Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres

OFIFC
Ontario Federation of
Indigenous Friendship Centres
FORT
SEVERN
WINISK
FORT
ALBANY
RED LAKE
23
MOOSONEE
KENORA
16
14
5
DRYDEN
KAPUSKASING
11
SIOUX LOOKOUT
FORT
FRANCES
28
COCHRANE
26
10
GERALDTON
1
27
THUNDER
BAY 25
TIMMINS
ATIKOKAN
SAULT STE.
MARIE
SUDBURY
NORTH
BAY
19
9
18
0 OFIFC (Toronto) 1 Atikokan Native
21
Friendship Centre 2 Barrie Native
OWEN
SOUND 12
Friendship Centre 3 Can Am Indian
Friendship Centre of Windsor 4 Council
Fire Native Cultural Centre (Toronto) 5
Dryden Native Friendship Centre 6 Fort
Erie Native Friendship Centre 7 Georgian
Bay Native Friendship Centre (Midland)
PARRY SOUND
7
OTTAWA 20
MIDLAND
PETERBOROUGH
17
BARRIE 2
12
KINGSTON
KITCHENER 30 22 0/4 TORONTO
8
LONDON
13
15 NIAGARA
24
6 FORT ERIE
SARNIA
HAMILTON
3
WINDSOR
8 Hamilton Regional Indian Centre 9 Indian Friendship Centre (S.S.M.) 10 Ininew
Friendship Centre (Cochrane) 11 Kapuskasing Friendship Centre 12 M’Wikwedong
Native Cultural Resource Centre (Owen Sound) 13 N’Amerind Friendship Centre
(London) 14 Ne’Chee Native Friendship Centre (Kenora) 15 Niagara Regional Native
Centre 16 Nishnawbe-Gamik NFC (Sioux Lookout) 17 Nogojiwanong Friendship
Centre (Peterborough) 18 North Bay Indian Friendship Centre 19 N’Swakamok
Friendship Centre (Sudbury) 20 Odawa Native Friendship Centre 21 Parry Sound
Friendship Centre 22 Peel Aboriginal Network 23 Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre
24 Sarnia-Lambton Native Friendship Centre 25 Thunder Bay Native Friendship
Centre 26 Thunderbird Friendship Centre (Geraldton) 27 Timmins Native Friendship
Centre 28 United Native Friendship Centre (Fort Frances)
The Ontario Federation of Indigenous
Friendship Centres (OFIFC)
In 1971, the Ontario Federation of
Indigenous Friendship Centres
(OFIFC) formed in direct response to
the growing needs of Aboriginal people,
assisting those who relocated from
remote reserve communities to urban
centres throughout Ontario. Today, 84%
of Aboriginal people in Ontario live offreserve in small towns and large urban
city centres, seeking a better life and
contributing to the urban landscape.
Representing a network of 28 member
Friendship Centres in Ontario, the
OFIFC is Ontario`s largest off-reserve
Aboriginal service delivery structure.
Initially, the OFIFC formed to
assist First Nations and Métis people
in Ontario in the areas of justice and
education. Today, the OFIFC continues
to improve the quality of life of
Aboriginal people by providing valueadded cultural services to all who enter
a Friendship Centre seeking a safe and
welcoming environment.
With a collaborative emphasis on
research, policy development, program
implementation and evaluation, the
OFIFC is positively transforming the
lives of Aboriginal people in areas of
healthy child and youth development,
education achievement, employment
and training skills acquisition, housing
and homelessness, justice, health and
mental health.
Over 500 Friendship Centre staff
provide services in 28 Friendship
Centres and key delivery sites
throughout Ontario. All are trained
in program outcomes, cultural
competency, governance, community
engagement, and professional
development. Every year, over 120,000
units of service are collectively provided
to urban Aboriginal people throughout
Ontario, from Atikokan to Windsor.
Friendship Centres in Ontario
are trusted community hubs for
many urban Aboriginal people who
increasingly are participating in the
evolving dynamic of Canada`s largest
province by regaining their culture,
dignity and pride.
