Category ArchiveUncategorised

BC Friendship Centre COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics: Protect your community with COVID-19 immunity

We need as many people as possible fully vaccinated to best protect our Elders, knowledge keepers, children, families, and neighbours.

Please visit http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register to register for your vaccination.

We raise our hands in high respect and appreciation for the Friendship Centre staff, partners, health care workers and volunteers who gave their time and energy to create a safe and welcoming space for community members to receive their COVID-19 vaccines.

A special thank you to Mission Friendship Centre Society​ and the Victoria Native Friendship Centre​ for making this video possible.

Annual Gathering Our Voices: Indigenous Youth Leadership Training Event Cancelled Until Further Notice

August 27, 2021

PDF of Statement

After careful consideration, we are saddened to announce that the Gathering Our Voices: Indigenous Youth Leadership Training event will not return in 2022.

This decision was not made lightly—we know the connections made at Gathering Our Voices are invaluable, and we have greatly missed the passion, knowledge and joy shared by the Indigenous youth in attendance each year. We also know that protecting our communities is of the utmost importance and right now the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus is too great. 

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been in contact with the Provincial Health Office, public health leaders, and medical experts to maintain our understanding of how best to protect our communities. Factors influencing our decision to delay the return of Gathering Our Voices include the availability and accessibility of the COVID-19 vaccine for Indigenous youth, the low vaccine uptake among Indigenous people living in BC, the uncertainty of COVID-19 variants, and the resurgence of COVID-19 in parts of the province.

We hope that we can safely host Gathering Our Voices in 2023. The return of the event will be a priority following emerging and heightened challenges that have unfolded during the global pandemic. We raise our hands in deep respect and appreciation for the Indigenous youth who have made sacrifices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect their communities. 

The 25 Friendship Centres across the province have expressed concern for the health and wellness of Indigenous youth who are navigating the climbing impacts of global events such as COVID-19 and the climate crisis. Our team at the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, in collaboration with the councils and member centres, are advocating for increased supports for programs and services upholding the health and wellness of Indigenous youth.

We know the most effective leadership and wellness resources for Indigenous youth are Indigenous led. Thank you to our partners and funders who recognize this and share our vision. Together, we look forward to strengthening the tools and resources available to Indigenous youth leaders and fostering new ways of connection and collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For crisis lines and support resources, please visit: http://bcaafc.com/health/

For inquiries, please contact: govcoordinator@bcaafc.com

The Provincial Aboriginal Youth Council is looking for new council members!

The next election will take place virtually on Thursday, September 23, 2021.

Click here to download the PAYC Candidate Application Form (fillable form on page 3)

Notice of BCAAFC Annual General Meeting 2021

The BCAAFC Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place Thursday, September 23, 2021, to Saturday, September 25, 2021, on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam people in Richmond, BC.

Voting will take place in person at the event.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email govcoordinator@bcaafc.com. 

Thank you, 

BCAAFC Board of Directors

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) Evaluation Services for Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program

Download a PDF of the RFP

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 PURPOSE

The BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) is requesting submission of proposals from experienced, qualified consultant(s) to conduct an evaluation of the Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program (DAFGP) through research and engagement with current and past participants in the program.

1.2 BACKGROUND

Since 1972, the BCAAFC has been a leading provincial organization that exists to support the 25 Friendship Centres across BC. The BCAAFC works with Friendship Centres, partner organizations and governments to develop and improve resources that support the health, wellness and prosperity of the 80% of Indigenous peoples who live in urban and off-reserve areas. The BCAAFC is also responsible for delivering the DAFGP program, which provides Indigenous families with funding in order to remove the cost barrier to accessing doula services.

The DAFGP has over 300 doulas currently enrolled in the program. Meaningful engagement with participants and feedback integration is critical to ensuring doulas are adequately supported to deliver their services.

2. SCOPE OF PROJECT WORK

The primary task to be completed is the research into the regional needs and gaps for birth support through conducting engagement sessions:

Engage with past and current participants in the DAFGP Program; ensuring a diverse range of identities and experiences are reflected (i.e., rural, urban, LGBTQIA2S+, living on and off reserve, etc.)

Engage with the DAFGP Advisory Committee and DAFGP Knowledge Keepers.

Conduct research and collect data on existing birth support gaps and needs in each region, including data to support the need for wage parity and researching wage range through engagement with DAFGP doulas.

Determine an estimate of expected demand and growth of the DAFGP Program.

Compile feedback and research findings into a report that is to be utilized internally and integrated into external reports to program funders by the BCAAFC.

3. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this RFP:

3.1 Only qualified individuals or groups with prior experience on projects that relate to cultural safety should submit proposals in response to this RFP. The submission should highlight the following:

Experience engaging with Indigenous peoples and communities.

