Grants and Contributions

Through this 33-month project, the Edmonton Heyoka Healing Society (EHHS) will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people within the urban area of Edmonton, Alberta. This will be achieved through activities that will bolster EHHS’s administrative and financial foundations, including the development of an organizational financial sustainability plan; staff mentorship to increase overall expertise in bookkeeping, financial practices, filing systems, and digital platforms within a non-profit setting; the establishment of a modernized system for financial record-keeping; the development of an application for charitable status; streamlining of reporting processes; and research around potential new partnerships. EHHS will also engage with the community and stakeholders through the development of a curriculum and delivery platform. EHHS will conduct a literature review of best practices related to ending violence against women (EVAW) with an Indigenous focus and will create learning resources to share with partners. The organization will conduct an overall review of the agency structures and mandate, including reviewing the board policy and updating its vision, mission, and mandate. Professional training will contribute to improved knowledge delivery while equally supporting its staff that are currently working in this area and are at a high risk of burnout or vicarious traumatization. An Indigenous professional practice lead will act as a consultant and primary liaison to the board of directors to ensure all agency practices and processes are culturally relevant, spiritually informed, and interwoven with an Indigenous lens.

By the end of the project, the Edmonton Heyoka Healing Society will have strengthened its capacity to prevent and address GBV against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people within the urban area of Edmonton, Alberta. A GBV evaluation and risk framework will also be developed to ensure project objectives are being met, and knowledge gained in this project will be shared within the community to create and strengthen partnerships with other service providers to build their capacity in turn.

Through this 36-month project, Tewegan Housing for Aboriginal Youth will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, girls, or 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, with a focus on Indigenous Young Women ages 16 to 29 years living in urban Indigenous Ottawa. This will be achieved by: targeting the development of Indigenous resiliency in the workforce through implementation of administrative, financial, and digital communication integration infrastructure; development and implementation of Indigenous Youth Wellness Mentor Training curriculum for direct service, Operational Knowledge Keepers generative practices in coaching curriculum, as well as the development of infrastructure and community developed protocol to sustain the urban Indigenous Helpers network. The project will be working to align and develop the governance principles and organizational practices to reflect Indigenous Knowledge Recognition Principles, application of IGBA through Structurally Telling Our Story and applying Indigenous Harm Reduction approaches - which require that all methodologies, policies, practices be evaluated to identify measurable relational facilitators and reflect their capacity to individually and systemically interrupt loss, stem resource depletion, build relational assets, and sustain gain.

This project will engage multiple relations across urban Indigenous Ottawa who have the capacity and knowledge to support the co-creation of culturally safer assets fundamental to building organization’s relational assets and culturally safer spaces from which to prevent and address GBV with Indigenous young women, Two-spirited folks and all their relations.

The project primary partners will be Indigenous Young Women and Two-Spirit folks (IWY2S) (residents, alumni of Tewegan, and those experiencing chaos), Intergenerational mentors across urban Indigenous Ottawa, and the urban land base cared for by the host nation. The project will also work with the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition and each member agency, municipal and cross-sector institutional partners who are members of the Indigenous Women’s Safety Table, Assembly of Seven Generations, Reaching Home community entities including the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, and Inclusion Press.

By the end of the project, Tewegan Housing for Aboriginal Youth will have strengthened their capacity to prevent and address GBV against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, ages 16 to 29 years, Alumni and their relations across urban Indigenous Ottawa.

Through this 24-month project, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, with a focus on all Indigenous people, including First Nations, Inuit, and Metis in Metro Vancouver. This will be achieved by conducting a full audit (both internal and external) of the organization, training on Violence Prevention and Inclusion, Trauma-informed Coaching skills, developing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) statement, a strategic plan and the creation of inter-organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion committee.

By the end of the project, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society will have strengthened their capacity to prevent and address GBV against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, with a focus on Indigenous people in Metro Vancouver.