Why Friendship Centres in Ontario lead
the way in Urban Aboriginal Community
Development and Social Enterprise
• Friendship Centres provide a
place of acceptance and wellbeing for Aboriginal people in 28
communities throughout Ontario.
• Friendship Centres provide
services to First Nations, Métis
and Inuit people in urban centers,
regardless of status, gender, sexual
orientation, origin, age, disability,
or marital status.
• Friendship Centres positively
impact the Aboriginal community
through strong local identity and
customs providing culturally
appropriate services covering the
full spectrum of the life cycle.
• Friendship Centres offer teachings
that over time assist individuals
to overcome trauma caused by
residential school experiences,
loss of cultural identity, mental
health and addictions, foster care
inadequacies, conflict with the law,
and violence against Aboriginal
women and girls.
• Friendship Centres offer 20
various types of programs for
urban Aboriginal children and
youth, adults and seniors that
are designed, developed and
implemented through community
driven research, structured policy,
and respectful collaboration with
numerous government ministries,
departments, school boards, health
care providers, service agencies and
other stakeholders.
• Friendship Centres are managed
independently, allowing
for sustainable community
engagement and solution based
approaches that have the greatest
impact at the community level.
• Friendship Centres work with
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
service providers, with all three
levels of government, and with
other not for profit agencies.
• For over 45 years, Friendship
Centres have been a gathering place
for Aboriginal people to convene,
share, learn and thrive.
Culture
Culture defines the individual and
strengthens identity. Indigenous
cultures contain cultural tools that when
made available to those who seek them,
add strength and confidence.
The OFIFC ensures that policies and
procedures affecting urban Aboriginal
people who access Friendship Centre
services reflect the values of the OFIFC.
The OFIFC is committed to sharing
knowledge and creating a space for
non-Aboriginal people to understand
Indigenous history, cultures and
traditions.
Unique to the OFIFC and applauded
for its honest portrayal of Indigenous
history, OFIFC Aboriginal Cultural
Competency Training (ACCT) is creating
an opportunity for change in Ontario
through a dynamic, contextual learning
experience. Last year, over 2,000
people attended ACCT workshops.
The teachings provide a better
understanding of Indigenous culture
and allows for change by utilizing
engagement techniques that provide
an overall perspective of Aboriginal
people. Through critical analysis of
contemporary issues it increases
cultural competency and explores how
organisations and agencies can begin to
engage with urban Aboriginal people to
provide relevant services.
Governance
The OFIFC has an ongoing commitment
to the development of protocols and
governance models to create a notable
urban Aboriginal public presence and
to drive tangible change through strong
relationship building with others.
The OFIFC is in its second twenty
year strategic plan. Every five years
it is reviewed to reflect the changing
environment of urban Aboriginal
needs giving formal recognition to the
strengths and challenges of a growing
and diverse urban Aboriginal population.
Over the years, the OFIFC has
established strong sustained
relationships, contributing to solid
identifiable presence in political
environments where decisions are
made that impact urban Aboriginal
communities. It will continue with this
work directed by the needs of urban
Aboriginal people.
The OFIFC has a Code of Ethics that
it upholds internally and imparts on
all participating member Friendship
Centres.
Leadership and Leadership Development
Training has been a central focus of
the OFIFC since 1978 and strives to
foster effective governance within
Friendship Centres and their large
co-ordination of staff. To ensure
greater transparency, accountability
and professionalism, board members
and Friendship Centre staff receive
training on fiscal responsibility, planned
development, research, evaluation
and goal setting, while ensuring that
culture and language are maintained.
Wise practices, cultural teachings,
developed service models and volunteer
recognition are all part of OFIFC
training activities that keep Friendship
Centres strong and sustained.
Today’s youth
are the leaders
of today. The
OFIFC works
directly with
the OFIFC
Aboriginal Youth
Council to foster
and guide the
next generation
of Aboriginal
people who are
demanding a
better way of
life—the good life.
As a responsibility to community,
the OFIFC promotes the
involvement of Aboriginal
people in a variety of community
agencies, boards, commissions
and organisations to promote
increased engagement of
Aboriginal community members.
