Providing Indigenous youth with support for learning about themselves and their culture and reconnecting them to Indigenous community is crucial to their long-term success
Lead by Indigenous professionals, Threshold’s Indigenous Wellness support provide Indigenous youth with opportunities to learn about and connect with their families, communities, and cultures.
As with all wrap-around supports, the Indigenous Wellness supports are client-centred. They include activities such as attending community events (e.g. the Red Dress Day walk), hosting workshops (e.g. drum making), and organizing events (e.g. a youth celebration on Indigenous People’s Day).
The Indigenous Wellness team also support their settler colleagues learn about Indigenous culture, practice and protocol through sharing their own experiences and connections.
Most importantly, the Indigenous Wellness Advocates connect one-on-one with Indigenous youth to provide direct and understanding support of their needs. This support can vary from support applying for Status or other government designation, chatting over coffee, going shopping, or accompanying a youth to a meeting or appointment.
To learn more about the ongoing impacts of colonization and racism that result in disproportionate numbers of Indigenous youth experiencing homelessness, visit Definition of Indigenous Homelessness.
Threshold is committed to learning from and being lead by Indigenous youth and staff as we continue to develop this essential service area.