Through this 12-month project, Why We March will develop community-informed initiatives to overcome key issues facing the 2SLGBTQ+ community in London, Ontario. This will be achieved by researching significant topics for the 2SLGBTQ2 community and planning the Community Conversations series; hosting eight to twelve Community Conversations series events; and reporting and analyzing the attendance at the events.

By the end of this project, Why We March will have supported a community-informed project to address key issues facing 2SLGBTQ+ communities and advance equality for 2SLGBTQ+ people.

This 12-month project will develop community-informed initiatives to better understand and document the post-migration experiences of LGBTQI newcomers, including trans and gender-diverse newcomers in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, and will share resources to help LGBTQI newcomers in British Columbia (BC) to pursue and claim their rights.

To achieve this, Rainbow Refugee Society will work with their partners across Canada. They will consult with service providers, legal professionals, and LGBTQI newcomers to identify the individual and systemic barriers to social determinants of health that they encounter. These consultations will inform the development of Journey Maps outlining the localized conditions and a report card measuring the conditions and factors impacting the social determinants of health of LGBTQI newcomers. The report card will also identify some promising practices and other opportunities for system improvement.

In BC, consultations will focus on the challenges faced by trans and gender-diverse newcomers in attempting to claim their legal right to name and/or gender recognition. Through the development and sharing of a tool for systems navigation, Rainbow Refugee Society will equip trans and gender-diverse newcomers in BC with information to support them in accessing their legal right to gender identity and recognition of name and gender designation. Peer system navigators will be trained to assist them, and a workshop to connect system users to these resources will be organized.

Additional knowledge sharing and mobilization events such as meetings with service providers, government, and other community partners and stakeholders will address discrepancies in services, supports, and experiences for LGBTQI newcomers. The resources developed through this project will be shared and used as tools for advocacy after the project ends.

Through this 24-month project, Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in Kamloops, British Columbia. This will be achieved through succession planning; creating a professional development plan (including trauma informed care, GBA+ and GBV capacity strengthening), an internal data management systems improvement plan and updating current internal systems training.

By the end of the project, Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society will have strengthened their capacity to prevent and address GBV against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

The supplemental funds received will be used to enhance the internal data management systems improvement plan and updating current internal systems training.

Through this 36-month project, Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society (LFVAS) will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence against Indigenous women and girls with a focus on Indigenous people living on a low income and/or with disabilities in the Lower Fraser Valley. This will be achieved by strategic planning, analyzing gaps in GBV programming, developing a succession plan to ensure GBV knowledge transfer and conducting a Feasibility Study for a future urban Indigenous women’s health and wellness centre that will include GBV programming. LFVAS will also develop partnerships to inform GBV program development, incorporate GBV training into their organizational manuals and conduct community engagement sessions to build knowledge and evidence to end GBV.

By the end of the project, LFVAS will have strengthened their capacity to prevent and address GBV against Indigenous women and girls, with a focus on Indigenous people living on a low income and/or with disabilities in the Lower Fraser Valley.

Through this 24-month project, Northwest Territories / Nunavut Council of Friendship Centres will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

This will be achieved by collaborating with its member Friendship Centres in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to increase GBV awareness, prevention, and response skills of member organizations through workshops and training designed in consultation with local women’s and 2SLGBTQI+ groups. Impact will be sustained through the development and implementation of a GBV training manual at Friendship Centres.

This 10-month project aims to build organizational capacity so that the organization can continue to promote social and systemic change towards gender equality. Organizational capacity will be strengthened through consultations and coordination to conduct strategic planning.

Through this 36-month project, Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle (WAWC) will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, and girls with a focus on strengthening WAWC’s capacity in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. This will be achieved by conducting a needs assessment to determine internal organizational needs and actioning the findings in five areas: strategic planning, digital and computer strategy and infrastructure, internal organizational capacity, governance, and staff training including violence prevention.

This project will engage the Yukon Status of Women Council, to provide mentorship to the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle.

By the end of the project, Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle will have strengthened their capacity to prevent and address GBV against Indigenous women, girls with a focus on organizational sustainability and capacity development to better prevent violence and provide services in the Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and surrounding areas.