National Association of Friendship Centres

International Centre for the Prevention of CrimeInternational Indigenous Community Safety Seminar

Montreal, QuebecMarch 27-29, 2011

National Association of Friendship CentresNational Association of Friendship Centres275 MacLaren Street275 MacLaren Street

Ottawa, OntarioOttawa, OntarioK2P 0L9K2P 0L9

www.nafc.cawww.nafc.ca

Outline

1) NAFC & Friendship Centre MovementBackground

2) Programming3) Community Safety and Urban Aboriginal

People4) Beyond Programming

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Who are We?

The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) is a national, non-profit Aboriginal organization that represents the views and concerns of 117 Friendship

Centres and 7 Provincial/Territorial Associations (PTAs) across Canada.

Mission Statement

To improve the quality of life for Aboriginal peoples in an urban environment by supporting self-determined activities which encourage equal access to, and

participation in, Canadian Society; and which respect and strengthen the increasing emphasis on Aboriginal cultural distinctiveness.

The NAFCs Friendship Centres are located from coast to coast to coast in Canada

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BackgroundFriendship Centre Time Line

1950’s Friendship Centres established in Toronto (1951), Vancouver (1952) and Winnipeg (1959)

1968 26 Friendship Centres across Canada1968 Friendship Centre Steering Committee established to examine the feasibility of

establishing a national body to represent the growing number of Centres1972 National Association of Friendship Centres is incorporated and the Government of

Canada implements the Migrating Native Peoples Program, providing funding to Friendship Centres across Canada

1972 43 Friendship Centres across Canada1983 80 Friendship Centres across Canada1988 The Aboriginal Friendship Centre Program (AFCP) secured permanent funding status1996 The Department of Canadian Heritage transfers administrative responsibility of the

AFCP to the NAFC1996 114 Friendship Centres across Canada2011 117 Friendship Centres across Canada

Friendship CentresThe federal department of Canadian Heritage, partnering with the National Association of

Friendship Centres, delivers priority federal programs to Canada’s urban population

Nationally the Friendship Centre Movement delivers over $120 million annually in programs and services in partnership with federal, provincial, territorial and

municipal governments

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Governance

Friendship Centre Movement Structure

Senate Aboriginal Youth Council

National Association of Friendship Centres

Provincial/Territorial Associations

Local Friendship Centre

Community Members

Governance

Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of representatives from across Canada, the primary objectives of the NAFC are:

Act as a central, unifying body for the Friendship Centre Movement;

Promote and advocate the concerns of Aboriginal peoples; and,

Represent the needs of local Friendship Centres across the country to the federal government and to the public in general.

The NAFC also has a 5 member Executive Committee which consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and a representative from our Aboriginal Youth Council.

State of the Movement 2010• FCs provide programs to urban Aboriginal

people in the following areas: culture, family, youth, sports and recreation, language, justice, housing, health, education, employment, economic development and “other” which includes services such as food banks;

• Nationally, there are a combined total of 1264 programs offered within Friendship Centres;

• Almost 2.3 million points of contact across Canada in 2010.

AFCP: Program Reach

Participants Number of Programs Revenue

Culture 235,465 110 $4,348,709 Family 423,763 179 $19,980,539Youth 235,101 176 $15,872,488Other 45,170 30 $751,930Sports and Rec. 75,725 66 $1,157,362Language 240 4 $60,150Justice 75,072 78 $4,886,011Housing 306,940 51 $21,878,859Health 433,096 335 $32,869,256Education 64,100 92 $5,517,858Employment 137,172 109 $9,130,335Ec. Dev. 259,937 34 $3,803,107TOTALS 2,291,781 1264 $120,256,609

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Urban Aboriginal Growth

• Canada’s Aboriginal population growing 6 times faster than non-Aboriginal population

• 54% of all Aboriginal people live in urban areas;– One in 10 in Winnipeg– 5% Edmonton– 51% increase in population in

Halifax since 2001 census

• 48% of the Aboriginal population is under the age of 25

Importance ofUrban Aboriginal Issues

• Providing services for urban Aboriginal people is rated as a high or very high priority by over 4 in 10 Regina and Saskatoon residents, and by – Over 35% of Toronto and Edmonton residents– Over 30% of residents of Calgary and Winnipeg– Over 25% of Vancouver residents

• Aboriginal residents rate quality of life in their city less highly than do non-Aboriginal residents.

Source: Canada West Foundation, LOOKING WEST 2007 SURVEY

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Community Safety - Risk

Risk Factors: Risk Factors: Aboriginal populations face an increased risk of crime and victimization due to both historical factors and realities faced in urban areas

Vulnerable populations: Vulnerable populations: Women, Elders, and Youth, are especially at-risk

While the Friendship Centre Movement was born out of the prospect of an improved life in towns and cities, Aboriginal people are

nonetheless faced with great challenges in these urban areas

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JusticeParticipants Number of Programs Revenue

Justice 75,072 78 $4,886,011

• Friendship Centres address the need for Aboriginal involvement in the administration of justice– Example: Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship

Centres (OFIFC) Aboriginal Community Justice Program

• More importantly, justice programming empowers community members to address root causes of harmful behaviour

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Youth

Participants Number of Programs RevenueYouth 235,101 176 $15,872,488

• Support for Youth a longstanding value of the Friendship Centre Movement– Youth programs comprise 14% of all Friendship Centre

programming• Many risk factors for Youth in urban areas

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Aboriginal Women

• There is no shortage of challenges and risks faced by urban Aboriginal women in particular single mother-led families including: poverty, unemployment, lack of child care, safe and secure housing, and violence just to mention a few;

• Respect for women is a core Friendship Centre Movement value;

71% of all Friendship Centre staff across Canada are female.