Self Sufficiency
The goal of the OFIFC is to reduce
or eliminate reliance on government
grants and contributions, breaking the
cycle of dependence and arriving at a
common definition of self-sufficiency.
The OFIFC will continue with
ongoing training of boards, staff, and
community members on investment
opportunities, private sector support,
and service contracts with First
Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.
The OFIFC continues to develop
innovative strategies for accessing and
creating new resources and economic
development opportunities, such
as the Villages Equity Corporation
(VEC), to support Friendship Centres
in becoming more than primary social
service agencies.
Policy
The OFIFC has one of the most engaged and dynamic
policy units of any not-for-profit in Ontario specializing in
urban Aboriginal policy.
The long term sustained role and distinct understanding
of urban Aboriginal issues has provided the OFIFC with an
unprecedented skill in urban Aboriginal policy development
and implementation. This insitutional knowledge has
developed with time and has helped the lives of many
urban Aboriginal people in Ontario.
Policy developed by the OFIFC supports work at the community level by
influencing the work of partnered policy makers. Strategic and targeted policy
recommendations to all levels of government are brought forth by relationship
building, design, and known policy practices.
Throughout the years, starting in 1978 with Strangers in Our Land, the OFIFC has
produced a collection of discussion papers, policy submissions and effective policy
framework alternatives that contribute to urban Aboriginal policy in Ontario. All are
contemporary and progressive, rooted in Aboriginal culture.
Here is a sample of OFIFC policy developments over the years:
• Strangers in Our Own Land, 1978
• The Development of Models for Aboriginal/Native Child and Family Services in
the Province of Ontario, 1983
• New Directions: Aboriginal Health Policy for Ontario, 1994
• Child Hunger and Food Insecurity Among Urban Aboriginal Families, 2003
• Undue Trials: Justice Issues Facing Aboriginal Children and Youth – A Special
Report, 2004
• Literacy as a Barrier to Employment: A Literature Review and Discussion Paper
Addressing the Literacy Needs of Aboriginal People in Ontario, 2005
• Good Mind: OFIFC Mental Health Strategy, 2006
• A Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Aboriginal Women, 2008
• OFIFC Submission to the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in
Ontario, 2011
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Position Paper, 2013
• Aboriginal Mental Health Strategy, 2013
• An Aboriginal Children and Youth Strategy for Ontario, 2014
Research
Aboriginal people posses rich cultures greatly affected
over time. With change, and a new shared understanding
through knowledge transfer, this culture is at the forefront
of strength and real opportunity emerging in Aboriginal
communities throughout Canada.
OFIFC conducts relevant action based research that tells a
unique story and offers real solutions.
This knowledge is significant. A strong urban Aboriginal
voice is heard in appropriate form using appropriate media
and encouraging Aboriginal art forms as educational and
economic opportunities.
Community-driven research conducted by the OFIFC is
grounded by the USAI Research Framework (Utility, SelfVoicing, Access, Inter-relationality) developed by the OFIFC in
2012. This research supports the OFIFC’s policy development
and is informed by community consultations, experiential
knowledge and input from those who work at Friendship
Centres and those who utilize services.
OFIFC research consistently adheres to the strongest
national research protocols and guidelines.
OFIFC prominent research projects:
• Bidwewidam Indigenous
Masculinities (BIM) (SSHRC)
• Urban Aboriginal Task Force
Phase II: U-ACT (Urban Aboriginal
Communities Thrive)
• Breaking Free—Breaking Through:
an arts-based Indigenous study to
address violence against Aboriginal
women
• Indigenous Knowledge Transfer
(SSHRC)
• Akwe:go Wholistic Longitudinal
Study
OFIFC partners with some of the
foremost academic institutions such as:
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier University
• Institut national de la recherche
scientifique, Montréal
• ODENA (Community-university
research alliance in Quebec) and
the DIALOG Research Network
• Royal Roads University
• University of Guelph
• University of Warsaw, Faculty of
Artes Liberales
• University of Toronto
Culture Based
Programs and Services
Since 1971, the OFIFC has developed programs and services
for urban Aboriginal people that cover the entire life cycle,
ensuring each program and service adopts a wholistic
approach with a specific and positive emphasis on culture.
