Skookum Hi-Yu’ Ko-Pet’ Community Wellness Program
About the program
The program is supported by a Program Manager at CMHA NWV and is guided by a steering committee that includes crucial partners in the work. The Program Manager engages with and supports communities to develop and implement their own harm reduction initiatives. The Program Manager also supports the peers engaging in the work with coaching, and support and by delivering Reenergizing Wellness, a CMHA NWV 3-day training course in Indigenous peer support.
The Program Manager fosters relationships across the five nations and introduces outside community and health supports as needed. Nation-based peers are invited to an annual retreat. Throughout all of the programming, culture is central.
The program is supported by funding from the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), and CMHA NWV is subcontracted to provide program coordination and training by Tsleil Waututh Nation.
Nations involved in the program:
- Tla’amin Nation (Powell River)
- Shíshálh Nation (Sechelt)
- Squamish Nation (North Vancouver, Vancouver, Gibsons & Squamish)
- Tsleil-Waututh Nation (North Vancouver)
- Musqueam Nation (Vancouver)
Skookum Hi-Yu’ Ko-Pet’ Logo
The logo concept originated from the Skookum Hi-Yu’ Ko-Pet’ peers who wanted an identity for the program to feel community value. Artist Margaret August created the design in close consultation with the peers.
The image represents the help and support through community engagement. The hands raised symbolize a gesture of thanks and gratitude for the hard work and lives saved while experiencing the symptoms of colonialism and the toxic drug crisis.
Defining Peer Support
Sharing Your Story
Peer Support as a Bridge
Developing Your Programming
Reenergizing Wellness Training Manual
Through working alongside our partners, CMHA has had the opportunity to reevaluate our understanding of what peer support means and how it can look. The recommendations presented to you here highlight the learnings of peers doing this work in Indigenous communities in BC. This is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach and must be tailored to individual communities. This resource intends to highlight the importance of relationships and connection to culture as paths to healing and wellness.
Intentions of this resource:
- Demonstrate the importance and value of peer-lead work as filling a gap in clinical work
- Highlight emerging definitions of peer support that are rooted in culture
- Demonstrate how peer work can take shape in community
- Provide a framework for creating or building upon existing peer work in community
- Equip peers with information and resources to support the wellness of their community members