Yxe Underground

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. I’m your host, Eric Anderson. Happy New Year to all of you and I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.I am really excited to begin 2024 with a bonus episode featuring a really kind and passionate person in our community. Her name is Lecina Hicke and she is the CEO of the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation.The reason I reached out to Lecina is I wanted to do an episode focusing on the Hospice at Glengarda. As you will hear in our conversation, Lecina has a very strong connection to the Hospice and worked extremely hard for years to ensure its construction and its mission of providing compassionate and meaningful End-of-Life care would be successful.The Hospice at Glengarda is a 15-bed Hospice located on Hilliard Street East and Melrose Avenue in Saskatoon’s Exhibition neighbourhood. My wife and I used to live on Ash Street and would walk by the construction three times day because our dog Fred loved his walks, and it was really something to see th

Finding your voice as a young artist can be challenging, especially if you can't find the right space to express yourself creatively. Luckily for young people in Saskatoon, Jody Lerat and her team of students have created a safe and inviting space where young artists are free and encouraged to discover their voice. It's called Future Artistic Minds and you are about to visit this collective here on YXE Underground.I was able to spend a Tuesday night in late November at the Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op in Saskatoon's Riversdale neighbourhood. The building is broken up into several different spaces. There's a recording studio down the hall from the kitchen, a silk screening press in the basement, and in the kitchin and dining room area, a group of high school and early 20 something artists are sitting around a long, wide table making art out of felt. All of this falls under the umbrella of the Future Artistic Minds collective, also known as FAM. This evening is a drop-in session meaning people can come in and

Hello, I'm Eric Anderson and welcome to YXE Underground. If you are a long time listener of the podcast, thank you!If this is your first time listening, welcome. YXE Underground is a local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon that shines a light on people who are doing incredible things but are flying under the radar. I am so excited that this season, we will have the wonderful Lisa Greig on every month for "Walking with Lisa" episodes. In the past few seasons, we've done several episodes focusing on mental health and they have become some of the most listened to episodes in the six seasons of the podcast. It got me thinking that it would be great if we could do a quick mental health check in every month and luckily Lisa said yes to the pitch. Lisa Greig is a mother of two young children, a social worker who today works at the University of Saskatchewan, the author of a best selling children's book entitled 'Scream! Shout! Let's Feel Our Grief Out' and a trusted mental health advocate within our community.S

For more than 20 years, Kim Fisher has worked at the Saskatoon YWCA helping women and their families receive the supports they need and doing it with kindness and compassion. The YWCA is many things to many people in our community. There is an employment and learning centre that helps people learn the skills to reach their employment goals. The childhood development centre provides daycare to kids from across Saskatoon. And of course there is the gym that many years ago I frequented when I was a university student living a block away from YWCA. For this episode, we focus on the YWCA’s Emergency Crisis Shelter, the long term residents and the programming it provides to women and their families in need of help. Kim Fisher is the Director of Residential Programs at the YWCA and is a very busy person. She oversees several different support programs, which she talks about in our conversation, and has been helping with the organization’s efforts to expand their capacity through their Hope Lives Here campaign. The n

Hello, I'm Eric Anderson and welcome to YXE Underground. If you are a long time listener of the podcast, thank you! If this is your first time listening, welcome! YXE Underground is local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon that shines a light on people who are doing incredible things but are flying under the radar.I am so excited that this season, we will have the wonderful Lisa Greig on every month for 'Walking with Lisa' episodes.In the past few seasons, we've done several episodes focusing on mental health and they have become some of the most listened to episodes in the six seasons of the podcast. It got me thinking that it would be great if we could do quick mental health check in every month and luckily Lisa said yes to this pitch. Lisa Greig is a mother of two young children, a social worker who today works at the University of Saskatchewan, the author of a best selling children's book entitled 'Scream! Shout! Let's Feel Our Grief Out' and a trusted mental health advocate within our community.She h