Experience organizing and facilitating engagement sessions.

Working knowledge of OCAP Principles.

Demonstrated experience developing and leading projects from conception to delivery.

Experience working in the field of reproductive, maternal and child health.

3.2 The proposal must include details on your most recent two projects relevant to proposed work.

3.3 The proposal must include two (2) references.

3.4 The proposal must include a schedule that clearly identifies milestones for deliverables, including a proposed engagement strategy.

3.5 Ideally consultants and consulting firms should be insured and bonded, but it is not required.

4. TIMELINE

September 15, 2021 to December 15, 2021

5. BUDGET

$25,000.00 – FIXED

6. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The BCAAFC reserves the right to:

Reject any proposals whether complete or incomplete.

Reject proposals that it considers to be not in its best interests.

Request further information.

Contact references provided.

7. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The proposal shall be addressed to:

Julie Robertson, General Manager

551 Chatham Street | Victoria BC | V8T 1E1

jrobertson@bcaafc.com

PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: Friday August 13, 2021 end of day.

SUBJECT LINE MUST INCLUDE: Proposal for Evaluation Services

All questions should be directed to Jacquie Snelling-Welsh at doulaprogram@bcaafc.com

Preference will be given to Indigenous-led teams.

Murray Porter Musical Performance July 1, 2021 (Watch on Facebook Live)

The British Columbia Association of Friendship Centres Presents Murray Porter Solo on July 1st, from 2 pm/PDT to 2:30/PDT.

In these challenging and trying times, let’s take a moment to pause and reflect on all that we’ve been experiencing as Indigenous People in Canada…the sadness about the news of the Children who never made it home from residential schools.

Let’s also take time to listen to music that will lift us up, and to music that speaks about truth and moves our soul.

JUNO Award winner Murray Porter will share his heart-felt songs about being an Indigenous Man. Songs about the land, the water, the MMIWG+, Indian Residential Schools…and of course, about Love.

Please go to the Murray Porter II Facebook page for his FB LIVE Performance: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004206405906

Please share far & wide!

Nia:weh, Chi-miigwetch, Huy’chka, Mēduh, Wela’lin, Naqurmiik, Tshiniskumitin, Kinanâskomitin, Hiy Hiy, Big Thanks!

Statement in Support of Indigenous Elders, Families and Communities Impacted by the Residential School System

Statement

May 28, 2021 – We at the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) extend love and support to the Elders, families and communities impacted by the Canadian Residential School System.

The Tk’emlups confirmed findings of 215 children buried on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School brings forward the trauma experienced by residential school survivors, families and communities from the insufferable actions of the Canadian Government.

We raise our hands in high respect and appreciation for the strength of Elders and community members who are holding space for one another at this time.

Wally Samuel, Ahousaht Elder, BCAAFC Elders Council Member, and Survivor of the Alberni Indian Residential School, is part of a collective organizing a vigil for survivors, outdoors at the Port Alberni Friendship Center. Community members are encouraged to bring their feathers, regalia and drums to honour victims of the residential school system, their families and communities.

The vigil organized at Port Alberni Friendship Center is one example of the love and leadership demonstrated by Indigenous communities to heal and take care of one another in the face of unspeakable loss.  

We encourage survivors and families in urban Indigenous communities to reach out to their local Friendship Centre community for support. The BCAAFC will be holding a ceremony in honour of survivors at our next annual general meeting. 

Support resources available:

National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society: 1-800-721-0066

Indian Residential Schools Program (First Nations Health Authority)

In solidarity, on behalf of BC Friendship Centres,

Leslie Varley
Executive Director

Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

Last year, BC Friendship Centres partnered with the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) BC Human Rights Clinic to increase knowledge of human rights for Indigenous peoples and the services available to Indigenous peoples living in BC to support and uphold their human rights.   

The BC Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in three main areas of daily life: our work places, our tenancies, and in our access to services such as stores, gyms, hospitals, and schools. We can use the BC Human Rights Code to hold people, businesses and other organizations accountable for discrimination.

Learn more by watching the animated video—Discrimination and Human Rights: Information for Indigenous People Part 1.  

The BC Human Rights Tribunal is like the court that hears human rights complaints and makes legal judgements and decisions.   

Learn more by watching the animated video—Discrimination and Human Rights: Information for Indigenous People Part 2.

When you make a case of discrimination to the BC Human Rights Tribunal and they decide you have proven your claim, they can order compensation from the person or organization who discriminated (called the respondent). Depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to lost wages, expenses, or compensation for injury to dignity—meant to compensate people for the emotional impact that discrimination can have.

Learn more by watching the animated video—Discrimination and Human Rights: Information for Indigenous People Part 3.

