Let’s meet a Yukoner whose work helps children and families.
Callie is a social worker. She lives in Carmacks and works with the Government of Yukon.
Her role with Family and Children’s Services supports children, parents and foster families in the community.
Her work carries real responsibility and the potential to change the course of children’s lives.
We asked Callie about her career path and what she loves about living in Carmacks.
When did you start thinking about social work as a career?
I was born in Whitehorse and spent some time in Mayo as well. My father was a police officer and my mother was a social worker here in the Yukon. They always instilled in me a strong sense of social justice.
In our conversations around the dinner table growing up, my parents always said it was important to make sure that we did our part to support people and to build community.
I pursued an undergrad in psychology and sociology at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. There I did a thesis on harm reduction. After my undergrad, I moved to Calgary and worked in student services at two universities. Those jobs connected me with people. At the time, I also volunteered at a women's centre and community food center.
My work with students and my volunteering suddenly connected. I realized I was passionate about working with people.
I decided to go back to school and got my master's in social work at Carleton University.
How did you choose to return to the Yukon?
I had always planned on returning to the Yukon. When I finished my master’s I was working on the front lines of the overdose crisis in Ottawa in a supervised consumption site.
Eventually the frontline work, the stress of the city, COVID and all of those things added up.
I was really feeling the call of the Yukon.
I applied for a job as a regional social worker. When they said Carmacks was an option, it was really serendipitous!
My best friend who I was living with at the time also got a nursing position in Carmacks. And so we moved together – the new nurse and the new social worker arrived together in 2022.
It has been a great experience for both of us.
Can you tell us about your work with children?
My portfolio in Carmacks is exclusively child welfare. But I work with people of all ages from babies to elderly grandparents who are involved in caring for their families.
Carmacks does not have any sort of group care or transitional support home. Instead, what we have is a really incredible and supportive community network of people who have chosen to take kids in, either as foster parents or extended-family caregivers.
I work with families whose kids are still living in their homes. I also work with kids who are living in foster care.
In some cases, I am their legal guardian. That means I’m responsible for following up with foster families or caregivers to make sure kids are getting everything they need: getting dental exams done, attending doctor's appointments and those kinds of things. I can also sign permission forms to authorize field trips with the school for example.
My job is ultimately to support the safety of children in community by working with them, their parents and caregivers.
What do you do in a typical day?
I try and use my mornings for administrative stuff. I get assessments done, make sure my documentation is up to date, work on care plans, have videocalls within the department and that kind of thing. It depends on what comes up and where I am needed sometimes! In the afternoons, I like being out in the community: meeting with families or checking in with kids at school.
How do you work with the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation (LSCFN)?
I am very fortunate. I would even say it's one of the protective factors that have kept me in this job: our working relationship with LSCFN is really fantastic. There's a family support team within health and wellness at the LSCFN government and they are extremely effective colleagues.
They help me so much in terms of scheduling meetings, building relationships with families and helping us ensure that we're able to meet the needs families are identifying. It’s important we provide that wraparound care, with preventative and supportive work.
We're deeply collaborative.
Honouring the relationships that exist with the staff within the First Nation government and families who are citizens really ensures that there's that positive working relationship with families and community in Carmacks.
What do you like about Carmacks?
Carmacks has a lot to offer in terms of hiking and outdoor exploring. I have also been fortunate to build a solid community here. I even met my partner here. We also have such an awesome recreation centre! With a wonderful group of staff.
LSCFN also does tons of events and programming and brings a lot to community here.
Carmacks is about a two-hour drive from Whitehorse. And when you've lived in the Yukon for a while, two hours for travel doesn't feel that far. Because of that we have people come from Whitehorse to teach classes sometimes or have workshops.
I even teach a little bit of boxing to a couple of women on Friday evenings.
We really have it all in Carmacks. Our store is great. We have two restaurants in the winter and four in the summer.
We are a pretty active community when it comes to programs and events. That includes the arts as well. And we have a library at the school that is staffed by a librarian who's very committed to community programing and community development.
You’ll find lots of things to do if you're open to trying new things or going adventuring.
What advice might you have for someone who is considering a career in social work?
I would say that social work can be difficult.
Sometimes everything we learn about people can be heavy to carry. We see people in difficult moments. Sometimes we see them come through those moments with triumph and success and joy and all those things.
But it can be a lot to hold.
My advice would be to make sure that you make space for you to process those things.
I'm a big believer in therapy and counseling and having spaces where you're able to do that supportive processing. And I think that everyone deserves access to a space where they can talk about how they're feeling without judgment.
I'm a big believer in taking care of yourself to be able to show up as your best self to help others.