Pathways | Aboriginal Child, Youth, and Family Programs

Aboriginal Child, Youth, and Family Programs

Child Services, Condition Specific Support, Family / Parenting, Indigenous Services, Pregnancy Care, Public Health, and Youth Services

Provided by Hiiye'yu Lelum Society House of Friendship

A variety of programs aimed to improve the wellness and lives of aboriginal children, youth and families.

The following programs are offered:

4 Pillars Program: One on one and group support for children aged 7 to 14. Children and Youth will receive support and information to improve their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health and wellbeing.
Family Support Worker Program: Work one-on-one or on a group basis with Aboriginal families to provide information, guidance and support in the areas of parenting, communication and life skills, counselling, budgeting, nutrition, cooking, traditional and cultural values.
Family Pathways Program: Works with families who have children in the care of Child Protection services or are at risk. We aim to increase child safety and permanence by supporting and advocating with families.
FASD Key Worker Program: The Key Worker program provides support to families of children and youth under age 19 with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and similar neurodevelopmental conditions.
Healthiest Babies Possible: Provides nutritional counselling, prenatal education, food vouchers and vitamins, referrals to other services and one-to-one support. Group sessions are on Thursday 10am-1pm featuring speakers from the community, transportation, childcare, and lunch.
Early Years: Provides support and information for parents and their baby until the child is 1 year old. Consists of weekly one-to-one visits with an Outreach Worker to learn about infant development, self-care and nutrition and group sessions on Thursdays, 12 to 2:30pm, to meet other families and explore topics related to culture & language, baby development and health, and self-care for mom. Lunch, childcare, and transportation available.
Healthy Children, Healthy Futures: Healthy Children, Healthy Futures is a Parenting Education and Discussion Group for parents and caregivers of children 0 to 6 years old. HCHF is a peer-facilitated group where we discuss a wide range of topics from Community Resources to Discipline; from Anger and Conflict to Goal Setting and Problem Solving, just to name a few. They provide child minding, meals and rides.
My Tween & Me Parenting Program: My Tween and Me parenting program will open your eyes to all the ways you can continue to influence your pre-teen’s choices, values and goals. This interactive, customizable program will give parents the keys to preventing risky behaviour — by helping them discover their own skills and strengths as a parent.
Nobody's Perfect: Nobody’s Perfect is a program for parents of 0-5 year olds. Guided by trained and caring people, parents learn how to understand their children better. They provide information on children’s health, safety and behavior and also show participants how to cope with stress. Sessions include a nutritious snack, child minding and transportation.
Young Families Program: This program is for young families with children ages 0 to 6 years-old, which promotes positive self-esteem with First Nation families. It provides education to build knowledge of culture and to experience lifelong learning lessons. We use a holistic early childhood development model, physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual & social development practice. A hands-on approach is used to connect parents with their children through play, activities, stories, elder’s teachings, health promotion & nutrition; to encourage healthy lifestyles with an emphasis on developing self-care and better wellness choices.
Right To Play: PLAY is designed to deliver weekly play-based programs that aim to promote healthy living, healthy relationships, education and employability. In delivering PLAY programming, Community Mentors create a safe and inclusive space where children and youth can play, share, learn and grow.
Treasure Box: In each 2 hour session, parents and children read, sing, dance, rhyme, make crafts, color and enjoy a snack together.
Youth Inclusion Project: The Youth Inclusion Project (YIP) is a crime prevention program that provides pro-social activities to youth in the Cowichan communities. The YIP facilitates programming for youth that are considered at-risk for criminal behaviour and need extra assistance to cope with the surrounding environment.