The needs have been assessed and more support is on the way for those with mental health and addictions issues on the Coast.
The Sechelt Nation led project, ?ayatawlh: Taking Care of Each Other, Taking Care of Ourselves, has been awarded a $100,000 Community Action Initiative (CAI) grant to develop a coordinated, integrated approach to mental health, addiction and wellness services.
Involved in the project with the Sechelt Nation are Vancouver Coastal Health, Sunshine Coast Community Services Society, School District No. 46, the Salvation Army and the Arrowhead Clubhouse.
In the fall of last year the project team invited service providers who cater to clients with mental health and addictions issues to participate in one of three canoe journeys. During the journeys, participants shared their experiences and identified places for improvement in the current service model.
Project proponents took the feedback and asked CAI for funding to make some changes. A $100,000 grant for a nine-month project was awarded at the beginning of March. That money will be used to help train and equip service providers and community members in specific areas that were identified.
Those areas include harm reduction, cultural competency, trauma counselling and crisis response.
Eleonora Molnar, who is coordinating the project on behalf of the Sechelt Nation, said there is a series of professional and public events planned to increase understanding in these and other areas.
The first event will be a cross-cultural training day for service providers on April 4. Attendees will learn the history of the Sechelt Nation, their culture and traditions, the major court case decisions that affect them, governance of the Sechelt Nation and their business practices.
"The cultural competency part was huge for the community and for our service providers, and because the Sechelt Nation is the lead proponent it seemed like an important thing to do," Molnar said.
The first public event, a harm reduction talk by Mark Haden, will be held on April 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sechelt Indian Band Hall.
"That event is open to the entire community," Molnar said. "[Haden] is going to be talking about honouring Aboriginal wisdom, drug policy and how to talk to kids about drugs."
The project ?ayatawlh: Taking Care of Each Other, Taking Care of Ourselves has four goals to reach before the funding runs out at the end of this year.
Those goals are to create a shared understanding of the issues, to create a community-driven response to wellness emphasizing peer support and partnerships, to create culturally appropriate services that engage clients and that are better coordinated and to equip participants to share their training experiences with others on the Coast.
More events will be planned as dates can be confirmed, Molnar said, noting all events will be free for the public to attend.
Watch Coast Reporter for updates as they become available.
