Community Healing Fund Initiative

Community Healing Fund Initiative

In the last fiscal year, 2008/2009, APC received funding from First Nations Inuit Health (FNIH) to administer a Community Healing Fund Initiative. Atlantic First Nations communities and organizations to access to address healing initiatives regarding the Indian Residential School issue.

The purpose of the Community Healing Projects was to fund proposals that met the complex emotional and healing needs of Indian Residential School survivors. These projects encompassed a spectrum of approaches to meet these needs. The core essences of these projects were for IRS former students to self-identify strategies that looked at ways of healing oneself, family and community. Some survivors developed peer support networks through healing circles, others focused on reconnection of oneself to their culture through traditional ceremonies, and other survivors focused on healing activities with institutions responsible for the harms done to survivors. All of these projects sought to bring awareness and understanding about Indian Residential Schools and its effects.

Project Review Methodology

To ensure projects funded under this initiative addressed the complex needs of IRS former students, APC worked extensively with the Outreach Residential School Atlantic Committee (ORSAC) to implement a process where survivors, descendents, and frontline workers reviewed and selected Community Healing Projects to fund.

This purpose of ORSAC is to act as an advisory body to provide feedback on the strategic direction of APC IRS Unit; and, to facilitate sharing of information with former students in the Atlantic region on IRS issues. This committee consists of representatives from First Nation leaderships, academic representatives, government agencies, and First Nation Agencies/Organizations, and most importantly, IRS former students from each of the projects who have a strong background in advocacy.

In July 2008, a request for proposals (RFP) was distributed to all First Nations communities in the Atlantic region based on the parameter of the community healing fund.

These parameters involved the following:

• $300,000 was available to be distributed across the Atlantic Canada region.

• This funding would be only available to communities and/or organizations that have involvement with Residential School survivors.

• Proposals must be developed in consultation with Residential School survivors (as defined by the Federal Government).

• Activities must be able to be completed this fiscal year (by March 31, 2009).

• Projects could involve partnering of organizations or communities.

• Projects could build on or enhance present programs.

• Projects could create something entirely new.

Additional considerations in funding project under this initiative were: proponents had to demonstrate their project did not duplicate services, or the established need stated in the proposal could not be better served under a different funding source (i.e. TRC or FNIH Atlantic's Proposal Review Committee).

ORSAC formed a sub-committee to collect proposals and make recommendations to the entire committee. These members were Andrea Colfer, Elsipogtog Health & Wellness Center, Philippa Pictou, FNIH Atlantic, Lottie Johnson, NADACA and Cheryl Copage, APC. This subcommittee reviewed proposals on August 12^th, 2008, and made their recommendations to ORSAC on August 14^th, 2008. During the August meeting, 7 out of 11 projects submitted were approved for funding resulting in over $175,000.00 being invested in community healing projects. The sub-committee met again Oct. 31^st, 2008 and recommended an additional 4 proposal to be reviewed by ORSAC on Nov. 7^th, 2008. All 4 proposals were approved by ORSAC resulting in over an additional $100,000.00 being invested in healing initiatives.

Click here for a chart of these approved projects. This chart identifies proponents, project goals, expected outcomes and results achieved.