Parents from Thompson and its surrounding Northern communities were in attendance at the sixth annual Hello Parents Network of Thompson “Strong Parents, Healthy Families” conference, which took place on Feb. 17 and 18 at the Juniper Centre in Thompson.

The conference was put on by many different organizations, including Babies Best Start; the Burntwood Healthy Baby and Healthy Mom program; the Burntwood Parent Child Centred Coalition; Families First; Family Services and Consumer Affairs; Futures Family Resource Centre; InSight Mentoring Program; the Ma Mow We Tak Friendship Centre’s New Beginnings program and parent child centre; the School District of Mystery Lake; the Thompson Crisis Centre; Turnabout and Wapanohk Community School.

All of the groups are part of the Hello Parents Network, which has been operating in the Thompson region since 1998. Committee members are from community organizations who work with families and children primarily from ages zero to six but also with families as a whole. The committee looks to “strengthen and support” families in the Northern region by hosting different health promotion community events.

This year, the conference featured topics such as “Nutrition for the Whole Family”, with speakers Patricia-Ann Solomon, a registered dietician, and Heather Bonner, from the Mino-Ayaw (Feeling Healthy) project. There was also a “Survivor – A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the ‘Sex Talk’” and a presentation from the Sexual Exploitation of Youth Northern Team, including speakers Nancy Vystrcil, from the Safer Choices Northern Network program; Liz Corner; Michelle Leben, a public health nurse; and Sharon Kent, a district counsellor with the School District of Mystery Lake. There was also a panel that focused on disciplining children at any age, with moderator Karen McMurchy and participants Lois Cablik with Futures; Debbie Dennis and Kaylee Watson with Families First; and Anne Gray-Kaspick, a community addictions worker. Finally, there was also a self-care session with speakers including elder Virna Ironstar and Mike Briol, a community health nurse.