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‘Mystery nurse’ thrilled by good news
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Jessica Peters The Progress Retired nurse Paula Kereluk was “thrilled” to hear that the man she had performed CPR on has pulled through and is recovering in hospital. “That was really nice to hear,” she said. She was having dinner with some family members at a Sardis restaurant, when there was a commotion nearby. “We had just started eating our dinner,” Kereluk said, when something seemed out of the ordinary at another table. She decided to go investigate, and immediately offered to help, o informing them i It ssuree she is a nurse. makes you Kereluk guided another bystander feel good as a helper, and they began to ~ Paula work on the man until more help Kereluk arrived. She had been wondering whether the man, Mel McKeen, had survived the ordeal, when a story about the incident was published in Wednesday’s Progress. McKeen’s family friend, Tricia Mercer, wanted to extend thanks to the women who saved McKeen. “I am just so thrilled to hear that he’s okay,” Kereluk said. Even with her connections to local health care, confidentiality had kept her from finding out who the man was, and whether he survived. “It sure makes you feel good,” Kereluk said. “You just feel like your whole career has been worthwhile.” Performing emergency CPR and first aid away from a hospital setting is not just another day at work, she explained. “Sure you do CPR in the hospital, but it’s different there,” she said. “You have all the equipment there, the suction and the monitors. When you’re out there in the world, you’re on your own. It’s just you and the patient.” This is one of the reasons that health care professionals go through regular
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Exploitation ends where understanding starts Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Stopping sexual exploitation of children and youth in Chilliwack is not easy, but there are ways. Unfortunately the problem, which is hard to see, is already here, says a multi-agency team united around prevention in Chilliwack. It could be a youth coerced into trading sexual favours for a place to sleep, nice clothes, or drugs and alcohol. Or perhaps a youth “sexting” nude photos to older men. “While sexual exploitation in our community may be invisible to most, we do know it is happening,” said Karen Steegstra,
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Child and Youth Community Coordinator. It’s the teen who pimps out her peers, or the one who meets a 40-year-old in a local park who had pretended to be in high school, but turns out to be a cyber stalker. Stop the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth Awareness Week is being recognized in Chilliwack and across B.C. this week — with fuchsia ribbons and events from March 9-15. They held workshops in Chilliwack last year and they also held a public rally downtown. But the concept is still a bit of a tough sell. “One of the most compelling issues is that youth themselves
do not recognize they are being exploited and that it is illegal,” said Brenda Listoen, chair of the Awareness Week committee, and a Youth Reconnect worker for Chilliwack Community Services. She is someone who works with at-risk teens, and says the need is great for more education. “We need to increase awareness about exploitation among our youth and in our community in general, helping them see exploitation for what it is, who is at risk and what we can as a community do about it,” said Listoen. For 2015, they are touring a multi-media presentation to middle and secondary school assemblies, with a public event on April 16 at the Cottonwood 4 Theatre
to screen a film called Trust, followed by a panel discussion with Children of the Street Society reps. The team relies on “anecdotal” evidence of inappropriate or exploitative relationships, from school counsellors, outreach workers and others who work with homeless or at-risk teens. “By being alert to the signs of exploitation and attentive to the potential dangers we can better ensure that our young people enjoy healthy formative years,” added Steegstra. The definition of youth sexual exploitation from the provincial government is: “Any type of sexual activity with children and Continued: YOUTH/ p5
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Sardis Secondary student Grant Williams prepares his dish in the culinary portion of Skills Canada Regional Skills Competition at the UFV Trades and Technology Centre in Chilliwack last Thursday. Williams was competing against three other high school students. See story, page 10. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS