asif S

Indian /Lebanese

Lori P - Canadian

Colin S - Scottish

April S- Irish/Scottish

Mandeep K - East

Indian

Monique C-

Belgium/French

Canadian

Brian U - Canadian

Fay S - Chinese/Tongan

Dani O - Irish

Marilyn P-

German/French

Maritta T - Indian

Leslie O - Irish

Roman L - Ukrainian

Scott C - English Ashley T - Ukrainian

Graham T

Scottish/Irish/Swedish


10

Tech Corner By: Jerred M

For decades now, most sources mostly explain internet

safety in terms of shady figures hiding in basements around

the world, trying to pry into your privacy. While that is a

completely valid concern, that is way too specific for the

everyday users. This month I am going to share a few ways

to help you navigate the web more securely.

1. Passwords: The biggest mistake people make is using passwords that are too easy to guess.

Most websites still only require 8 digit passwords. Therefore the most common password is

12345678 or birthdays in MMDDYYYY format. Most people trying to access your accounts will

use software called a brute forcer. As the name suggests, it is designed to try millions of

combinations just by trial and error. To avoid falling victim to those, try using a combination of

numbers, letters, capitalization, and symbols (!@#$% etc.)

Here are a few easy to remember complex passwords: 6543Two, 246Eight, And1&Two, or

65432One.

2. Be wary of ‘Phishing’ emails/websites: Some hackers are a little bit more cunning. They create

spam emails and websites with the sole purpose of finding out your personal information. This

includes “fake websites” that look like the original. Always be careful that the website in the

address bar matches the website you are trying to sign into. (i.e. http://www.facebook.com/)

This especially is important for following links from emails you don’t recognize. Never open

attachments or click links from emails you don’t recognize! Speaking of Facebook, did you

know: those quizzes people share often started as Phishing scams? Think about it. Aren’t they

usually sneaky ways of asking people what their birthday or full names are? Often if your aunt or

cousin shares it with you, it’s harmless. But there’s some food for thought!

3. ALWAYS use the right anti-virus: An anti-virus software is like ColdFX for your computer.

Prevention is the key! 20 odd years ago, they used to be attached to a hefty price tag, with

programs like Norton Antivirus costing an annual fee. However, nowadays a lot of computers

come with a free Antivirus pre-installed. Make sure to ask the person you buy your computer

from/services your computer! There are some that are a little bit on the useless side. If you hear

MacAfee, I recommend you ask about them getting you a FREE software called AVG. Programs

like Norton and MacAfee tend to slow down computers a lot!

http://www.facebook.com/


11

Prep: 15 mins Cooking: 45 mins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

1. Melt several tablespoons of butter in a

skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and

garlic, and cook slowly until the onion

caramelizes to a dark brown, approximately

15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a

saucepan over medium-high heat along with

the tomato sauce, heavy cream salt, cayenne

pepper, and garam masala. Bring to a simmer,

then reduce heat to medium-low; cover, and

simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then stir in caramelized onions.

3. While the sauce is simmering, toss cubed

chicken breast with vegetable oil until coated,

then season with tandoori masala and spread

out onto a baking sheet.

4. Bake chicken in preheated oven until no

longer pink in the center, around 12 minutes.

Once done, add the chicken to the sauce and

simmer for 5 minutes before serving.

RECIPE

Indian Butter Chicken 1 cup butter, divided

1 onion, minced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

3 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast,

cut into bite-sized chunks

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons tandoori masala

Submitted by: Asif S.

Jokes If you have a Yorkie and it eats too much what is it called?

A Porkie Yorkie

What did Ernie say to Bert from Sesame Street when offered ice cream?

Sherbert

If someone painted a picture of the sun & the wind what color would they use?

The Sun (Rose) & The Wind (Blew)

Submitted by: Trish L.


12

BOOK REVIEW

First Snow, Last Light by Wayne Johnston (2017)

This book centers on the life of Ned Vatcher, whose life is forever changed when he comes

home from school to find his parents have vanished without a clue. Their unexplained absence

becomes an obsession for him throughout his life, although he becomes a respected

entrepreneur in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This is where most of the book takes place.

Fortunately, he has two good friends who help him through this situation and provide

companionship that his grandparents are unable to. I found some parts of the book rather

slow, but the unbelievable conclusion, which exposes the truth about his parents, was worth

the read. If you’ve never read anything by Wayne Johnston, I would recommend first reading

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. I’d give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Submitted by: Heather P.


13

August 2019 – Monthly Menu Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3

Lunch - Omelette &

Tomato slices

Supper - Sloppy Joes

Lunch - Leftovers

5 6 7 8 9

PROSPER PLACE

CLOSED

HERITAGE DAY

Lunch - Grilled Cheese and

Soup

Supper- Hash Brown

Casserole & Hot Dogs

Lunch – Burgers Lunch – Chicken Caesar

Salad

Supper - Pizza

Lunch - Leftovers

12 13 14 15 16

Lunch – Soup and

Sandwich

Lunch - Wraps

Supper - Meatloaf &

Mashed potatoes

Lunch - Burgers Lunch - Tuna Melts

Supper - Chicken Fried Rice

Lunch - Leftovers

19 20 21 22 23

Lunch – Soup and

Sandwich

Lunch- French Toast &

Sausages

Supper- Chili & Buns

Lunch - Burgers

Lunch - Tacos

Supper - Meal Deal

Baked Spaghetti

Lunch - Leftovers

26 27 28 29 30

Lunch – Soup and

Sandwich

Lunch – Burgers

END SEASON BBQ - FREE

Supper – Surprise

Casserole

Lunch - Bacon and Eggers Lunch - Pulled Pork

Sandwich

Supper - Pizza

Lunch - Leftovers

Lunches are $4 or less. Regular Suppers are $5 or less. Holiday Suppers are $6 or less. Soup $1.00


14

August 2019 - Events Calender Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3

Clubhouse Coffee Club 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Tim Horton’s on Jasper Avenue & 107 Street

5 6 7 8

9 10 PROSPER PLACE

CLOSED

HERITAGE DAY

Social Rec/ Special Events

Team Meeting 11:00 am

Food Bank Info Session

2:30 – 3:30pm

Menu Planning 10:00 am

Social Rec 1:30 pm

Skip-Bo Tournie

Employment/Workshop

Team Meeting

11:00 am



12 13 14 15 16 17

Newsletter Meeting 1:30 pm

Creative Sandwiches Workshop

10:00 am

Social Rec 1:30 pm

Team Word Search

Fundraising Team Meeting

11:00 am



19 20 21 22 23 24 Newsletter Meeting

1:30 pm

Social Rec 1:30 pm

TRIVIA



26 27 28 29 30 31 Newsletter Meeting

1:30 pm End of Summer

Wrap Up BBQ

11:00- 3:00 pm

Social Rec 1:30 pm

BINGO

Peer Director Board Meeting 12:00 pm



Documents

Prosper Place Pioneer · Meet the new staff at Prosper Place Colin can’t contain his excitement about joining the gang at Prosper Place. “It feels like I’ve come home. It feels