Keeping Clients, Families and Employees Safe
Your health and safety is our top priority at Hands.
Read our COVID-19 update for July 5, 2022.
COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and Procedure
Hands is committed to providing a safe place for our clients, employees, volunteers and other visitors. To help keep everyone safe, we have a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and Procedure as an added measure of protection against COVID-19.
Virtual Service
Hands continues to offer virtual service where possible. This is the safest way to offer important services while protecting our clients, families, employees and communities.
In-Person Service Available
Hands also offers in-person service when needed. Clinicians and employees who are meeting with clients and families are well-trained in Infection Prevention and Control practices to help keep everyone safe. Our sites have been modified to support Infection Prevention and Control and we have Personal Protective Equipment, like masks and gowns available when and where needed.
Resources
We know there are lots of questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. We are happy to be able to help answer those questions with the following resources.
- Hands’ Family Resource Guide – A good place to start if you would like to see an overview of services to help your family during the pandemic.
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Awareness resources
- COVID-19 and the Indigenous Community
- World Health Organization: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Myths Busted
COVID-19 Vaccines
- ParentHomework.ca – Trusted information about COVID-19 vaccination for children by the Children’s Health Coalition
- Getting my COVID-19 Vaccine – Social Story and resources
- Get the Facts: Vaccinating Children against COVID-19
- Ask the Expert videos – Medical experts answer common questions about COVID-19 vaccines for children 5 to 11 years old:
- KidsHealthFirst.ca – Resources and tips curated and created by the Children’s COVID-19 Vaccine Table
- Max the Vax – Learn all about the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11
- Vax Facts for Youth
- COVID-19 Vaccine for Children
- Easy read booklets about the COVID vaccine
- Child and Youth COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet
- Preparing to get the COVID-19 Vaccine: Some Strategies To Help If You Are Nervous About Needles
- What I Need to Know about COVID-19 and the COVID-19 Vaccine
- The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them
Homeschooling and Work Life
- A Guide To Virtual Learning
- Tips to Support Your Child’s Mental Health Through Remote Learning
- How to Bring Joy to Virtual Learning
- Fun Activities to Help Kids and Families Keep Learning and Stay Healthy
- Fun & Educational Websites
- Daily Learning Schedule Sample
- Canadian Center for Child Protection: Online Safety
- 20 of the Best Homeschooling Websites and Learning Resources
- Keeping Kids Safe Online
- How to Home School for Free
Back to School during COVID-19
- School Mental Health Backpack – Resources and tips to support your child’s mental health in school
- Back to School Anxiety: How to Prepare Your Child for Returning to School During COVID-19
- Government of Canada – COVID-19 guidance for schools Kindergarten to Grade 12
- Ontario Government Support for Students and Parents
- 7 Tips to Help Your Child Wear a Facemask
- CHEO – Back to School During COVID-19: Tips for Parents and Caregivers
- AOTA – Tips for Families: Helping Children and Adolescents Transition Back to School
- AOTA – Transitions
- U of Calgary – Nine tips for preparing children to return to school
- NSW Health – Supporting Children’s Return to School During COVID-19
- Kid’s Activity Sheet – Back to school feelings
- Kid’s Activity Sheet – Going back to school
COVID-19 and Coping
- Hands’ Family Resource Guide
- Confused about COVID? – Family doctors answer your questions *NEW
- Let’s Move: Staying Active for Kids
- Parenting Tips – NPSDHU
- Parents, women among Canadians struggling most with mental health during pandemic: surveys
- How To Care for Older Adult during COVID-19
- How to support kids’ and teens’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Being in an Abusive Home During COVID-19: Tips and Resources
- Teen COVID-19 Resource
- Guide to Self Care
- Self Care
- Video For Adults who have Siblings with a Developmental Disability
- Community Service Providers
- Youth mental health resource hub
- COVID-19 Communication Rights Toolkit for persons with speech-related disabilities
- Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Parenting
- Wellness Together Canada: Mental Health and Substance Use Support
- Parenting Tips
- Explaining COVID-19 with Augmentative and Alternative Communication
- Emotional Survival Guide for COVID-19
- Easy and Fun Mental Health Activities
Social Stories and Visual Supports
It can be difficult to explain the pandemic to people with communication challenges. These stories and visual aids may help you explain the pandemic in a way that is easy to understand.
- Getting Tested for COVID-19 – Social story and resources
- Getting my COVID-19 Vaccine – Social story and resources
- Love in Lockdown
- When you can’t wear a mask
- Lenny and Lilly in Lockdown (Wordless Stories for Primary School Children)
- Lenny and Lilly Return to School (Wordless Stories for Primary School Children)
- Having a Test for Coronavirus
- COVID-19 Self-help Booklet Series for People with ID
- Dave the Dog is worried about coronavirus
- Coronavirus a Book for Children
- The Story of the Oyster and the Butterfly: The Corona Virus and Me
- Talking Mats
- COVID-19 Video for Kids
- My Social Distancing Story
- Dealing with Covid-19 Handwashing and Social Visuals
- Sophie’s Stories – The Stay at Home Superheroes
Social Distancing Activities
- The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – VIRTUAL
- National Film Board of Canada
- Active for Life
- Sesame Street – Videos Games and Activities
- Stay-at-Home Activities
- COVID-19 Resources for Persons with Developmental disabilities and their families
- Brainpop on Covid-19
- Social Emotional Learning
- Well-Being Calendar
- Fitness Activities
- Ideas for Being Home with Kids