Building The Foundation, Wa7 tákstum ti ntakmenlhkálha 2016/17 SOUTHERN STL’ATL’IMX HEALTH SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT OUR VISION The Southern Stl’atl’imx communities will honour the health of The People by working together to deliver holistic health services. , Wa7 szuhminstu΄m I swá7sa I ucwalmicakalha We protect the health of The People 4 Message From The Chair Of The Board 5 Message From The Health Director 6 Our Work 10 2016/17 Achievements At A Glance 12 Who We Are 13 Organizational Chart 14 Member Communities 15 Board of Directors 16 Administration Contents 18 Program Reports 19 Early Childhood Development 2016/17 SOUTHERN STL’ATL’IMX 20 Mental Wellness HEALTH SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT 20 Counselling 21 Child and Youth Mental Health 23 Nursing 24 Community Health 24 Men’s Group 25 Women’s Group 26 Health Actions 27 Building The Foundation 28 The Big Move: A New Building, A New Beginning 29 Back to the Land: Men’s Group Embraces Cabin Building 31 Growing Self-Esteem: Youth Community Garden 32 Financial Report Message From the Chair Of The Board We have named this report “Building the Foundation” In 2016/17, we realized the full potential of land-based to reflect Southern Stl’atl’imx Health Society’s (SSHS) therapies, with our Men’s Group cabin construction work of the past year. In 2016/17, SSHS continued to project. The men are not only building cabins, they are explore better ways to serve our member communities building community and self-esteem. As we move into and acquire funding that will allow us to implement new 2017/18, the initial project has expanded into building a ideas and programs. series of cabins using traditional methods in N̓Quatqua, Q̓aLaTku7em and Skatin. Currently, we are developing a new five-year health and wellness plan. Funding opportunities are being explored Every day, the board and staff of SSHS work to meet the to ensure continued delivery of existing services as well as SSHS vision: “The Southern Stl’atl’imx communities will the creation of programs that will support the new 2017- honour the health of The People by working together to 2022 SSHS Health and Wellness Plan. deliver holistic services.” Improving service delivery to The People of N̓Quatqua, Based on the work of this past year, I see a future where Skatin, Q̓aLaTku7em (Samahquam) and Xa’xsta (Douglas) the SSHS vision is fulfilled, and all our members are living is what drives the SSHS Board of Directors and staff. In in greater health and wellness. Rosemary Stager, we have a passionate Health Director who is building bridges and breaking down barriers. Some It is an honour to serve the St’atl’imx people. of this work is visible, such as new programs and our Kúkwstuḿckal̓ap, new office in Mount Currie, while other work is about developing relationships, exchanging knowledge, and creating policies and strategies to meet SSHS’s vision as it achieves its objectives and goals. Last year, SSHS added an Early Childhood Development Malcolm Sherman Smith | Q̓aLaTKu7em (Samahquam) (ECD) hub at Tipella where children and parents Chair of the SSHS Board of Directors can access a variety of services. As well, we laid the foundation for a new Outreach Health Station in Skatin. These two projects will increase accessibility to SSHS services for our member communities Down Below. 4 Southern Stl’atl’imx Health Society Message From The Health Director Building a strong foundation for the delivery of health To further address the issues of addiction and services to Southern St’atl’imx Health Society’s (SSHS) domestic violence, funding is being secured to was the emphasis of our work in 2016/17. As we move develop specific programs. forward, prepared to implement the new SSHS 2017-2022 Health and Wellness Program, we do so with confidence As well, the Mental Wellness Programs, Youth Gardening and pride. It’s been a year of hard work, and a year of project has flourished, with youth now able to sell excess growth and positive change. to fund events and trips. The most obvious change has been the relocation of our In 2016/17, the Nursing Program’s maintained or office. Located in what was once the Mount Currie Band expanding existing services, and introduced new office, our new office is easier to access, affords the space services, such as the N̓Quatqua Women’s Group. Like for us to operate services such as onsite counselling, and the successful Men’s Group, this member-driven group allows us to reduce our operating costs by subletting builds traditional skills, employs land-based therapies, and currently unused space. fosters healthy relationships to improve overall health and wellness. And our Health Actions Program continued to Outreach to SSHS communities Down Below (Skatin, serve the transportation, social and practical support needs Q̓aLaTKu7em and Xa ́xsta) remained a top priority this of Elders and chronic care patients. past year, which