CHV Supports Indigenous Youth

June is National Indigenous History Month. In support of Indigenous youth, we will be posting related content throughout the month, to help raise awareness.

Indigenous Peoples experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate when compared to other demographics. Some research suggests Indigenous Peoples are up to eight times more likely to experience homelessness, and this can be traced back to systemic barriers, discrimination, historical injustices, and inequalities.

Our programs and services are designed to create a safe and inclusive environment where Indigenous youth feel valued, heard, and respected. To foster this, along with a sense of belonging and cultural safety, we continue to develop supports and culturally appropriate services that encourage open discussions, dialogues, sharing, and storytelling.

Through our programs, services, working with organizations in the community, and through ongoing education and training, CHV supports Indigenous youth in a variety of ways. Today, we will talk about some of the ways that CHV supports Indigenous youth.

Cultural and spiritual practices are an important part of Indigenous culture. To help support young people who wish to engage in these practices, CHV has four Indigenous medicine cabinets available. They can be found in the Rights of Passage building on Pender Street, in the wellness room of the Crisis Program at 1280 Seymour Street, and in both the Drop-In Centre and the Foundations program that are both located at 1302 Seymour Street.

The cabinets consist of an abalone shell, a feather, and sacred medicines: cedar, sage, sweetgrass, and (sometimes) tobacco. The shell, feather, and medicines can be used in smudging, which is a cleansing and prayer practice of burning the medicines in the shell and then using the feather to direct the smoke over the whole body, head to toe. This is what most youth and staff, use them for. Medicines can also be taken from the cabinet to keep in a medicine pouch on the body for protection, strength, and healing.

For some Indigenous youth, smudging is a regular, deeply spiritual practice for whole person well-being. It’s a way of connecting with the Creator and one’s ancestors. Having the cabinets available for youth to access medicines and smudge supplies whenever they need them removes the barrier of having to request those items through staff.

The cabinets are also an important part of our organization’s work towards reconciliation. It’s a way of communicating respectfully that we value the wisdom and practices of the First Peoples of this land and want to facilitate connection to those practices for the youth we serve.

Since our policy shift to allow smudging in our buildings, our lead spiritual care practitioner has noticed an increase in youth smudging regularly in our programs. One of her favourite moments in her work is when she comes to a floor that has a medicine cabinet on it, and she can smell that someone has been smudging there. It means that the youth not only had access to medicines but also felt safe and comfortable enough to engage in the practice at CHV.

Kairos Blanket Exercise

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is an experiential teaching tool that explores the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we now know as Canada.

During this workshop, participants step on blankets that represent the land and step into the role of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. Participants are guided by trained facilitators that include Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, who work from a script that covers content such as pre-contact, treaty making, colonization, and resistance. Participants read scrolls and respond to cues in the script. The Exercise concludes with a debriefing that is conducted as a talking circle, during which participants discuss the learning experience, process their feelings, ask questions, share insights, and deepen their understanding.

Two sessions were held in May and open to all staff. Over 40 staff members attended and the sessions, which will help inform the work that we do with clients, both Indigenous and not. It will also help inform us as we take active steps towards reconciliation, and to help us reflect on our work in a meaningful way.

The Ballantyne Project

The Ballantyne Project was born from Dwight Ballantyne’s vision to inspire Indigenous youth in remote First Nations to pursue their dreams and share their stories. The project amplifies voices from remote communities, breaks down barriers, and promotes visibility and inclusion.

In April, Dwight came to CHV to share his story and offer his perspective on Canadian history, the effects of Residential Schools, and intergenerational trauma, by using his lived experience as an example. Attended by 80 CHV staff, the aim of this session was to bridge the awareness gap between Indigenous communities and the rest of Canada, spark social consciousness, and promote understanding.

Smudging

In partnership with IRSSS, Elders come onsite twice a month and offer cedar brushing, smudging, and cultural teachings to youth and staff. This meaningful partnership has allowed youth and staff to have regular access to healing practices and wisdom that we did not have onsite before.

Anti-Human Trafficking Toolkit

In 2023, CHV produced its anti-human trafficking toolkit, Pivoting Practice: Building Capacity to Serve Youth Impacted by Trafficking, designed to support CHV staff and partner organizations in serving youth at risk of, currently experiencing, or those who have survived, human trafficking and/or exploitation.  

The toolkit is intended to be used in learning about human trafficking and evidence-based best practices for supporting youth within the current Canadian landscape. The intended audience is service providers in youth-serving organizations, including CHV and partners.  

There are sections within the toolkit that specifically address Indigenous challenges, especially as to how they pertain to Indigenous women and girls.

Before contact with the Europeans, Traditional Elders and Knowledge Keepers taught that gender equality was both practiced and respected on this land. Post contact, European colonizers noted in their diaries about their discomfort with the Indigenous cultural norms of gender equality, and matriarchal governance among specific Indigenous Nations. Furthermore, colonization, systemic racism, and intentional practices of genocide resulted in the trafficking of Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit individuals.

CHV’s anti-human trafficking strategy is based on the idea that, with increased knowledge about human trafficking and exploitation, we can pivot current services to deliver the best possible supports to youth who are at risk of, experiencing, or are survivors of, human trafficking. This strategy honours the therapeutic alliance and trust youth have with staff, and equips all staff to support youth rather than asking youth to speak with a new person or organization, when it’s discovered that they are a victim of trafficking (because repetitive explanations can retraumatize youth).

As guests on this land, we continue to reflect on the impact of colonization on our work. The present can only be understood in relation to the past: we must know our past if the future is to have meaning. We now need to go further and put forward a true social blueprint that will enable the country to adequately address this major social issue and break through this impasse. All our efforts will have led to identifying the solutions, means, and actions needed to bring about this movement. Together, we have a duty to take effective measures to prevent, and put an end to, violence against Indigenous people and to ensure their safety, directly and systemically.

To request a copy of the toolkit, please visit our website.

There are many resources available, online and in person, that can help build understanding. This month, and throughout the year, take some time to better understand the impacts of colonization on Indigenous Peoples. It is only through understanding that we can build a more supportive, and inclusive, community.