Family Violence Initiative

COMPENDIUM OF PROMISING PRACTICES TO REDUCE VIOLENCE AND INCREASE SAFETY OF ABORIGINAL WOMEN IN CANADA – COMPENDIUM ANNEX: DETAILED PRACTICE DESCRIPTIONS

INTERACTIONS WITHIN COMMUNITIES

Healthy Relationships: Women

Program name:

Honouring Gifts

Organization:

Kanikanichichk

Location:

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Target Group:

Aboriginal women Age 18 – 30 and their families

Contact Name:

Sharon McIlraith, Senior Manager

Phone:

204-953-5820

Email:

dconnolly@kanikanichihk.ca

Website:

N/A

Program Overview
History:

In February 2009, the Honouring Gifts program began. Every year the training programs are changed, either by adding different training programs or discontinuing training programs, depending on the participants' needs.

Program Description
Goals & Objectives:

To build on the skills that the participant has an interest in and give them the experience and confidence they need to pursue a career in this area, reducing vulnerability to violence and abuse.

Traditional/Indigenous ways:

Honouring Gifts focuses on a holistic approach and traditional healing. It helps the women find out who they are. There are sweat lodges, medicine picking, pipe ceremonies, sharing circles, and other cultural activities available. If one of the women is in need of counselling but prefers not to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, access is provided to an Elder. Sharing circles are used a lot to debrief.

Components of program:

Honouring Gifts is a career exploration program that provides employment and life skills training. It alternates between in class sessions and field practicums. In addition to this, the program educates participants in the areas of family violence and seeks to empower participants to learn how to build and maintain healthy family relationships. This section of the course is 10 weeks in length. Skills such as suicide intervention, youth engagement and first aid / CPR are taught to the participants as well. The program has a culturally relevant component that offers access to sweat lodges, pipe ceremony, sharing circles and other cultural activities. Participants are offered the opportunity to speak with an Elder.

Services/How they work:

Services are offered on site at the facility or outside in the community.

Funding:

Funding is provided by the City of Winnipeg; and the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development.

Relationships and Stakeholders
Involvement of Target Groups:

The participants evaluate the program at the end of the year and staff use those evaluations when developing programming for the following year.

Partners:

The City of Winnipeg and the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development.

Other relationships:

N/A

Details of Program Evaluation
Evaluation:

No evaluation has been completed.

Highlights of Evaluation Findings:

N/A

Program Outcomes
Measures of Success:

Success is measured by how the clients successfully adopt the programming into their lives to help them find employment or further their education.

Achievements:

Participants successfully finding work after participating in the program.

Challenges:

Lack of facilities to care for potential participants' children can prevent them from taking advantage of the program.

Things to Know to Replicate
Replication Advice:

The program is considered replicable. The most important thing to value is the individualized program. Don't put all participants in the same box. Every student has a different plan, different goals.

Resources:

Adequate funding, trained staff and sufficient facility space are required to ensure the program's success.