Preparing with
your family

Set up contact information (phone numbers and email addresses) for your family and friends in your phones, so you can quickly reach them and they can reach you.

If there is an emergency at home, your family can:

1. Call you on your personal cell phone after work hours.
2. Call Employee Retention and Support Services (ERS) at 204-778-3990.
3. If you are a member of a partner First Nation community, your family can also contact the Keeyask Cree Nation site representative either by calling your local band administration office or the Keeyask Site Liaison office at 204-778-3910.

Being away for three weeks can cause unexpected problems for family and friends.

Following are some steps you can take with your family to help them be better prepared for your absence.

1. Banking — if your family relies on you for banking, it will be important that they have access to everyday and emergency funds.
2. Medications and Prescriptions — If you are caring for a family member who has regular prescriptions or other health care needs, you can contact your health care professional to assist with creating a plan for when you are away at work.
3. 
   

   Planning Together —

   It is important to talk with your family about what to do if problems come up when you are not there.

   If you or your family is struggling with adjusting to you being at Keeyask, they can contact Employee Retention and Support Services. They are there to help employees and their families with all kinds of challenges. They have programs and supports to help with Life Skills, Marital Stress, Family Stress and much more.

4. What life at Keeyask is like — A lot of families want to see more about what your life at Keeyask is like. You can review the videos: your room and camp life in this series, or see other pictures and videos at Keeyask.com.
5. Coming and Going — Sometimes going home for a week can be the toughest part of working at Keeyask.
   For some families, the problems and work piles up for three weeks, leaving you catching up during your days off. Try to talk with your family about sharing responsibilities, so this doesn’t happen.

   For some, the day they arrive home and the day they leave to come back to work are both hard. It’s important to know that those times of change, coming back into the house, and leaving again, can be hard on everyone. Everyone (including you) has to get used to you being there again, and everyone has to get used to the change when you leave.

You can leave your work at Keeyask, in case of a death in the family, a family illness and other personal emergencies. Leave time policies are different depending on which company you work for.

In case of a family crisis, you would need to discuss how much leave time you have with your supervisor.