About Long-Distance Family
Long-Distance Family is a passionate human services collaborative, dedicated to meeting the needs of remote workers and their families. Our areas of support are research based and intended to promote well-being, family relationships, and sustainability of long-distance work arrangements.
Our Cause
Long-Distance Family is leading a movement to make specialized support for families a standard practice across industries employing workers away from home. We partner with employers to upgrade support for their workforce, and foster a healthier work-life balance for both workers and their families to make long-distance lifestyles more sustainable. Through service coordination, peer support, and celebrations from afar, LDF strives to enhance well-being and relationships to help families thrive across distances.
Mission:
To be the leader in specialized family support for remote workers, offering compassionate, professional services to help families thrive across distances.
Values:
Respect: We value everyone and treat people with dignity and professionalism.
Integrity: We build trust through responsible actions, accountability and honest relationships.
Compassion: We are kind and empathetic to everyone we encounter.
Innovation: We encourage thoughtful, creative and inspirational ideas.
Unity: We are strongest when we work together as a team.
Why Was LDF Created?
Remote camp work has become a common employment arrangement in various industries, offering opportunities for career growth and financial stability. This lifestyle comes with unique challenges for worker’s personal and relational well-being, though minimal research has been conducted on its effects for family members back home. While growing awareness of the stress associated with fly-in fly-out (FIFO) jobs has led to supports to assist Canadian workers such as Employee Family Assistance Programs, health and wellness services, and mental health resources, the focus is limited and almost exclusively on the remote worker. The need for support of family members left behind is equally significant. This white paper explores the effects of remote camp work on family members including workers, spouses, and children, delving into its impact on personal well-being and the quality of relationships within the family unit. It emphasizes that support services for family members should be standard within FIFO industries and are necessary for sustainability of remote camp work arrangements.
Use the link below to access the white paper written by Long-Distance Family’s founder to further understand the impact of remote camp lifestyles on families and the need for support.
Founder & President, Samantha Bahan Fehr
Samantha Bahan Fehr studied at the University of Victoria and York University. She has a decade of experience delivering support services and leadership in the areas of mental health and disability. Her family’s lived experience with remote camp work inspired the creation of Long-Distance Family to enhance support for others.
The Journey
Early in our relationship, my partner worked remote camp jobs. We knew we wanted a family, and agreed that him having steady in town work was our preferred arrangement for raising kids. He made the transition, we got married, and our daughter was born.
Fast-forward to summer 2021, the pandemic had taken a toll on our household income, and I was a few months away from my second maternity leave. The best option for our family was a return to remote camp work.
While my spouse had a good set-up in camp to offer him work-life balance, the same was not true for our family back in Edmonton. This impacted the well-being of our marriage, our relationships with our kids, and the sustainability of our long-distance work arrangement. Over time, I learned the areas of support that were most helpful to us, conducted survey research to learn the challenges experienced by other families, and created Long-Distance Family Services to bring together the most sought after support services in one space for you.
LDF Services
From peer support and family milestones, to coordination of services in areas of mental health, personal wellness, and household maintenance, there’s something for every family.