saw the completion of the plan for an It is an honour to serve the St’atl’imx people as SSHS This past year was SSHS’s most successful in regards Outreach Health Station in Skatin. The new facility, slated continues to build on its strong foundation. to open in late fall 2017, will offer nursing, counselling, to acquiring funding to support our programming. We and ECD parenting programs, as well as health received more than $330,000 in grant money in 2016/17. Kúkwstuḿckal̓ap, practitioner and physician services. To ensure that more funding opportunities are open to SSHS, we have applied to Canadian Revenue Agency for In the late spring of 2016, our Early Childhood Charitable Tax Status. Development (ECD) Program opened an ECD hub in Tipella. This new building provides space for children’s As we move forward, we do so with the guidance of the Tsekonámus Losí Rosemary Stager | Líl̓wat Nation playgroups, assessment facilities, and educational sessions SSHS Health and Wellness Plan 2017-2022—a plan from Health Director and workshops for parents. The People—undertaken in early spring of 2017. The evaluation of SSHS’s previous five-year plan is nearly This past year, the Mental Wellness Program continued completed, and the assessment of our members’ current to gain traction by providing compassionate and culturally and future needs is well underway. appropriate counselling, and community sessions. Annual Report 2016/2017 5 Our Work 6 Southern Stl’atl’imx Health Society Providing Access to Health and Wellness Services The SSHS is a not-for-profit society established in 1999 as a means of delivering culturally appropriate shared health services to N̓Quatqua, Q̓aLaTKu7em (Samahquam), Skatin, and Douglas (Xa’xsta) First Nations. The goal was, as it is today, to make health and wellness services more accessible to Southern Stl’atl’imx people living in isolated communities—people who face barriers such as reliable roads, access to transportation and poor telecommunications. Our Number 1 Priority: The Health And Well-being Of The People Our Service And Program The number one priority of the SSHS is improving health The SSHS is committed to removing the barriers people Delivery Partners and wellness through equitable access to physician and face when trying to access health and wellness services. The SSHS works in partnership with the First Nations nursing services, addiction facilities, counselling, and Barriers are being removed through the development Health Association (FNHA), Vancouver Coastal Health wellness programs for its member Nations. The society of community spaces for delivery of services such as (VCH) and the Lower Stl’atl’imx Tribal Council (LTSC), is committed to providing health care services for every ECD early assessments, one-on-one counselling, and government agencies such as the Ministry of Children stage of life. From early child development services to Elder foot care. The relocation of the SSHS office from and Family Development (MCFD), Ministry of Social Elders’ programming, the society works to provide for the the Pemberton Industrial Park to Mount Currie has also Development and Social Innovation, New Horizons for needs of all its members. improved member access. Seniors, and community-focused organizations like United The SSHS works to fulfill its vision and mandate by With SSHS’s four member Nations located between 38 Way, to secure the funding and the human resources providing services that are beyond the means of its km and 98 km from the society’s new office in Mount necessary to carry out its diversity of programming. The four member communities that have a combined on- Currie, geography is a significant obstacle people face. SHSS also works with the Líl̓wat Nation in the area of reserve population of fewer than 550 people. The health Three of the four communities served by the SSHS are shared medical and dental resources. Through these types and wellness needs of each of the four SSHS member accessible only by the Lillooet Lake forestry service of collaborative efforts, SSHS can expand its offerings and Nations are both varied and shared, with frequently raised road. This minimally maintained gravel road, subject to better serve its members. concerns including the need safe housing and drinking harsh winter driving conditions and washouts, is often In 2016/17, the SSHS added Squamish Savings (a division water, adequate support for residential school survivors only passable by four-wheel drive vehicles. To help of Vancity), The Heart a Stroke Foundation, and The and early childhood development programs that support address this problem, the SSHS provides services such Pemberton Music Festival Fund as non-government Stl’atl’imx values. Through its relationship with VCH as fly-in medical visits and the Patient Travel program to partners. Moving into 2017/18, exploring new strategic and FNHA, the SSHS can provide the services of a improve access to health care.