The next "Train the Trainer: Trauma Informed Training" will be available in Coast Salish territories on November 21st - 24th, 2023. Details will be highlighted in the November Edition newsletter for the Vancouver Island Region.

Please email Danielle Daigneault at her contact below to register or if you have any questions.

FNHA Contact: Danielle.Daigneault@fnha.ca

The Urban and Away From Home (UAH) Funding Initiative provides grants of up to $25,000 to support the UAH population in areas of primary care, mental health and wellness, the toxic drug response and/or addressing racism in health and wellness.
Funding can be used to support or supplement operations and maintenance funding, capital funding and/or program funding. Consideration will be given to initiatives that have a sustained impact on the UAH population, reach a broad range of First Nations people that live in an urban or away-from-home setting and/or improve the availability, quality and accessibility of health and wellness services for the UAH population.

We accept funding applications from BC First Nations communities, First Nations education institutions and health and social organizations that provide services to the UAH population in BC.

For more details about the funding initiative, please click here or submit an application for funding h​ere.

If you have questions or experience any challenges with the online application form, please send an email to uah@fnha.ca or Becki Nookemis, Regional Coordinator for UHA team at the contact below.

FNHA Contact: Becki.Nookemis@fnha.ca

Webinar Invitation: Strategies to Enact the Truth and Reconciliation
Call to Action #92

Date: Friday, October 20th, 2023

Time: 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Hosted by the FNHA Nursing Services. Please join on your computer, mobile app or room device. Click here to join the meeting.

FNHA Contact: Joely.Fulcher@fnha.ca

My name is Leslee Wyse, and my traditional name is Llhequlwut. I am the second youngest child to Joe Wyse & late Viola Wyse, from Snuneymuxw First Nation and a mother to two beautiful girls, Cecelia, 23 and Lyla, 14.

I'm pretty laid back for the most part, but I enjoy being on the water in our traditional canoes, and I love to cook. 

Recently, I started working as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Coast Salish territory. I look forward to being a part of the FNHA regional team as I step into this new role and learn more about the Coast Salish communities and its members.

FNHA Contact: Leslee.Wyse@fnha.ca

My name is misko mikisiw kītīyayāw (Red Eagle Elder) and my given name is Grant Bird. I am from Treaty 6 Territory and Homeland of the Metis, and my community resides in the northern Saskatchewan called Montreal Lake Cree Nation. Growing up, I have been involved with my people and my culture in the north and in the prairies. 

As of last year, I have acquired my BA in First Nations and Indigenous Studies at UBC and hope to continue to medical school. To put it simply, I would like to pursue medicine so that folks like me can provide services for our people in our communities and help in any way we can. 

I have been working with FNHA since September of last year as a Community Relations Representative, Health Benefits. I was working with the 14 First Nations communities in the Vancouver Coastal Region and with our urban folk in the Lower Mainland through numerous engagement events and partnership meetings. Moving forward as a Crisis Response Coordinator, I will continue to build relationships with our Coast Salish family and be there in their time of need. It is not only a privilege to call the island my new home, but to be residing, working, and helping our Coast Salish people is a gift. 
Kinanāskomitin (I am grateful to you).

Take care,
misko mikisiw kītīyayāw

FNHA Contact: Grant.Bird@fnha.ca

Maeve is from Cape Breton Island.  She’s a first generation Canadian on her father’s side by way of Inverness, Scotland.  Her maternal grandmother was from the Mi’kmaq First Nation of Eskasoni.  Maeve moved to Ontario after graduating high school to pursue a BA with a dual major in Psychology/Gender and Social Justice at The University of Waterloo.  She and her family moved to Vancouver Island in 2016 because she loves the ocean and the rainforest, but has a distaste for 6 foot snowbanks.

Maeve has worked in different areas of the mental health sector for her entire career.  She has had roles such as Case Manager at a youth shelter, Child and Youth Support Worker, and Coordinator of a Nuu-chah-nulth Harm Reduction Program.  She also facilitates groups for 2SLGBTQIA+ kids and teens on a volunteer basis.  She strongly believes in the importance of acceptance, kindness, and meeting people where they are at.

Maeve is extremely excited to join the FNHA family as Nuu-chah-nulth Community Coordinator, Crisis Response.  She’s very happy to continue to foster the relationships she’s built with the NCN nations in her new role.

When not working or volunteering, Maeve can be found spending time with her husband, Bobby, 12 year old son, Sebastian, 9 year old daughter, Norah, and their 2 Siberian Huskies.  Her hobbies include wandering and foraging in the forest, grounding herself near a body of water, sewing, reading, and trying to find space for just one more plant.

FNHA Contact: Maeve.Coakley@fnha.ca

The FNHA Regional VI team gathered on September 29th, 2023, at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith in recognition of the 2023 National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. It was an opportunity to learn more about what we can continue to do as individuals and as an organization to advance reconciliation together.

Before the day began, the VP of Regional Operations, Brennan MacDonald, offered opening remarks to ground our spirits by bringing forward some of her wisdom to guide and connect us as she spoke about the strengths that have helped us to "thrive and survive and move forward." In that spirit, she shared a story about her orange shirt and how it represents an action forward in how she can hold space and uphold her responsibility that she owes to her children and their children to be active in making that change happen - to learn the hul'q'umi'num' language.

We spent the rest of the morning with Harley Eagle, who is Dakota/Anishinaabe, originally from Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon who shared with us a presentation about Truth and Reconciliation and Indigenous Cultural Safety.

He spoke to our emotions and how they affect our spirits, including vulnerability and the role that it plays in Indigenous Cultural Safety work. Harley speaks to colonialism 

and how "colonization is assault of relationship, decolonization is restoration of relationships starting with yourself." A quote that resonated with all of us as we continue to commit to learning and deepening our understanding of our shared history for continued healing.

The mid-day lunch break was prepared by community. It was delicious!
 
After lunch, the team participated in a Wool Weaving Workshop facilitated by Cheryl Joe. She shared her knowledge about why it is important to be in good spirits while making your bag and to give it away if this was your first time making a quarter bag.
 
Gathering on this day was a chance for the FNHA regional family to come together and connect in-person as we don't always have a chance to see each other during our day-to-day. It was an opportunity to reflect and appreciate each other as coworkers and as a family, the FNHA family.