Allowing and supporting the resurgence of culture in the
lives of Aboriginal people is a proven tool to shape the road
towards living the good life.
Children and Youth
Aboriginal children and youth are
the fastest growing demographic
in Canada. However, they are the
most vulnerable and require greater
attention and care.
Culture-based approaches are
essential in addressing the multiple and
complex challenges faced by Aboriginal
children and youth in Ontario.
The OFIFC has participated in public
policy dialogue regarding issues affecting
children and youth for over thirty years.
The impact of the OFIFC has been great,
creating developmental programs that
promote education and services strongly
focused on providing the next generation
of Aboriginal children with the best start
to a prosperous life.
Aboriginal Healthy Babies Healthy
Children (AHBHC)
AHBHC is designed to provide
Aboriginal families healthy
opportunities for the development of
their children (0–6 years of age) through
education, family home visiting, service
coordination and referrals.
Akwe:go
The Akwe:go Urban Aboriginal Children’s
Program aims to improve the quality of
life of urban Aboriginal children (ages
7–12 years) through the delivery of
appropriate activities and services.
*Akwe:go is a Mohawk word meaning
“everybody” or “all of us”
Children’s Mental Health Project
(CMHP)
CMHP provides services and support to
children (ages 7–15) and their families
that address behavioural and mental
health needs.
Children Who Witness Violence
Program (CWWV)
CWWV provides children (ages 7–14
years) who have witnessed violence
or currently are witnessing violence
(physical, mental, emotional, and
spiritual) with cultural resources,
education, knowledge and personal
support to return to optimal levels
of understanding, reasoning and
functioning. The program provides
one-on-one counseling, culturebased group sessions, family group
workshops, and group interventions
for children who have been exposed to
violence.
Wasa-Nabin
Wasa-Nabin is a self-development
program for urban Aboriginal at-risk
youth ages 13–18. By accessing the services
and supports offered by the Wasa-Nabin
program, youth learn goal setting,
leadership skills development, and how to
make healthy choices, ultimately leading to
healthier lifestyles and personal success.
*Wasa-Nabin is an Ojibway word
meaning “to look forward, to look beyond”
Education
Every time an Aboriginal youth graduates
from school their chance of succeeding in
life increases exponentially.
The OFIFC has successfully
established the Alternative Secondary
School Program (ASSP) in 11 Friendship
Centres in Ontario where approximately
1,000 urban Aboriginal students attend
school with success.
Based on the principle that every
student is unique, the ASSP is geared to
meet high school students’ individual
needs to increase their chance of
staying in school and graduating.
ASSP classrooms offer teacher-led and
independent learning credits and work
with students to build on their strengths
and support them where they are in life.
ASSPs are innovative, locally developed
programs that assist urban Aboriginal
students in personalizing their learning
so that they can achieve their goals,
including graduating with an Ontario
Secondary School Diploma.
With the aim to build strategic
community relations that have lasting
impact, Friendship Centres partner
with local district school boards to
offer high school curriculum, cultural
supports, life skills and other services
as required, and connect students to
the Friendship Centre and the urban
Aboriginal community.
Unique to the OFIFC, the Aboriginal
Community Development College
Certificate (ACDCC) delivers 20
courses to approximately 300 students
per session in the area of Friendship
Centre Training and Support. In 2015,
the first certificates will be awarded to
graduates who receive Applied Suicide
Intervention Skills Training (ASIST),
Lateral Violence Training, Water
Teachings, Financial Literacy Training,
Board Orientation, Executive Director
Orientation and Strategic Planning.
Employment and
Training
The OFIFC provides Friendship
Centres with the tools and resources
to develop, maintain and expand
partnerships aimed at providing
employment and training opportunities
for Friendship Centre community
members.
