Grants and Contributions

Ts'ewulhtun Health Centre is launching the Culturally-Grounded Indigenous Victim Services Navigation and Advocacy Program to provide culturally-grounded, community-based supports and services to Indigenous victims and family members of missing and murdered Indigenous men and boys. The program will offer services and supports to over 5,400 Quw'utsun mustimuhw (Cowichan) Tribes members on and off Cowichan Tribes reserve lands, including Métis, Inuit, non-status Indigenous, First Nations people, and Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. It will address and reduce barriers in accessing victims assistance programs and the justice system, including widespread systemic racism and lack of culturally safe programming.

The organization’s “Guiding the Sacred” project will provide group trauma-informed and culturally appropriate and safe wrap around services that will include traditional healing, teachings and ceremony. Groups will include families, women and girls, men and 2SLGBTQI+. All groups will have access to healing circles, sweats, land-based teaching and connecting with knowledge keepers. The project will address the gaps in services and create better partnerships in the community, giving their clients increased access to services.

The "Hiiye’yu Lelum Victim Services and Healing Program" is a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving access to justice and strengthening the support system for victims of crime, particularly focusing on the vulnerable peoples experiencing violence including the 2SLGBTQI+ community, human-trafficking and those impacted by the missing and murdered Indigenous community members. This project aims to address the urgent need for better understanding, awareness, and action in response to the crisis of violence toward Indigenous peoples within the community and service area of the Cowichan Valley.

This project will assist families attending Court or Circle processes; provide strong internal and external referrals to programs for victims and other supporting services based on the families needs; and increase skills and capacity of organization as well as providing information and connection between the community and clients to service providers.

The goal of the project is, essentially, to inform and support as many Indigenous and Inuit women as possible who come face to face with the Quebec legal system. The support will be oriented towards the main issues: lack of information, culturally safe support, language barrier and lack of translation and interpretation services, interpretation and definition of terms used in the judicial process, etc. Modulate the support service according to the needs identified in the different First Peoples communities.

The National Family and Survivors Circle project will create a supportive and inclusive environment for families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2Spirit + survivors. The initiative will empower them through the provision of Wellness Kits, which are curated and crafted to address their grief and trauma. The project also aims to center and elevate their lived experiences and expertise by developing an education curriculum and train-the-trainer module based on best practices for frontline service delivery organizations and government entities. The National Family and Survivors Circle project will improve access to justice for victims of crime and create space for them as leaders and experts in steering their own journey towards healing and justice.

The project will focus on amplifying the voices and experiences of victims of criminal offences and help provide insight into how offenders can work towards mending the harm that has been done in a safe and healthy way through the restorative justice process. The project will also focus on providing victims with assistance in finding the supports they may need to move forward with their healing journey, whether that be a healing circle, working with local community partners for additional services, providing supports through land-based healing and activities, or working with elders in their communities.

The project will implement a victims navigator approach to fill the gap in dealing with victims, to meet with victims of crime as a primary contact person to assist them throughout the criminal court process, provide information and resources to victims in regard to trauma and ways to prevent re-victimization. The navigator will help refer victims to supports within community, accompany victims to meet with police, justice appointments, court interviews etc. The navigator will ensure victims have supports and access to service options, and be assisted in a culturally sensitive manner. The navigator will develop contact base and collaborate with support services to help victims .

The objectives of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program (YESSP) are to help all youth navigate through the labour market and to successfully transition into sustained employment. These objectives are attained by supporting the needs of all youth, especially youth facing barriers to develop skills, knowledge and networks through education, skills development and meaningful work experiences.

This grant supports the effective communication of research results to users and visitors of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park. Whale Portraits is a seasonal weekly newsletter that promotes awareness of the Canadian public about the protection of natural heritage.