The Healing Journey:

1

• The Healing Journey
• Family Violence Prevention in Aboriginal
  Communities
• Les sentiers de la guérison
• Nepisimkewey Pemkenikn (Mi'kmaq)
• Nuhsuhkmone Kikehewik Awt (Maliseet)

2

• The Healing Journey
• Family Violence Prevention in Aboriginal
  Communities
• Les sentiers de la guérison
• Nepisimkewey Pemkenikn (Mi'kmaq)
• Nuhsuhkmone Kikehewik Awt (Maliseet)

3
The Healing Journey Family Violence Prevention
in Aboriginal Communities

•  A joint initiative of
• Gignoo Transition House Inc.
• and
• Public Legal Education and Information
  Service of NB

4
The Healing JourneyA Word About the Project
Partners
Gignoo Transition House Inc. is the only
Aboriginal womens shelter in New Brunswick.
Gignoo was founded in in 1991 by the New
Brunswick Native Indian Womens Council, and
opened off-reserve in Fredericton in 1992.
Gignoo means Our House in both the Mikmaq and
Maliseet languages. Public Legal Education and
Information Service of New Brunswick (PLEIS-NB)
is a non-profit charitable organization
established in 1989 to develop bilingual law
education and information resources for the
public.

5
The Healing JourneyWorking Group Partners

• NB Aboriginal Womens Council
• NB Aboriginal Peoples Council
• Health Wellness, Woodstock First Nation
• Child Family Services, Woodstock First Nation
• NB Coalition of Transition Houses
• NB Advisory Council on the Status of Women
• Womens Issues Branch, Executive Council Office
• RCMP J DivisionCommunity Policing Aboriginal
  Policing
• Codiac RCMP - Victim Services
• Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre
• Fredericton Native Friendship Centre
• Union of New Brunswick Indians
• NB Department of Family and Community Services
• NB Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat

6
The Healing JourneyFunders

• Justice Canada
• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
• Canadian Heritage
• Mounted Police Foundation
• Status of Women Canada
• NB Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat
• New Brunswick Department of Justice and Consumer
  Affairs
• Executive Council, Womens Issues Branch
• New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of
  Women
• New Brunswick Department of Intergovernmental
  Affairs

7
The Healing Journey Origin of the Project

• Creating Healthy Personal Relationships An
  Information Booklet for Aboriginal Women (funded
  by Justice Canada) published in 2005 a joint
  project of Gignoo and PLEIS.
• Overwhelmingly positive response to this booklet
  and demand for culturally-sensitive and relevant
  family violence prevention materials for
  Aboriginal communities in N.B.
• Decision was made to apply for funding and strike
  a working group to help develop these materials
  and more.

8
The Healing Journey Need for the Project

• Statistics Canada reports that the rates of
  family violence among First Nations women and men
  are higher than non-aboriginal couples.
  Aboriginal women 25 - 44 years are 5 times more
  likely to die of violence.
• National Aboriginal Circle Against Family
  Violence (NACAFV) reports that Aboriginal
  children witness violence more often than
  non-Aboriginal children.
• First Nation and Inuit women in particular
  experience higher rates of family violence than
  non-Aboriginal women. In 2004, research showed
  that Aboriginal women were three and half times
  more likely to suffer some form of spousal
  violence than non-Aboriginal women. (Statistics
  Canada, Juristat, Catalogue No. 85-002-XIE, Vol.
  26, no. 3)

9
The Healing Journey Need for the Project
contd

• Of the Aboriginal women who have experienced
  family violence, 87 were victims of physical
  abuse and 57 were sexually assaulted. (Health
  Canada)
• 21 of Aboriginal people reported that a current
  or ex-spouse had assaulted them in the past five
  years, compared to 6 of the non-Aboriginal
  population (Statistics Canada, Juristat,
  Catalogue No. 85-002-XIE, Vol. 26, no. 3)
• Almost 1/2 of Aboriginal victims of spousal
  violence experienced potentially life-threatening
  violence at the hands of a current or ex-partner
  compared with 31 of non-Aboriginal victims of
  spousal violence. (National Aboriginal Circle
  Against Family Violence)

10
The Healing Journey Community Feedback

• Gignoo and PLEIS met with our Working Group to
  brainstorm content.
• Commissioned a needs assessment by Han Martin
  Associates to find out what NB Aboriginal
  communities would like to see in a family
  violence prevention toolkit.

11
The Healing Journey We were told .

• Take A Holistic Approach to Violence Prevention
• When someone is being abused, it harms the
  victim, their family, and the entire community.
  Everyone feels the negative consequences of
  abuse. Everyone should have the opportunity to
  become part of the solution.

12
The Healing Journey Goals of the Project

• Develop a Toolkit with a range of culturally
  sensitive information for addressing violence
  prevention in Aboriginal communities
• Create website to share information and to act as
  a forum for dialogue and sharing promising
  practices
• Host a conference to launch the kit and website
  and foster violence prevention champions
• Offer training and information sessions
  throughout New Brunswick First Nations
  Communities.

13
The Healing JourneyProgress to Date

• Toolkit completed and being distributed
• Website English site available and French under
  construction
• Electronic versions of materials in the toolkit
• Links and other publications for family violence
  prevention for Aboriginal communities - both on-
  and off-reserve
• Assists individuals and service providers to
  create responses to family violence both in terms
  of crisis intervention, public education and
  prevention
• Provides a forum for individuals and communities
  to share their family violence prevention
  experiences, or to share their own personal
  journeys to a violence free life.
• www.thehealingjourney.ca
• www.lessentiersdelaguerison.ca

14
The Healing JourneyProgress to Date
Conference October 4-6, 2006, Fredericton Over
160 Aboriginal women and men, youth, elders,
Aboriginal non-Aboriginal service providers
attended the conference Workshops on dating
violence and self-esteem building with Inuk
singer/songwriter Susan Aglukark. Students from
Eel Ground First Nation performed award winning
play on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Students
from local high schools performed a dating
violence skit called An Aboriginal Youths Cry
for Help.
15
The Healing JourneyWhere We Are Today

• Evaluation of the Healing Journey Process
  completed
• Promoting the National Tool Kit across Canada as
  we redesigned the NB Tool Kit to a National
  perspective
• Beginning process of community training and
  animation sessions in NB
• Using the Healing Journey materials
• Stimulate local actions to address relationship
  violence in Aboriginal communities

16
The Healing JourneyObjectives of Todays Session

• Gain practical knowledge of how to use the
  Healing Journey Tool Kit in your community
• Provide an opportunity to discuss strategies with
  Gignoo staff, other service providers and
  champions on how to address relationship violence
  in culturally appropriate ways within Aboriginal
  communities and families
• Have a chance to network with service providers
  working in this field as well as others

17
The Healing JourneyContents of Toolkit

• Toolkit includes
• Users Guide
• Fact Sheets
• Family Violence Resources and Networks
• Safety Plans for Aboriginal Women and Children
• Starting Over What You Should Know
• About Family Law Matters booklet
• Skit An Aboriginal Youths Cry for Help
• Poster, bookmark, decals, postcard and brochures
• Creating a Family Violence Prevention Community
  Action Plan (added later)

18
The Healing Journey

• For further information about the project,
  please contact
• Gignoo Transition House or PLEIS-NB
• www.thehealingjourney.ca
• Gignoo [phone] PLEIS-NB(506) 453-5369
• gignoo_at_nbnet.nb.ca pleisnb_at_web.ca