To enhance and focus on success in
this area Friendship Centres deliver the
Apatisiwin Program, a culturally relevant
and locally driven suite of employment
readiness programs and services
designed to provide opportunities for
urban Aboriginal people to better their
employment prospects.
Since its inception in 2010,
approximately 3,000 people have
been employed through Apatisiwin
interventions.
Apatisiwin remains the largest
network of employment and training
services for the urban Aboriginal
population in 24 communities and
provides over 20,000 points of service in
the course of a year.
*Apatisiwin is a Swampy Cree word
meaning ‘Employment, Training and
Jobs’.*
Healing and
Wellness
cultural teachings; and peer counselling
services.
Healing and Wellness Program
The OFIFC promotes a traditional,
wholistic approach to health based on
knowledge gathered from Elders, shared
in communities and passed along to the
individual for strength and longevity.
Good health is based not only on
physical health but also encompasses the
spiritual, emotional and mental health of
the individual, family, and community —
throughout all stages of life.
Friendship Centres provide a
wide range of services such as crisis
intervention; talking circles; education,
prevention and promotion workshops;
Healing and Wellness programs are
located throughout Ontario at 28
Friendship Centres and 1 Delivery Site.
Healing and Wellness Coordinators
seek to reduce family violence, promote
healthy lifestyles and provide culturebased programming and healing.
Health Outreach Program (HOW)
Health Outreach Programs are located
throughout Ontario at 11 Friendship
Centres and are located in areas that
do not have Aboriginal Health Access
Centres. Health Outreach Workers
ensure that the health needs of
community members are addressed in a
cultural and wholistic way that considers
the physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual aspects of individuals.
Homelessness Partnering Strategy
(HPS)
The OFIFC works with communities
to gain access to funding to deliver
services using a Housing First approach.
Friendship Centres facilitate housing
for Aboriginal people who experience
chronic and episodic homelessness
and provide supportive services to
other homeless and at-risk of becoming
homeless Aboriginal people.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
(FASD) Program
As part of the Akwe:go program,
Friendship Centres provide tutoring,
mentoring, supervised physical
activities and incorporates a parent
support component to children
diagnosed with FASD.
Life Long Care Program
The OFIFC Life Long Care Program
provides over 112,000 units of
service to Aboriginal seniors such as
meals, transportation to scheduled
appointments, and extra-curricular
healthy living activities.
Urban Aboriginal Healthy Living
Program
The Urban Aboriginal Healthy Living
program promotes and supports
healthier living by creating opportunities
for community members to learn about
healthy lifestyles and participate in
activities that better their wellbeing.
Health and Mental
Health
Throughout the years, the OFIFC has
worked to provide services to urban
Aboriginal people weaving through
a complex health system that in the
past has failed to provide culturally
appropriate care to Aboriginal people.
In 2008, the OFIFC launched Our
Health Counts, a baseline population
health database for urban Aboriginal
people in Ontario. Our Health Counts intends to work
with provincial urban First Nations,
Inuit, and Métis organizations and the
Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
to adapt Ontario’s health information
collection system. Its aim is to provide
accessible, useful and culturally relevant
urban Aboriginal population health data
to local, regional, provincial and federal
policy makers.
Today, the OFIFC works closely
with provincial health authorities on
important Aboriginal health issues
such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes,
nutrition, physical activity and mental
health. The recent Relationship
Protocol with Cancer Care Ontario
reflects this new engaged dynamic in
health care delivery.
In August 2013, the OFIFC released
its Aboriginal Mental Health Strategy.
The document provides an overview of
the history, issues, and needs related
to intergenerational trauma and
mental health in the urban Aboriginal
community and employs a culturallydriven approach to address these issues.
Aboriginal Addictions and Mental
Health Programs
Addictions and Mental Health programs
offer a cultural space for individuals with
mental health and addictions issues.
There are 16 addictions and mental
health workers in Friendship Centres
where individuals of all ages can access
programs. The program also works to
make better connections between urban
Aboriginal communities and nonAboriginal health services. This is done
by educating non-Aboriginal staff about
the specific needs of Aboriginal people
and creating partnerships to connect
with the Friendship Centre. On average,
over 890 people a year utilize the services
of Friendships Centres in this area.
