Young people, elders and service providers came together at the Manitoba Metis Federation Hall on April 15 to discuss the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation's (TNRC) five-year action quest focusing on aboriginal youth.
The TNRC has been collaborating with the Thompson Urban Aboriginal Strategy (TUAS) to create the quest, called "A Vision and Path: Aboriginal Youth Health & Wellness Give Year Quest" to try to enhance the lives of aboriginal young people. The action plan is being put together by the use of a youth-driven information gathering process that features consultations and feedback with various groups and stakeholders in Thompson. The project is funded by the Office of the Federal Interlocutor through the Urban Aboriginal Strategy and is also being supported by the University College of the North's (UCN) Extending Hands program.
Charlene Lafreniere, executive director of the TNRC and Thompson city councillor, says the action plan is based on a medicine wheel evaluation format and will be put in place by youth that have shown interest in carrying out actions as an executive youth council.
Lafreniere says youth in Thompson have pointed out that they really would like to see opportunities to embrace aboriginal languages that many of them have lost, and more counseling opportunities available, including land-based counseling and cultural camps where young people can learn more about their identity and heritage.
The TUAS receives $400,000 in funding money from the federal government each year to put towards community investment projects. The organization meets monthly as a whole and with various sub-committees to work on projects that tie in with its focus points, which are housing, education and employment, aboriginal youth, increased opportunities for aboriginal youth, aboriginal health and wellness and aboriginal culture.
