WEBSITE: Help for families of remote workers comes to Canada

TORONTO - A free support website has been launched in Canada to boost the emotional resilience of employees and families in mining, oil and gas.

Created by two Australian moms, the free website is designed to offer professional support and friendship to Canadian families coping with the pressures of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) rosters or life away from strong support networks.

“Mining, oil and gas are dynamic industries offering financial stability and great career opportunities, but the lifestyle can also be tough sometimes, especially on young families,” says founder Alicia Ranford.

“I created Mining Family Matters in Australia four years ago, after struggling to find specific information and services to help my two young children cope with their FIFO mining dad being away for extended periods. The website is now accessed by more than 16,000 people a month.”

After receiving regular enquiries from North America, Alicia and co-founder Lainie Anderson decided to offer the same dedicated resources to Canadian families and companies.

The website, MiningFM.ca, features to both English and French to appeal to all of Canadian readers.

Key features include:

• A free Q&A counselling service where families can seek professional advice on relationship and parenting issues;
• Columns by resident psychologist Angie Willcocks; and
• Stories by lifestyle contributors and mining, oil and gas workers.

The Mining Family Matters team – that was in Toronto this week for PDAC 2014 – has also launched a new guidebook to help Canadian families survive and thrive when one partner works away.

The 32-pageWorking Away Guide is printed in English and French and targeted primarily at resources companies. It contains professional advice most commonly requested by FIFO families around the world, as well as practical ways to keep relationships healthy and families happy.

Once again, the website is MiningFM.ca.