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I am proud to share the North Bay Indian Friendship Centre’s U-ACT project with you. I want you to know how important and successful this project has been for our community.
One event that still stands out for me is the Shine-A-Light Gala. Its purpose was simple: shine a light on Aboriginal community members. But it accomplished so much more. It also shone a light on the Friendship Centre and our community.
The people who came out to the event were really impressed, including the media. They were not only impressed with the gala itself, but also to see everyday people acknowledged for their contributions. Some of the people honoured came from struggles themselves, so to see people surviving and going about their lives
and being recognized was a really nice aspect
of the project. People feel good when they are recognized.
We also developed new relationships and formed partnerships with non-aboriginal agencies that had never visited our Centre. People used to say, “What is that big brown building on the corner of Cassells and Fifth?” Now they know who we are and what we do. We now work together, not in silos, but by connecting with each other. After all, we’re not the only agency in the community working with Aboriginal peoples. It’s really important for all of us to come together. Forming community relationships and establishing respectful communication and healthy partnerships is the formula for a successful, strong community.
Although we had some funding challenges during the project, one of the other strong points is that these challenges didn’t really hinder
us. We did more with less. While that might be typical of Friendship Centres in general, in this
Nancy Potvin, Executive Director North Bay Indian Friendship Centre
case, it was the community relationships and partnerships that came through for us.
Another highlight was the youth involvement. The project staff really engaged the youth and the youth stepped up to the plate. It was also amazing to see the connection between the young people and the Elders.
This was a project where good things happened from the very beginning. By respectfully building relationships and connections, we not only raised awareness about our community, we shared our community with others —our challenges and our strengths.
Good things are already coming out of this: we’re starting a housing project proposal and we have many community partners interested and onboard from the get-go. The cross-cultural work and policy development accomplished during the project will go a long way. We’re going to develop protocols and agreements and move forward on increasing cross-cultural awareness. All of these steps will continue
to create tangible improvements for our community members.
We’re optimistic that we will receive funding to implement our Action Plan and we will continue to shine the light. Come and visit us in the big brown building anytime.
Walking the Red Road | REPORT OF THE URBAN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES THRIVE PROJECT
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