Aboriginal Community - Current Partnerships and Initiatives
Current Partnerships & Initiatives
It is the role of Social Policy to help facilitate access to services, overcoming barriers, community building and having a voice in civic government. Our grants programs help to support childcare, community policing, and various programs and services for the Aboriginal community.
We bring groups together to explore opportunities, build networks and cross-cultural understanding, and share information including funding opportunities and collaborative initiatives in the community. We also participate in Aboriginal community initiatives to stay in touch with key issues and concerns and to ensure that Aboriginal perspectives are considered in civic decision making.
Current initiatives described below include the
Dialogues Project and commissioning the Environics Institute to undertake a
Vancouver report on the perceptions and experiences of Urban Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people
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Urban Aboriginal Strategy
Social Policy sits on the Steering Committee for the Metro Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Strategy. The Steering Committee serves as an advisory committee to oversee and guide the work of Urban Aboriginal Strategy activities in the Metro Vancouver area. The City of Vancouver's involvement relates in particular to coordinating policy responses and to enhancing partnerships for capacity development and funding initiatives.
The Metro Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Strategy is a Federal initiative focused primarily on the cities of Vancouver and Surrey. Its goal is to support the growing Aboriginal populations living in Canada’s urban centers through fostering partnerships and increasing collaboration to improve the socio-economic conditions of Canada’s urban Aboriginal Peoples.
Our Roots
The City of Vancouver Dialogues Project, which creates opportunities for Aboriginal and immigrant communities to come together, is launching Our Roots: a story sharing project in the Grandview-Woodlands neighbourhood, as part of the Vancouver 125th celebrations. The project will take place from August to November 2011 with cultural dialogues and story sharing to help build understanding between Aboriginal and immigrant communities.
Two youth Story Gatherers will conduct interviews with community residents to help give voice to diverse Aboriginal and immigrant experiences of the Grandview-Woodlands neighbourhood. Excerpts of the interviews and highlights of the project will be shared with the wider community through storyboard exhibits, a booklet and online platforms, as well as in a special event to be held October 2011. For more information, please contact Baldwin Wong at baldwin.wong@vancouver.ca
Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study: Vancouver Report
The Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study (UAPS) is a snapshot of the hundreds of thousands of Aboriginal people who now live in Canadian urban centres. Conducted by the Environics Institute, and guided by an Advisory Circle of recognized experts from Aboriginal communities and from academia, the study is an inquiry into the values, experiences, identities and aspirations of First Nations peoples, Métis and Inuit living in Canada’s cities.
The UAPS Vancouver Report constitutes the sixth of a series of city reports, following the release of the main report of the UAPS on April 6, 2010. The Vancouver report was commissioned by three groups, including The City of Vancouver Social Policy Dialogues Project. The Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study supports the goals of the Dialogues Project by gathering information about Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations and perceptions of themselves and others. The other two commissioning groups were The Metro Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Strategy and the Vancouver Foundation. The Vancouver report was launched on June 21st, 2011 at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, hosted by the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council.
In Vancouver, the main survey consisted of in-person interviews with 261 First Nations peoples (status and non-status), Métis and Inuit (18 years and older) between April 7 and August 6, 2009. Key to the study’s legitimacy was that the sample be representative of the Aboriginal population in Vancouver. The research team worked with local Aboriginal agencies and other organizations to build community awareness and support for the study, and to identify survey participants.
The full UAPS Vancouver Report is available to download here. You can also download the executive summary here.
Dialogues between First Nations, Urban Aboriginal and Immigrant Communities in Vancouver (the Dialogues Project)
‘Dialogues between First Nations, Urban Aboriginal and Immigrant Communities in Vancouver’ (the Dialogues Project) is a project convened by the City of Vancouver in collaboration with community partners. Its goal is to promote increased understanding and stronger relationships between indigenous and immigrant communities within the City.
For more information, please see the
Dialogues Project website
Aboriginal Community Policing Centre
In 2005, Vancouver City Council approved the creation of an Aboriginal Community Policing Centre for Vancouver. A committee consisting of Aboriginal community members and the Vancouver Police Department contracted with a local Aboriginal business to conduct a community consultation, research on Aboriginal Community Policing Centres, and to develop a business plan. These three documents helped to lay the foundation for the new Aboriginal Community Policing Centre which officially opened in October 2006. In order to be accessible to as many Aboriginal community members as possible, the ACPC is housed near Hastings Street and Commercial Drive.
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City signs partnership agreement with BC Aboriginal Workforce Strategy
On November 16, 2004 the City of Vancouver signed a partnership agreement with the Province and the Aboriginal Employment Partnership Agreement (now known as the BC Aboriginal Workforce Strategy). The agreement will help increase job opportunities for Aboriginal people with the City of Vancouver. Through the agreement, the City will identify future job opportunities, and share the information with Aboriginal organizations so they can better match training programs to a wide range of upcoming civic service jobs. Link to http://www.mnbc.ca/bcaws/bcaws.html and pictures from: http://vancouver.ca/police/diversity/dru/2004AEPI.htm
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Other Social Policy Activities
Aboriginal Youth
The City works hard to ensure that all youth in the City of Vancouver have a voice in civic affairs. City staff work with Aboriginal organizations and Aboriginal youth workers on a variety of issues, including the engagement of Aboriginal youth through City programs such as YouthPolitik, CitizenU and the Dialogues Project.
For more details on youth engagement, please see www.vancouveryouth.ca.
Childcare
The City's Social Development planners work with communities to facilitate the development and ongoing operation of quality childcare facilities, including exploring opportunities to meet early care and learning needs of Aboriginal children and families. The Civic Childcare Strategic Plan, (Moving Forward: Childcare, A Cornerstone of Child Development Services) was created through a community consultation process that involved the Aboriginal community. The report was approved by Council in April 2002. Since 2009, approximately 20% of all children served by the City's Childcare Enhancement Grants program are Aboriginal children.
For more information contact Carol Ann Young, Child Development Coordinator at 604-871-6042, or visit www.vancouver.ca/childcare.
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