PATHWAYS MENTOR HOMES

Aboriginal people believe that children are a gift from the Creator. Traditional practice is for people in the Native community to take on the role of significant family members for children in need or children without family support. With this in mind, Pathways offers residential programs for Aboriginal youth. In the Pathways Mentor Homes program workers and mentors take on the role of an extended Native family, linking non-Aboriginal professional approaches with traditional Aboriginal practices.

Pathways Mentor Homes is an extension of our group home, transitioning Aboriginal youth from group care to stable, long-term residence in the community. Each youth is involved in matching with a Mentor who provides a supportive, culturally respectful home responsive to that youth’s individual needs.

Mentoring homes are licensed, and 10 hours/week of professional support and cultural resources are provided.

Pathways Mentor Homes is a new model for Aboriginal Youth in Care that began in 2007.

REGIONAL AFTER-HOURS YOUTH SUPPORT (RAYS)

Early response and intervention have shown success in the areas of youth drug and alcohol use, suicide intervention, family violence, child physical abuse, sexual abuse disclosures, parent-child conflict, foster care, and group home respite.

RAYS Services

RAYS primary service mandate is early response. When crisis situations arise immediate stabilization, assessment, resources and referrals have been shown to increase individual and/or family functioning. In support of this mandate RAYS offers the following after-hours crisis support and services:

• Family mediation
• Childcare
• Transportation in Alberta
• In-home support
• Suicide watch and assessment
• One-on-one support and counseling
• Community resource information
• Reports and recommendations

Our RAYS team works directly for and with the Child and Family Services Social Service Response Team.

YOUTH TRANSITIONS TO ADULTHOOD (YTA)

Pathways’ YTA program provides services for youth ages 16 and up who have involvement with Alberta Child and Family Services and who are transitioning to independent adult status. We offer two types of placement. In the first type trained mentors share their homes with youth and work closely with them to increase the youth’s self-sufficiency and independent living skills. In the second type youth who are close to successful independence live on their own with support provided by youth support workers.

The YTA program provides:

• 24 hour crisis support
• Training in basic living skills
• Life skills training to develop problem solving and relationship skills
• Support in building natural and community supports
• Assistance and support in resolving personal issues
• Weekly support provided by a youth worker
• Advocacy for the youth

Expected Outcomes – Enhancement/Increase of:

• Personal health and safety
• Competency in independent living skills
• Knowledge and use of natural supports and community resources
• Emotional well-being

ABORIGINAL IN-HOME SUPPORT

The Aboriginal In-Home Support and the Eagle Spirit Resources Team strive to provide for a quality of life, well being, caring and healing for Aboriginal families living in Calgary and area.
In-Home Support Workers focus on strengthening children and families by enhancing their natural supports and connections to community resources. Services are culturally sensitive, responsive and specific models that respect the values of the Aboriginal peoples, the extended family and the right to self determination. They include:

• Culture based enrichment and healing programs
• Family Preservation
• Addictions assessment and recommendations
• Guidance and Skill Training
• Utilizing and connecting to community resources
• Coping strategies during times of stress
• Support in developing structure, routines, family rituals and boundaries

Services require a referral through Calgary and Area Child and Family Services.

CONNECT ACCESS

Connect Access offers a supervised visit service to non-custodial parents and relatives wishing to maintain a connection with a child or children.
Our purpose is to provide a neutral, child-focused setting for the safe exchange between parties for the purpose of a supervised visit. Our professional staff are trained to preserve a connected relationship between parents/relatives and children while ensuring the safety of the child.

We provide:

• Door to door pick-up and drop off
• Detailed reports of interactions, upon request
• Visits that are child-friendly
• Visits that are closely monitored, maintaining child safety and security.

Families can use Connect Access if they have a court order for supervised visits;

or Both parties agree, in writing, to the use of supervised access.

How to access our services . . . You may contact us directly or through a lawyer or agency referral. Both parties need to consent to the service being provided. Each parent will be asked to sign an agreement with us, including release of information forms. It is the lawyer’s and/or parent’s responsibility to notify us of any changes.
Fees … Applicable fees to be paid in advance by Visa, MasterCard or at the beginning of each visit by cash only.

For information (link)

EAGLE SPIRIT

Eagle Spirit program offers resources for clients, colleagues and the general community. Eagle Spirit uses a culturally sensitive approach that allows individuals to grow and heal in their own way and their time through any of the following resources:

• Access to Elders and resource specialists
  Accredited Aboriginal support & resource workers
  Accredited Aboriginal mentors
  Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Trainings/Teachings
  Talking/Sharing Circles
  Traditional Ceremonies and celebrations

HEALTHY FAMILIES

Healthy Families is home based support service for families with newborns. Participation is voluntary and referrals are made by the Public Health Nurse.
The program focus is supporting parents, promoting healthy parent-child relationships and fostering healthy childhood development as well as connecting families with community resources. In Home Visitors provide:

• Support for women experiencing postpartum depression
• Developmental screening for infants to age five
• Information about the latest research on infant care and nutrition
• Community referrals for basic needs
• Information and help for literacy development
• Information for preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome (in partnership with Alberta Health Region)
• Awareness of cultural resources available.

Who Can Use This Service?

• You must have a newborn baby
• You must answer the questions in the screening tool
• If the public Health Nurse thinks it would be useful for you to see a Home Visitor they will tell the Healthy families Collaborative. The collaborative program coordinator will then refer clients to their designated area.

How Do Families Become Involved?

The Healthy families program accepts referrals with families in the immediate postpartum period and with babies up to six months of age.

The main access to service will be via a referral from the Public Health Nurse who will administer a short screening tool upon routine visits to mothers with newborn babies. The tool is completed by obtaining information from the Notice of Birth document as well as by questioning the client and by observation.

When Do You See a Home Visitor?

The home visitor will come to your home, or you can meet at a place that is OK for both of you once a week. Each visit will last about an hour.

Healthy Families Service Areas

• Bowness
• Dalhousie
• Montgomery and area
• Ranchlands
• University of Calgary Residences

NEKINAN HOME FOR ABORIGINAL YOUTH

We believe there is a strong need for our community to provide unique home environments for our Aboriginal youth. Nekinan Home is a six bed, Aboriginal, community based home environment. We provide safe, caring and culturally based programs.

The program assists vulnerable Aboriginal children in entering adult life with the resiliency and life skills required to live successfully and independently.

We assist youth in connecting to the community, cultural activities, family and natural supports. We collaboration with educational, recreational and cultural resources we help our youth increase their life skills, understanding, respect, sense of self worth and identity.

Supports and resources include a safe, comfortable home; access to Elders and traditional ceremonies; life skills training; leisure and recreational opportunities; and dedicated professional Aboriginal youth support workers.

Nekinan Home has been serving Aboriginal youth since 1982.