Wasa-Nabin
The goal of the Wasa-Nabin program is to provide
urban Aboriginal
at-risk youth aged 13 to 18 with support,
tools and healthy
activities which will build upon and foster
their inherent
ability to make healthy choices.
There are six program objectives. These include:
- Provision of social supports to address self-esteem issues, victimization issues and peer pressure;
- Through outreach, aims to increase access to culturally appropriate services for youth in care and their families, and to include support and education for non-Aboriginal adoptive and foster parents;
- promotion of health and physical development to address inter-related health impacts of poverty, diabetes and obesity;
- increase support for youth in the education system through homework support, school suspension support, and to provide direct access to computers and literacy initiatives;
- provision of support, preventative programming and/or intervention strategies for youth involved in the justice system through the use of tools such as "Streetwolf: The Seven Principles of Self Leadership"; and,
- Addressing violence through collaboration with Kizhaay Anishnaabe Niin (I Am A Kind Man) and through the involvement of Elders.
General Description of Program:
The purpose to the Wasa-Nabin Program is to provide support and guidance within a cultural framework for youth aged 13-18 who are at risk for specific negative behaviours and outcomes as a result of their circumstances in life.
It will incorporate traditional cultural teachings and values to encourage healthy lifestyle choices, foster responsible decision making and influence critical thinking. It is hoped that youth involved with the program will enhance their skills, knowledge, attitudes and values and will demonstrate positive personal choices and awareness of the consequences of negative behaviours.
Justice Interventions
Another facet of the program entails involvement with youth in the criminal justice system. The level of involvement of Aboriginal youth in the justice system is grossly disproportionate when compared to the total percentage of the population. As well, the Youth Criminal Justice Act contains many provisions aimed at increasing appropriate use of extra-judicial measures for less serious offenses. Experience in Canada and in other jurisdicitions has shown that measures outside the court process can provide effective responses to less serious youth crime. Pre-charge diversion will keep many Aboriginal youth out of the justice system and ultimately work to their benefit, particularly if carried out as part of a broader continuum of programming within the Friendship Centres.
The OFIFC has developed an approach to deal with this issue entitled "Streetwolf: The Seven Principles of Self Leadership" that is accompanied by a participant workbook and a facilitator manual. This culture-based resource explores the issues that are faced by Aboriginal youth and assists them with understanding the realities and consequences of negative choices. It is understood that the program will incorporate all facets of Streetwolf in order to address the specific needs of court involved youth, and as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, other sanctions the court may impose.
This element of the youth worker's activity would not be available only to clients and participants in the regular youth activities, but would run as an adjunct to education, employment preparation and cultural activities, as well as one-on-one attention to each client. While the Streetwolf program was developed for use with youth involved in the criminal justice system, it can offer valuable lessons for all Aboriginal youth and it is expected it will also be used on a non-mandated basis as part of the regular program by the worker.
This element of the program will directly address the following risk factors:
- family violence;
- substance abuse;
- exposure to gangs and gang involvement;
- early and repeated anti-social behaviour; and
- youth who suffer from low self-esteem, negative attitudes, values and beliefs.
General Social Supports
Many Aboriginal youth have limited or no access to cuturally appropriate social supports which would assist them in making healthy, informed life choices. It is necessary to provide a supportive, safe and culturally appropriate environment for Aboriginal youth which:
- facilitates the assessment of required services and identifies areas of difficulties experienced by program clients;
- includes supports for the youth to discuss issues that are creating barriers for their success and ability to make sound choices;
- increase the opportunity to utilize the resources that foster life long learning;
- facilitates support circles and peer counselling opportunties; and
- increases access to healthy and safe activities to ensure that urban Aboriginal youth have access to choices that promote healthy lifestyles.
Healthy Eating and Physical Development
Poor health can be a result of improper nutrition and moving away from a traditional diet. Improper nutrition impacts on youth's ability to learn and comprehend and can lead to absenteeism from school due to illness. There is a commonly held belief that if one is poor and often hungry, obesity cannot be a problem. However recent studies have shown that obesity in children can be a result of improper nutrition, stress and lack of physical activity. All of these issues are exacerbated by poverty.
It is anticipated that our youth program will address this by:
- providing opportunities to make nutritious meals and snacks as an integrated component of the program;
- providing opportunities to make nutritious meals and snacks as an integrated component of the program;
- provide exposure and knowledge about traditional foods and preparation;
- education and awareness to enable program participants to make informed nutritional choices; and
- providing safe and healthy opportunites by which youth can enjoy physical activity in a non-threatening and non-competitive environment.
