Life skills instruction, cultural instruction for youth leaving foster homes
SUDBURY—Dignitaries from seven Island First Nations and federal and provincial government agencies, along with social service agencies, gathered at a refurbished female youth correctional facility on Bancroft Drive in the Minnow Lake area of Sudbury where they cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Enji-maajiigawat Mina-waadiziwin, a seven-bed transitional youth home aimed at assisting youth between the ages of 16 and 25 transitioning from child care.
Denise Morrow sat down with The Expositor recently to discuss how the project came about and the aim of the facility.
“This project initially began in 2022,” shares Ms. Morrow, noting that youth have actively taken part in planning for the project. “The majority of youth and families being served by KGCFS reside off reserve and 69 percent of youth who signed onto voluntary youth agreements (ages 16-21) live in Sudbury.” In addition, 67 percent of KGCFS services to families and youth are provided off reserve.
Ms. Morrow noted that an extreme youth housing gap was identified with Sudbury partners and KGCFS initiated a Safe and Affordable Youth Housing forum with Sudbury partners to take a collaborative approach regionally.
“KGCFS has joined housing networks in Sudbury to support youth,” she noted, pointing out that her organization focusses on land-based cultural service delivery, with cultural services being provided to all youth and families served and broader Indigenous urban community.
“We had been unable to secure an appropriate and affordable space for land-based cultural services in Sudbury,” said Ms. Morrow, but that search finally proved fruitful after searching for over two years.
“The project will address the current gap for KGCFS by providing a land base for consistent, accessible and equitable cultural service delivery in the District of Sudbury for families, in addition to addressing the housing crisis for youth in transition who require safe and supportive transitional housing and outreach-based services,” shared Ms. Morrow.
Ms. Morrow noted that the broad level of support KGCFS has received, and the plethora of funding streams involved in the project actually makes it difficult to answer the question of exactly how much the final tally on the project was.
“There was certainly a significant investment from indigenous Services Canada” she said. “They funded some of our programs and also the renovations for the building.” She noted that the renovations cast alone were “near a million.”
The ministry maintains title on the building. “So they’re allowing us to utilize the building without rent,” said Ms. Morrow. “We pay the services.”
“We’re leasing it from Northern Youth Services right now until they sever the two properties,” explained Ms. Morrow. Currently, Tulloch Engineering is working out a number of crossed water lines and the like. “Once they sever the property, we will have one hectare of land, and then the building is 7,785 square feet.”
The outdoor property is key to the provision of land-based ceremonies and programming, notes Ms. Morrow. “The ministry funds some of our programs, youth and housing youth, youth transition worker and the housing support and an education liaison position. So, they fund three positions and they’ve also invested some minor capital in the building.”
“It’s been very much a collaborative effort with support from both the funders, the Ministry of Children and Community Social Services and Indigenous Services Canada,” said Ms. Morrow. “We had both at the grand opening which was great.”
Ms. Morrow explained that youth in care with KGCFS are able to sign onto Voluntary Youth Service Agreements. In the past, youth would age out of the system and basically find themselves adrift. Now, 16- and 17-year-olds that have signed voluntary agreements can access service and financial support from the organization.
“We currently serve 91 youth residing off their First Nation in the in the City of Sudbury,” noted Ms. Morrow. “And then there is a program called Ready. Set. Go. funded by the Ontario provincial ministry and it’s for 18 up to 23 years old.” That program used to end at 21 and was referred to as Continued Care and Support for Youth from the province. “Now it also includes 21- and 22-year-olds.”
Currently, KGCFS is serving 61 youth in the Ready. Set. Go. program and 77 residing off of their First Nation, mostly in the Sudbury area. Criteria are that youth must sign onto the agreement to allow them to continue to receive service and financial supports.
“We do a youth plan for those youth and we’ve incorporated the ministry requirements into a holistic youth plan based on the medicine wheel framework,” said Ms. Morrow. “Emotional, spiritual, physical and mental components of planning for their well-being—including plans to transition to independence.”