Ending Violence
Against Aboriginal
Women and Girls
Framework to End Violence Against
Aboriginal Women. In a leadership
capacity, the OFIFC has created the
Kanawayhitowin Education and Public
Awareness campaign.
Aboriginal women are seven times more
likely to be a victim of violence.
The role of the OFIFC and its
leadership in this area is marked with
30 years of identifying the needs of
communities. Moving this issue towards
measured strategic results through a
strong policy framework has taken time.
Since 2007, the OFIFC has worked
collaboratively with the Ontario
Government and other Aboriginal
organizations to develop the Strategic
Kanawayhitowin: Taking Care of Each
Other’s Spirit
Kanawayhitowin is a public awareness
and education campaign to raise
awareness about the signs of gender
abuse in communities. It is targeted at
those who are abused, those who are
close to an at-risk woman or abusive
man, and to young women and girls as
a preventative measure. The program
offers support and information on
Kanawayhitowin connects with
Kizhaay Anishnaabe Niin (I Am a Kind
Man) to provide traditional and cultural
support to men to prevent and end
violence against Aboriginal women.
www.kanawayhitowin.ca
ending violence. This campaign has
been adapted from the Neighbours,
Friends and Family initiative in the
province of Ontario and reflects a
traditional and cultural approach to
community healing and wellness.
By incorporating a wholistic
framework that engages and supports
all family members, this initiative
informs and educates participants
on the historical and root causes of
violence against Aboriginal women.
It identifies supportive strategies to
address issues of gender abuse, family
violence, sexual violence, sexual
harassment, stalking, cyber bullying and
impacts on child witnesses of violence.
Since 2008, the OFIFC successfully
provided training on recognizing and
responding to the signs of woman abuse
to a total of 2,468 people. Of these,
922 front line workers were trained as
facilitators and 1,536 were community
participants. Both men and women
were provided the training with men
representing approximately 10% of the
total number of participants.
Kizhaay Anishnaabe Niin (I Am a Kind
Man)
Kizhaay Anishnaabe Niin is a culturally
relevant initiative to encourage and
challenge Aboriginal men and boys
to actively speak out against all forms
of violence against women and foster
healthy relationships.
Kizhaay programming and the
Healthy Indigenous Male (HIM)
curriculum is increasingly being
recognized as an equivalent to Partner
Assault Response (PARS). The program
involves a 12 to 24 week curriculum that
reflects on intergenerational trauma
and addresses issues of violence by
changing participants’ attitudes and
behaviours toward women and by
increasing men’s self-awareness. It
assists participants to develop healthy
strategies and skills to deal with their
anger and stressful situations.
www.iamakindman.ca
Justice
Since 1985, Aboriginal Courtworkers
have worked in Friendship Centres
and are an integral aspect of a changing
justice system. They support clients
in navigating the justice system,
attend court with clients, draft bail
plans, advocate for the application
of Gladue Principles and liaise with
Duty Counsel and Crown Attorneys.
Courtworkers advocate on behalf of
those who otherwise cannot pay for
representation. They also provide
referrals for housing, employment,
mental health and addictions programs
to foster the path to healing.
There are 19 Friendship Centres
and 33 Courtworkers, that participate
in the Aboriginal Courtworker
Program. Of these Courtworkers, 16
work in Criminal law, five work in
Family law, and 12 work combined in
both.
Aboriginal Community Justice
Coordinators (ACJC) develop,
implement, administer and maintain
culturally based pre and post charge
diversion programs for Aboriginal
youth, adults and families who come
into conflict with the law. They
provide meaningful alternatives which
address the needs of victims where
applicable. Currently, five Friendship
Centres employ ACJCs.
The Gladue Writer produces reports
that address the systemic factors
which often play a part in bringing
the specific offender before the
courts; and to highlight the types of
sentencing approaches that might be
appropriate to the offender because of
his or her Aboriginal heritage.
