Community Action Initiative

“Honoring Our Past, Nurturing Our Future”

“Honoring Our Past, Nurturing Our Future,” combines mentorship training, group development and a food cooperative based on intergenerational collaboration between seniors (55+) and youth (19-24). Funded by the Community Action Initiative, this program is a community based, collaborative project in partnership with Canadian Mental Health Association (North Shore branch), Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Capilano University and North Shore Neighborhood House.

Program Goals

  • One-to-one outreach, support and advocacy to engage seniors and youth.
  • Improve linkages between service provider agencies on and off reserve and increase capacity to reach and support this at-risk population.
  • Development of a core group of mentors within the target population group that can support and train others.
  • Intergenerational knowledge transmission through workshops and activities.
  • The development of a food cooperative to address the basic needs of this population and promote self-sustainability.

The project design was based on extensive community consultation as well as best practices identified by the latest body of research, focusing on the assets and strengths of this group. On-reserve training was designed based on Aboriginal ways of learning and knowledge transmission, rather than simply incorporating tokenistic cultural content.

The final report and initial consultation report are available clicking the titles.