Literacy is something many of us take for granted, and yet one in three people in Saskatchewan struggle when it comes to things like reading, writing, comprehension numeracy skills. At Foundations Learning and Skills Saskatchewan, a dedicated group of staff and volunteers is helping adults who want to improve their literacy skills for free. Charlene Siwak is the Adult Literacy Coordinator at Foundations and sees the impact literacy has in our community. She takes listeners inside the Adult Literacy Programs offered by Foundations and why this work means so much to her in this episode. I think it takes courage for people to admit when they need help and seek out resources that can help them achieve their goals, and when it comes to Foundations Learning and Skills, the goals it helps people reach revolve around literacy.The organization, formerly known as READ Saskatoon, has been helping people 18 and over in Saskatoon and the province for decades achieve their learning goals.Charlene Siwak and her colleagues w

This month, the Broadway Theatre is celebrating 30 years as a community owned and operated theatre in Saskatoon which is an achievement worth celebrating. The Broadway is many things to many people. For music lovers, it’s a place where they can see their favourite artists and bands in an intimate setting and discover new and emerging talent from across the world. If you love live theatre, then you have no doubt seen the Saskatoon Soaps perform on stage or watched a theatre group perform during the Fringe festival. Movie fans flock to the Broadway for classic films, the best in global cinema and independent Canadian movies. I even dragged my wife with me to see a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at the Broadway…an experience I know she is grateful for!For the past 30 years, the Broadway has been a hub of cultural and community events in Saskatoon and the future looks bright for the next 30 thanks to strong leadership, community support and an army of passionate volunteers. I was fortunate to speak

Hello, I'm Eric Anderson and welcome to YXE Underground. If you are a long time listener of the podcast, thank you! If this is your first time listening, welcome! YXE Underground is local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon that shines a light on people who are doing incredible things but are flying under the radar.I am so excited that this season, we will have the wonderful Lisa Greig on every month for 'Walking with Lisa' episodes.In the past few seasons, we've done several episodes focusing on mental health and they have become some of the most listened to episodes in the six seasons of the podcast. It got me thinking that it would be great if we could do quick mental health check in every month and luckily Lisa said yes to this pitch. Lisa Greig is a mother of two young children, a social worker who today works at the University of Saskatchewan, the author of a best selling children's book entitled 'Scream! Shout! Let's Feel Our Grief Out' and a trusted mental health advocate within our community.She h

Welcome to Season Six of YXE Underground. Thank you so much for your continued support and I am thrilled to be back sharing stories of people who are making a difference in Saskatoon but are flying under the radar. This season's first episode focuses on the Animal Safekeeping Program. It is a partnership between New Hope Dog Rescue and the Saskatchewan SPCA and is helping people and animals who are leaving a domestic abuse or interpersonal violence situation. I was fortunate to speak with Sandra Archibald and Laura Zmud to learn more about the Animal Safekeeping Program.Sandra is the Executive Director of New Hope Dog Rescue and Laura is the Family Ties Coordinator with the Saskatchewan SPCA. They found time in their busy schedule to meet with me at the SPCA office in Saskatoon to share more about the program and its importance in our community. I learned so much from speaking with Sandra and Laura and have so much respect for the work they are doing to help people who are experience interpersonal violence an

Hello and welcome to a special summer bonus episode of YXE Underground. My name is Eric Anderson and I hope you are having a wonderful summer so far. I spent the first two weeks of July on a trip to Scandinavia with my Dad and had a really great time there. We spent time in Norway, specifically Oslo and a city called Narvik within the Arctic Circle, which was pretty crazy to experience as the sun just doesn't really go down at all. We would go to bed around 1 am and it was like 7pm here in Saskatoon, so that was pretty neat to see. The reason for our trip was to learn more about my Grandpa Anderson's experiences as a member of the Norwegian Resistance in WWII and we really learned a lot. I posted a little bit about it on the YXE Underground social media channels but I did some audio recording during our trip and fingers crossed I'm going to be doing a radio documentary for CBC Radio about our time in Norway and my Grandpa's experiences.I am also excited to be back in Saskatoon and to be talking about the Sask