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Elders• Elders are an intergral part of the Friendship Centre Movement

Involved in practically every Friendship Centre event;;• Their presence serves to mitigate the direct and intergenerational

effects of residentail schools and other traumas inflicted upon Aboriginal peoples

They Connect with Youth to strengthen community and cultural ties;

• Also provide safe spaces for Elders themselvesFor example the British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres has an Elder abuse awareness and prevention initiative

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CultureParticipants Number of Programs Revenue

Culture 235,465 110 $4,348,709

• 110 cultural programs across Canada with $4.3 million in total funding;

• Loss of culture is clearly identified as a factor contibuting to criminality in urban Aboriginal populations– Ontario’s Urban Aboriginal Task Force found that among Youth,

lack of identify is the number one challenge they face in their lives;

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Other Programs• Homelessness programs

– Municipal partnerships important for success in these services;

• Language– Related to the importance of culture for urban Aboriginal peoples;

• Family – It is recognized that strong families make for safe communities;

• Sports and Recreation– Provides safe alternatives to unhealthy lifestyles, especially for Youth;

• Head Start– One facet of a holistic approach that recognizes the importance of

supporting every age level of a community especially very young children;

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Other Programs• Health

– Holistic, culture-based addictions programs for community safety;

• Housing– Urban housing especially stressful on Aboriginal people who require

assistance in finding and maintaining affordable housing;

• Employment– Directly addresses unemployment as a risk factor regarding community

safety;

• Education– Relates to employment in providing healthy lifestyle options and skills

necessary to thrive in a challenging urban environment;

• Child Care– Eases stresses upon working and single-parent families;

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Community Safety - Protection

Protective factors: Protective factors: Friendship Centres provide safe spaces for urban Aboriginal people.

Preventative factors Preventative factors : : Focus upon Youth to divert at-risk individuals and to support healthy lifestyles.

The very work that Friendship Centres do day in and day out serve to mitigate the risk factors associated with crime and

support Aboriginal youth to make better life choices.

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Friendship Centre Role in Justice

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Friendship Centres play an important role in Aboriginal health and they can serve as an important resource for Aboriginal people who are relocated to urban centres for medical treatments.

Friendship Centres offer:Friendship Centres offer:

• Referrals and liaising with other community organizations

• Counselling on matters such as employment, housing, education, health

• Various health programming

• Cultural connections (i.e. connect individuals with Elders or spiritual services)

Community SafetyPartnerships

• Youth– Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, external Youth councils

• Women– Women’s shelters, e.g. Minwaashin Lodge and Odawa Native Friendship

Centre in Ottawa

• Elders– Portage la Paririe “Seniors Medicine Wheel” program under Canadian

Mental Health Association

At all levels of the Movement, partnerships are utilized to address community safety issues faced by urban Aboriginal

Youth, women, Elders, and population as a whole

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Beyond Service Delivery• Friendship Centres are grassroots, community-based, and culture-

based– This ensures that the needs of urban Aboriginal populations are identified

and addressed by the people themselves

• Beyond programming– Create safe and supportive spaces for and by the people

• Partnerships– Understanding that addressing the wide range of community safety issues

facing urban Aboriginal people requires a multifaceted and concerted approach

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Policy Challenge• Urban Aboriginal peoples represent the greatest policy challenge

in Aboriginal policy.

• While half of all Aboriginal people live in urban areas, corresponding policy, research and programming does not follow.

• As a result urban Aboriginal interventions are minimal, what does exist is not well resourced nor well connected.

• The paradox is that this is the population that could reverse decades long drift in Aboriginal statistics.

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Indigenous Peoples Around the World

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'Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to discrimination in their access to housing and often hindered from fully participating in the social, political and economic spheres of the city. In addition, environmental challenges, notably the effects of climate change on traditional territories, have a significant negative impact on shelter and livelihoods, contributing to increased migration to urban areas.’

- UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum 5, Indigenous Peoples in Urban Areas Roundtable

“Indigenous peoples remain on the margins of society: they are poorer, less educated, die at a younger age, are much more likely to commit suicide, and are generally in poorer health than the rest of the population.”

- International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2006 Graph: Infant mortality per 1000 in indigenous communities versus the overall population

More than 370 million indigenous people in over 70 countries worldwide

ReferencesDepartment of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Gathering Strength: Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan, Ottawa (Ontario). 1997

Dickson-Gilmore, Jane (2007) Aboriginal Communities and Crime Prevention: Confronting the Challenges of Organized Crime. IPC Review, 1, 89-110.

International Centre for the Prevention of Crime. (2008). International Compendium of Crime Prevention Practices . Montreal, QC.

International Centre for the Prevention of Crime. (2009). Community Safety and Indigenous Peoples: Sharing Knowledge, Insights and Action. Montreal, QC.

International Centre for the Prevention of Crime. (2003). Crime Prevention and Indigenous Communities: Current International Strategies and Programmes. Montreal, QC.

National Association of Friendship Centres. (2010). The State of the Friendship Centre Movement: 2010. Ottawa, ON.

National Association of Friendship Centres. (2006). Urban Aboriginal Families of Children with Disabilities: Social Inclusion or Exclusion? Ottawa, ON.

Odawa Native Friendship Centre www.odawa.on.ca

Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres www.ofifc.org 27

Thank YouFor More Information:

Jeffrey CyrExecutive Director

(877) 563-4844 ext. 318jcyr@nafc.ca

275 MacLaren StreetOttawa, ON K2P 0L9

www.nafc.ca

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