“There’s also a new support, through Indigenous Services Canada, called Post-Majority Support Services for youth 18 up to 26 years old,” she said. “So, it overlaps with Ready. Set. Go. but it’s also a program where youth can ask for additional services, including financial support.”
This means KGCFS, through that program, the organization can serve youth 23, 24 and 25.
“We serve a large number of youths on voluntary agreements,” said Ms. Morrow. In canvassing “our team and our youth, we were advised of all the challenges facing them in transitioning. Not only just from being in care, but also those stereotypes providing barriers in trying to find housing and supports in the community. But also, the need for having that service support coming to them in a hub-based service.”
It will come as little surprise to anyone that the transition out of care is also being challenged when there is no housing to transition into. “As you’re likely aware, there’s a housing crisis across Ontario, Canada-wide,” said Ms. Morrow. “With youth transitioning, out of care, they face even more stigma with landlords and in trying to get housing—especially when it’s off their First Nations. There’s also lots of challenges with wait lists on the First Nations as well. So, we did a survey with those older youth we serve and we had asked what service supports would be beneficial if we acquired this property.”
The property has been vacant for a number of years, noted Ms. Morrow. “It used to be a youth, female custody facility and we were advised that there were a number of groups submitting proposals to operate at this location. We had been looking for a number of years for a land base in Sudbury to deliver cultural ceremonies and services.”
What followed was a series of ministry hoops to go through, including needs assessment and a business plan.
“In early January 2022, we presented a letter of interest to the ministry and in the spring we were selected,” said Ms. Morrow. “We were up against other parties of non-Indigenous organizations that were also interested in location. So, we’re really grateful to the ministry that they selected us in April 2022.”
Then the real work began.
“We began the process of confirming board and leadership support as the next steps to proceed,” she said. “We did that through the summer months of 2022 and there were lots of funding applications.”
KGCFS set up a new youth advisory council. “We’re really excited about that to amplify the youth’s voice, lift up the youth that are transitioning from care because they know their experience the best. So, we did a survey with the youth to get advice from them. In terms of what housing they would like to see and what service supports. Many of them had interest in cultural services but they weren’t going out to see or going out to engage in the cultural services—yet almost 90 percent said, ‘if we had the cultural services on site in a service hub model wrap’ with around 90 percent said ‘yes.’ So we took their advice to build a youth housing program.”
KGCFS recently received funding to staff the housing portion. “In the fall of 2022, we moved forward with the office space and some other services and programs,” said Ms. Morrow. “We have an education team that works out of the location and then we had funding for a youth outreach team that goes out and does individual outreach with youth—helping them in the community, to go to appointments, meetings, go to the bank, with life skills, and then we also have programming at the location.”
That holistic programming includes engaging in recreational, fun activities. “They learn cooking skills, they do a number of cultural activities teaching ceremonies and also supports, in terms of mental well-being and holistic well-being.”
The new location has a teepee, a teaching lodge, a sweat lodge and a gazebo for outdoor teaching that, Ms. Morrow says, was a key milestone that being able to have land in Sudbury to deliver culturally based services and ceremonies, traditional language, culture and land-based activities to empower healing and as protective factors in terms of health outcomes.
“We’ve had naming ceremonies at the location, we’ve had sweats, with youth participating in sweats,” she said.
The building is equipped with a fully functioning kitchen for life skills and features seven bedrooms dedicated to youth. Additionally, the building houses office space for 14 employees.
Ms. Morrow said that the project has enjoyed support from the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies, Anishinabek Nation, City of Greater Sudbury, Gezhtoojig Employment and Training, Greater Sudbury Police Service, Indigenous Services Canada, Ministry of Children and Community Social Services, N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre, Native People of Sudbury Development Corporation, Northern Youth Services, Rainbow District School Board, Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre, Sudbury Catholic District School Board, United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising and Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.
The seven member First Nation communities under KGCFS include: Aundeck Omni Kaning, M’Chigeeng, Sheguiandah, Sheshegwaning, Whitefish River, Zhiibaahaasing and Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.