Educating people of all ages and cultures is what drives Elaine Sutherland. For nearly 25 years, she taught in schools, mostly as a kindergarten teacher, and helped her peers incorporate Indigenous history and teachings education into their classrooms. Today, you can find Elaine at the Office of the Treaty Commissioner where she is the Director of Treaty Education. The history of the Office of the Treaty Commissioner is interesting.It was created in 1989 by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the Government of Canada to guide both parties through their differing views on Treaties. For those unfamiliar with Treaties, in Saskatchewan they are the formal agreements between the Crown and First Nations with their expectations and obligations.11 numbered treaties were negotiated after confederation and between 1871 and 1921. They cover the territories from present day Ontario to Alberta as well as parts of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. In Saskatchewan, there are six treaties: Treaty

It’s a Thursday night and four people are sparring under the careful watch of Haven Seto.For years, Haven has worked with athletes of all ages to help them develop their boxing, kickboxing and wushu skills. Wushu is also known as kung-fu, and it’s played an important role in Haven’s life.I am so excited to introduce you to Haven Seto.He is the epitome of a community leader. He loves helping others, he is passionate about making his community a better place, and he understands the importance of hard work and kindness.For the past 15 years, Haven has worked at the Saskatchewan Intercultural Association here in Saskatoon. This organization provides programs and services to help newcomers and Indigenous find success in their communities and has been doing this work since 1964.Haven oversees all of the employment programs and as you will hear in our conversation, he takes so much pride in helping newcomers and Indigenous people find meaningful employment in Saskatoon.He also owns and operates the Chinese Martial A

It has been just over a year since Ukrainians began arriving in Saskatoon, fleeing from war with Russia, and arriving with very little to start their new lives in our community. There have been many stories chronicling the efforts of people and organizations to help Ukrainians not only arrive safely but to set them up for success in Saskatoon and all are worth celebrating. For this episode, I wanted to highlight the efforts of people you may not know but their work is helping Ukrainian newcomers find safety and security in Saskatoon.You are going to meet four amazing people in this episode. We will visit Travis Homenuk and Shauna Tilbury at the Saskatoon Public School Division’s Newcomer Student Centre. We will find out why Linda Rudachyk is working so hard to find affordable housing for Ukrainian families and we start the podcast with a trip to the Saskatoon Open Door Society to meet Lyudmyla Pastushenko. I want to thank all of my guests for sharing their stories and passion for helping others.You can listen

You can’t help but be in awe when you walk into Child Life Zone at the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital. First of all, it’s really big. There’s plenty of space for kids to simply play which is a concept Dominique Rust touches on several times in our conversation. There are large windows that encompass the room and allow plenty of sunlight in, the ceiling is high and the space has one of the coolest music rooms I’ve ever seen. There’s even a beautiful kitchen and dining space for families to use. The Child Life Zone is part of a North American organization called Teammates for Kids. There are Child Life Zones in various cities across the United States but Saskatoon is the only city in Canada that has a Child Life Zone.What is the purpose of the Child Life Zone? It offers support and education for young patients and families to help reduce stress and anxiety that go along with hospital stays, tests and procedures. It also offers kids a break from the hospital setting, which I think is something we can all empat

Andrew Baenziger is in his dream job.As the Adaptive Technologist for SaskAbilities, he is helping people overcome barriers they are facing due to disability or injury through his passion for technology and empathy to help others in need.Andrew invited us to his workshop to show us how he uses technology, and perhaps a piece or two from his aquarium, to make a difference in lives of people here in Saskatoon.It was wonderful spending time in his workspace at SaskAbilities for this episode.The main space, which is a classroom inside an old school, has a few desks which are covered with different devices and creations made by Andrew that are designed to help people in a variety of ways. He calls it his showroom and it’s where most of our conversation takes place…But his favourite space to spend time is definitely his workshop. It’s attached to the showroom and it’s where Andrew loves to fix things.As an Adaptive Technologist, Andrew works with people who need help overcoming barriers in their lives. Often times,

Welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. This episode is a continuation of last week’s episode where we featured an incredible nonprofit organization called Empty Arms. It is a perinatal support group that provides supports to individuals and families who have experienced the loss of a child during pregnancy or up to the age of six.Jasmin Herchak and Briana Koop co-founded Empty Arms in 2015 and were the featured guests in last week’s episode. They were amazing to speak with and the feedback I’ve received from listeners highlights their empathy and kindness. I hope you get a chance to listen to their story if you haven’t done so already.The other voices you heard in last week’s episode belonged to Dax and Sara Irons. They share the story of their son, Everett, who was born on September 22nd , 2018 and passed away at birth. They are grateful for the support Empty Arms provided them during such a difficult time, and in fact it was Sara’s idea to feature Jasmin and Briana on the podcast.Sara and Da

Jasmin Herchak and Briana Koop took traumatic and devastating experiences with loss and turned them into something that is helping so many people and families in Saskatoon. I think that deserves to be celebrated.In 2015, Jasmin and Bri created Empty Arms. It is a nonprofit organization that provides support to individuals and families that experience grief and bereavement due to the loss of a child during pregnancy or up to the age of six. As you will hear in this episode, Jasmin and Bri started Empty Arms because they experienced the loss of a child and quickly noticed the lack of supports for people who experience such a loss. The work being done by the staff and volunteers Empty Arms is really incredible. They offer tangible supports to individuals and families when they are in the hospital and help create a supportive community in the months and years following a child's death. Jasmine and Bri explain why this work matters to them so much and how it continues to help them in their respective grieving proc

If you ever get a chance to talk with Adrianne Vangool, take it. Jump at the opportunity to talk with her because you will find yourself talking with someone who is wonderfully honest and I think truly wise about the world around her. She comes by her wisdom through hard work, curiosity and reflection and its reflected in her debut book, 'The Journey of Self-Care to We-Care.'Adrianne is a physiotherapist and owns her own business, Vangool Wellness. She is also a fantastic yoga instructor who incorporates yoga into her physiotherapy practice, and she explains the many benefits of yoga for a person's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health in her book. She also shares her own personal story in her book. I really admire Adrianne's honesty in sharing some of the struggles she has experienced in her life. I think it shows a great deal of bravery and it's something we talk a lot about in this conversation. We also talk about Adrianne's creative side as well. As you'll discover in her book, Adrianne loves w

Danielle Hoffart's determination and compassion is ensuring kids at St. Mary's Wellness and Education Centre in Saskatoon are getting the supports they need when it comes to food security. She is St. Mary's Aboriginal Student Achievement Coordinator and is a true liaison between her school and the greater Pleasant Hill community.St. Mary's is home to 300 students with more than 90 percent being Indigenous. The school, which was built in 2012 and is part of the Greater Catholic School Division, also has a nutrition program, wellness centre, Indigenous Elders, social workers, psychiatrist and a pediatric centre. It is a hub for the community and Danielle is one of its leaders. Danelle has been involved with food security challenges for many years in Saskatoon. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan and really developed a passion for the city's core neighbourhoods through working at places like Quint, the Saskatoon Friendship Inn, and CHEP Good Food. For the past 14 years,

Take a walk through downtown Saskatoon, River Landing, Riversdale or the University of Saskatchewan campus and you will see public works of art. These pieces reflect our community’s history, they tell important stories and some even become landmarks. Alejandro Romero is passionate about the many positive impacts public art brings to Saskatoon and he shares his convictions in this episode of YXE Underground.This past summer, my wife and I spent a few weeks in Tennessee visiting places like Nashville, Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains. Everywhere we went, we saw really stunning displays of public art. Whether it was a statue or a vibrant mural, there were pieces of art that told stories of their communities and certainly made for an interesting photograph.These pieces also made me think of Alejandro Romero. I first met Alejandro in February of 2020, just before the pandemic arrived in Saskatoon, at a podcasting workshop for newcomers. He was one of the organizers and we instantly hit it off because Alejan