A York Region mental health hub has partnered with an Indigenous non-profit to roll out an online counselling platform to its clients.
Your Support Services Network, a not-for-profit on Edward Street in Aurora, has partnered with Waterloo-based Anishnabeg Outreach (AO) to pilot AONest, a cloud-based online resource designed to connect users with mental health resources and life skills training.
The self-guided platform offers courses on varied topics from ADHD, to addictions, to parenting. It also provides access to Indigenous cultural and language resources to enhance the learning experience.
Stephen Jackson, chief executive officer of Anishnabeg Outreach, said that language component is an important part of the healing process.
“Language, culture, all those things that were removed, if those are available, that plus healing makes Indigenous people whole,” he said.
Jackson added healing would help in other facets of life, including employment and community building, to help achieve economic reconciliation.
“All we have to do is to help people heal, that’s all we have to do to achieve reconciliation in our lifetime, and now we have a tool that allows us to do that,” he said.
YSSN is the first organization in York Region to partner with AO to pilot AONest. YYSN staff will introduce the platform to their clients across the region, and gather participant feedback.
“By integrating into the Indigenous knowledge and practices we can create holistic approaches that really resonate with those we serve, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people,” said Kimberly Thorn, executive director at YYSN.
Among those in attendance at Friday’s announcement was MP for Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill Leah Taylor Roy said there were benefits to learning from Indigenous knowledge for non-Indigenous people as well.
“When it comes to Indigenous knowledge and healing and involvement, it’s important to have those services for the Indigenous youth but I also think that it’s actually very helpful for our youth,” she said.
“I realized time and time again how that wisdom and knowledge, that we have in fact not only ignored but suppressed for decades, is still valuable,” she said. “In a way we benefited from the fact we took the lands, but I think we lost a lot, I really do. I think returning to a better way of working together and incorporating the knowledge of the Indigenous people who have been here centuries before us, is so important.”
As part of the new partnership, YSSN renamed its largest meeting room in its Aurora head office to “Giigdoowgamig,” which translates to “meeting place” in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe people. The renaming ceremony was marked by a traditional room smudging.