The short film, Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples, was produced in addition to the three-part animated video series. In the film, Indigenous peoples share their experience of making a human rights complaint and working through the process.

Leslie Varley, Executive Director of the BCAAFC, said “I think that we need to put some of these cases before the courts and make them publicly known so that people will know where the line is—so that Indigenous people will know that they have this resource, and so that non-Indigenous people who are serving us will know when they’re crossing the line.”

The supporting print resources developed provide information specific to the following human rights:

We have the right not to be judged by the colour of our skin

We have the right to discrimination-free housing

We have the right to discrimination-free health care

We have the right to have our disabilities accommodated at work

We have the right to a harassment-free workplace

A PDF of the posters can be downloaded here: Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights Posters

Education is a vital part of achieving justice in human rights. Please share the digital, print and video resources within your networks and communities to help support and uphold human rights for Indigenous peoples.

Thank you to the team at CLAS BC Human Rights Clinic for developing and delivering these educational resources, the Law Foundation of British Columbia for funding to support this project, to the participants who shared their experiences to help empower others, and to our partners for amplifying this work.

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Status Quo is No Longer an Option: Towards a Coalition on Action Against Indigenous Specific Racism in Health Care

Join us on June 1, 2021 from 8AM-4PM PST for a virtual conference!

Presented by the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, in partnership with
Safespace Networks and San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training

What do we want access to healthcare to look like in five years? How do we get there?

Join us for a generative conversation on action towards creating a safe health care system for Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous thought leaders will draw from their experiences as both patients and providers in Canada’s health system to discuss:

Tangible steps towards eliminating Indigenous specific racism and discrimination from Canada’s health system.

Solutions that are empowering Indigenous people to share their truths and define the pathway to safe health care.

Why current strategies for addressing racism in health care aren’t working—status quo is no longer an option.

Register here: Zoom Registration Portal

For more information on the speakers and schedule, please visit: bcaafc.com/events

Indigenous leaders calling for inquiry into recent deaths of Indigenous residents in BC Housing facility

Media Release                                                                                  

April 23, 2021

Smithers, British Columbia – Six Indigenous residents have died at a BC Housing facility located in Smithers within the past 12 months—marking the highest number of annual deaths to occur at one facility within the province. Local community members feel that the deaths are connected to a lack of culturally safe housing programs for Indigenous people. Indigenous leaders are calling on BC Housing to conduct an inquiry into the recent deaths of Indigenous people who were clients of Smither’s supportive housing and undertake a full review of the cultural safety available at supportive housing facilities.

“We know that Indigenous-led, culturally safe supportive housing is needed to provide equitable care to Indigenous people accessing housing assistance,” said Annette Morgan, Executive Director of Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre, “Smithers has the poorest example of Indigenous housing support in the province and we need to change that.”

The Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre is part of a Canada-wide network of Indigenous social service organizations. In 2020, the Smithers Community Services Association (SCSA) indicated they did not support the Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre’s new Indigenous Housing Support Program, stating that the Friendship Centre’s program duplicated SCSA services.   

“It is unacceptable that Smithers Community Services Association continues to be unwilling to recognize the value of a longstanding Indigenous organization providing support services that will contribute to community capacity to handle the housing crisis in a culturally appropriate manner,” said Morgan.

“We are seeing funding intended to support services for Indigenous people awarded to non-Indigenous agencies across all social service sectors,” said Leslie Varley, Executive Director of the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC), “Non-Indigenous agencies controlling services for Indigenous people perpetuates the barriers to equitable care. This can have deadly consequences when we are hearing from Indigenous people that they do not feel safe accessing social services.”

The impacts of colonization is inextricably linked to homelessness and addiction experienced by Indigenous people. Historical harm, systems of oppression and anti-Indigenous racism increase the risk for isolation, poverty, intergenerational trauma, and loss of connection to culture and community for Indigenous people, factors that must be considered in order to provide culturally safe, holistic care for Indigenous residents in supportive housing.

“The loss of Indigenous people accessing social services needs to be addressed at every government level,” Morgan said, “We all need to be asking if these services are ensuring people have the necessary supports to move towards holistic health.”

Smithers is located along the Highway of Tears, a corridor of Highway 16 linked to a high number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), which Indigenous leaders said must be a part of the investigation into the deaths of Indigenous residents in SCSA housing. 

For more information:

Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre Society: http://www.dzelkant.com/
Contact: Annette Morgan, Executive Director
(M) 250-877-2858 (Email) executive.director@dzelkant.com

BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres: https://bcaafc.com/
Contact: Ricki-Lee Jewell, Communications Coordinator
(M) 778-966-8571 (Email) communications@bcaafc.com