Deployment Programs & Workshops

Check the online calendar or watch the Petawawa
Post for dates or programs and workshops.

Deployment Briefings

Our team provides information workshops and presentations regarding available resources and services during periods of deployment. Briefings occur prior to deployment, mid-tour and a month prior to return addressing the topic of reintegration.

Recommended briefings during
a deployment...

- Pre-Deployment Briefing
Pre-Deployment is often all about preparation. Whether it's for a few days or a few months, there are a number of things that you can do to help you and your family prepare for an absence due to military duty.  Attend a briefing and learn about what services and resources that the PMFRC can provide you and your family to help you better prepare for deployment.

- Pre-Deployment Battlemind

- Mid-Tour Deployment Briefing
The Deployment briefing will be a reminder of the services and resources that the PMFRC provides which may help you ease the stress of Deployment.

- Deployment Re-Integration Spouse Battlemind briefing
Reunion is identified by many military families as the most challenging time for them.  The Reintegration briefing will touch upon what you can expect when a soldier returns and where to seek help.

For more information on dates and times please contact the Deployment Support Supervisor at 613-687-2104 ext. 223 or check the online calendar.

Operation Keep in Touch (OP KIT)

The Operation Keep in Touch program is here to ensure that families of military members have the opportunity to stay connected to CFB Petawawa and PMFRC activities and services during any time of deployment.
You will be contacted via telephone by the Deployment Support Centre (DSC) within the first 30 days of your soldier’s departure, at which time you can choose to receive the OP KIT Newsletter by email or regular mail. Please note this first contact is only possible if your soldier has provided current and accurate information to the DSC on the Family Contact Form.

Join Operation Keep In Touch at any time during deployment by calling 613-687-2104, ext. 223, or emailing us at deployment.pmfrc@bellnet.ca.

Operation Keep In Touch Mid Month Update: Operation Keep In Touch Mid Month Update program is to ensure that families of the military members have the opportunity to be continuously informed about any activity or event that may have not been included in that month’s Operation Keep In Touch newsletter.  For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 223

Click Here to view the Op Keep In Touch Newsletters.

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

Deployment R&R

Take some time to yourself with this excellent respite care opportunity. R&R dates vary each month, and offer a 3.5 hours free program for your children aged 0 – 12 years who have a parent away. It provides a special time just for them, with deployment related crafts and activities. It is an opportunity for children to meet other deployed children (as the family is deployed and not just 1 member of the family) and learn positive ways to cope with the separation. Children are grouped according to age. However just as important, it provides an opportunity for rest and relaxation for you. During large deployments, this program fills up fast, be sure to register at least two days in advance. Participation is limited to one 3.5 hour session per family per month.  
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 223.

Children’s Deployment Support Program (CDSP)

The CDSP is a peer support program delivered in the local schools. Pre, during, and post-deployment sessions help the children to understand their feelings, the changes, and possible stressors associated with deployments. In a safe, comfortable environment, the children learn positive living skills and age-appropriate stress management strategies to help them with their deployment situation.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

Buddy Program (monthly)

Join a group of kids that are going through the same kind of stuff...just like you. Get together once a month and try cool things and talk about what it is like being you, a kid in a military family. This program is for children 6 -11 years and runs one Saturday a month. Pre-registration is required.
For upcoming dates, please call 613-687-1478.

Mind Masters & Mini Masters

A 6 session, fun program from the Child & Youth Health Network of Eastern Ontario that helps children build positive living skills which they can use anytime, anywhere for the rest of their lives. Mini MindMasters is designed for children between the ages of 3 and 6, while MindMasters supports those from 6 to 12 years of age.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

Fun Friends and Friends for life

FUN FRIENDS & FRIENDS for Life programshelp children and teenagers cope with feelings of fear, worry, and depression by building resilience and self-esteem and teaching cognitive and emotional skills in a simple, well-structured format. The Phoenix Centre for Children & Families and the PMFRC have teamed up to offer the FRIENDS for Life program to military families.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222

TEEN PROGRAMS

Youth Deployment Support

As part of the CDSP program, youth support is provided at the local high school and within the community for teens of deployed military members to share their experiences with others. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences through art, theatre and writing.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222

Leaving Again?

A 1.5 hour workshop designed to help teens prepare for the departure of their parent. Teens will explore ways to stay connected to their deployed parent and discuss the possible changes that may take place for them at home during the deployment.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222

Stressed Out?

This two hour workshop will provide youth (ages 13 and up) who have a parent deployed with the required information to develop a personal stress management plan. Bring a friend and have some fun while learning about stress management.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222

Coming home- “Now what do I do?

A 1.5 hr workshop designed for teens to prepare for the challenges after a deployment. Teens will gain an understanding of what it is like for soldiers returning home and learn strategies that will help them to‘re-connect’.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

PARENT PROGRAMS

Kids Have Stress Too!

This is a program from the Psychology Foundation of Canada for parents of children from preschool to age nine. It is a three-part program designed to help parents and caregivers better understand childhood stress and to help them teach their children ways to manage it.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

Children and the Media

This is a 1.5 hour workshop that will increase your understanding of how over-exposure to the media and news can negatively impact a child’s emotional well-being and their understanding of what Canadian soldiers (their parents) are doing around the world.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222

Parenting through Deployment

This is an 8 session program (1.5 hr each) that deals with the challenges of parenting through deployments. Deployment can be a stressful time for parents as they continue to nurture and care for children as a temporary single parent.  This 8-week program will introduce parents to the emotional cycle of deployment from a child’s perspective, provide some effective parenting strategies, as well as provide the opportunity to share experiences with others.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

Children and Deployment

This 1.5 hr workshop will help parents and caregivers understand how children are affected when a parent deploys, their normal reactions, and some ways of dealing with their reactions. 
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

Children and Reunion

This 1.5 hr workshop will help parents and caregivers understand how children are affected when a parent returns from deployment. Normal reactions and strategies to help children through the reunion will be explored.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

Staying Connected to your Teen during Deployment

This 1.5 hr workshop will provide parents with an understanding of how teenagers cope with deployment. Parents will also learn strategies to enhance communication and stay connected to their teen.
For more information please call 613-687-2104 ext. 222.

GENERAL PROGRAMS

Family Activities (Monthly)

In partnership with the Deployment Support Centre (DSC) we host monthly activities for family members (kids not needed to participate) who have a loved one deployed. Come out, meet new people and have a good time.
For more information on this months event and to register please call 613-687-1478.
Dont forget to check out our Events Calendar or the Petawawa Post for upcoming program and workshops.