Video Gallery

The Journey to Healing project, led by the BC Council for Families, brings together youth workers, teachers, community leaders, and Elders to participate in training on how to support community members who have been impacted by suicide. This training is offered in collaboration with three First Nations communities in BC.

The MIKI'SIW Metis Association's Healing Through Culture program brings Aboriginal people living in the Comox Valley together with Elders, knowledge keepers, artists and storytellers, to participate in inter-generational cultural activities designed to support resiliency, wellness and connection to culture.

The New Evolution of Wise Storytelling project, led by RainCity Housing and Support Society, created opportunities for marginalized communities in Vancouver to tell first person stories through local media outlets, supporting more accurate, cohesive reporting on complex issues of poverty, mental health, and/or substance use, and helping reinforce a sense of self-worth for those coming forward.

Impacting 200 individuals, the legacy of this project includes improved public awareness of mental health, reduced social exclusion and discrimination, and increased media literacy and socially-inclusive reporting in the media. The project lives on through the Open Your Heart app, an interactive application developed by project partner, Work at Play, and RainCity Housing, to illustrate the importance of support and acceptance.

The Not at the Kiddie Table Any More project, led by Fireweed Collective Society, included a food-based harm reduction strategy, through nutrition-based programming, to help vulnerable youth ages 16-25 develop lifelong skills that support healthy transitions. The program also focused on youth leadership and empowerment, to engage and facilitate youth involvement in policy development and community visioning of Fort St. James.

Impacting 80 youth, this project improved school attendance and performance and reduced drug and alcohol use. This project further improved health, education and social service access for all youth by reducing service gaps in the community.

Emma’s Acres is an agricultural social enterprise business that employs survivors/victims, ex-offenders and offenders. The proceeds of the social enterprise business funds the work of the L.I.N.C. Society in the community and, in particular, its work with survivors of serious crime.

Community Action Initiative (CAI) has funded projects like CRUW throughout BC. The Culturally Relevant Urban Wellness (CRUW) program targets Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth at risk, and seeks to empower these youth through strength-based programming grounded in both evidence-based research and the wisdom and lived experience of Aboriginal elders and knowledge keepers.

Connected by 25 was a pilot project designed to meet the needs of 16- to 24-year-olds deemed vulnerable in their transitions to adulthood. Designed to assist young people at risk of falling through the cracks, CB25 empowers youth by facilitating access to the social, emotional, and material supports they need. With these supports in place, young people will experience increased resilience and sense of belonging while learning skills to help mitigate risk.

The “Reaching the Risky” project, led by Ktunaxa Nation Council in Cranbrook, this program was an urban service collaborative that provided linkages to culturally-competent, wraparound support for marginalized, homeless populations. Outreach staff, or ‘Street Angels’, come from similar backgrounds of the clients they serve; they reach out to vulnerable clients and help them receive supports necessary to get back on their feet.

Impacting 150 individuals, this project improved client access to prevention/treatment services and housing, which prevents further exacerbation of mental illness, substance abuse and unstable housing/homelessness. Furthermore, there was a noted decrease in police crisis calls as a result of the supports enabled through the project.