Family Courtworkers assist
Aboriginal youth involved in the
criminal justice system, separating
couples involved in family court, and
Aboriginal families dealing with child
welfare matters to navigate the court
process. Combined Courtworkers
do both the work of a Criminal and
Family Courtworker and are directed
by the needs of the community.
The objectives of the program are to:
• reduce the sense of alienation
experienced by Aboriginal people
and to bridge the cultural gaps
between Aboriginal people and the
justice system;
• to assist Aboriginal people to
understand their right to speak on
their own behalf or request legal
counsel, to better understand the
nature of their charges and the
philosophy of the justice system;
and
• to enhance the awareness of
the administration of justice to
appreciate the values and socioeconomic conditions of Aboriginal
people and to respond to the
needs caused by communication
barriers between Aboriginal
people and those involved in the
administration of justice.
As well as providing direct justice
services in the community, the OFIFC
serves as expert contributors to justice
initiatives. In 2014, the OFIFC made
formal presentations to the panel on
Debwewin: First Nations Representation
on Ontario Juries and the Iacobucci
Report Implementation Committee and to
Legal Aid Ontario.
Partnerships
and Collaborations
As a respected and trusted partner on numerous
collaborations, the OFIFC is leading the way in measured
outcome initiatives. By engaging urban Aboriginal people in
solution based priorities that adhere to the objectives of all
involved, real results are produced.
Provincial Partnerships
• Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs
• Ministry of the Attorney General
• Ministry of Children and Youth
Services
• Ministry of Citizenship and
Immigration
• Ministry of Community and Social
Services – Aboriginal Healing and
Wellness Strategy
• Ministry of Education – Aboriginal
Education Office
• Ministry of Health and Long Term
Care
• Ministry of Tourism, Culture and
Sport
• Ministry of Training, Colleges and
Universities
• Ontario Non-Profit Housing
Association
• Ontario Trillium Foundation
• Ontario Women’s Directorate
• Toronto Central Local Health
Integrated Network
• Hamilton Niagara Haldimand
Brant Local Health Integration
Network
Federal Partnerships
• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern
Development Canada
• Department of Justice
• Employment and Social
Development Canada
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada
Provincial Agreements
• Cancer Care Ontario
• Chiefs of Ontario
• Independent First Nations
• Métis Nation of Ontario
• Northern Ontario Service
Deliverers Association
• Ontario Native Women’s
Association
• One Match
Collaborators
• FASD ONE: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder Ontario Network of
Expertise
Collaborators (cont’d)
• Human Rights Legal Support
Centre
• Jane Goodall Institute of Canada
• Journalists for Human Rights
• Kidsport
• Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services
• Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing
• Native Youth Sexual Health
Network
• Right to Play
Photo Credits
1. Cover page credit, Stan Williams
2. E
lder Richard Assinewai at Nurture the
Fire 2015 - OFIFC Urban Aboriginal Youth
Forum, March 2015
3. OFIFC AGM, Sault Ste. Marie, July 2014
4. W
alking the Red Road, our community’s
journey to help each person live a good
life, Urban Aboriginal Communities
Thrive Project, North Bay Indian
Friendship Centre, June 2014
5. S
trangers in Our Own Land, a discussion
paper prepared for Ontario Minister
of Culture and Recreation, Ontario
Federation of Indian Friendship Centres*,
May 1, 1978
6. Photo credit, Stan Williams
7. K
iskinohamatowin, Alternative Secondary
School Program (ASSP), Timmins Native
Friendship Centre
8. OFIFC Board Training, February 2015
9. O
FIFC Aboriginal Youth Council
governance training, February 2014
10. OFIFC Aboriginal Youth Sacred Water
Teachings Workshop, Lake Couchiching,
October 2014
11. w
ww.Kanawayhitowin.ca website
homepage
12. Men’s Drum Group
13. Dr. Jane Goodall with OFIFC staff,
September 12, 2014
14. Mural on the side of the wall at OFIFC,
219 Front Street East, Toronto
*In 2014, the Ontario Federation of Indian
Friendship Centres changed its name to the
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship
Centres to respond to its members and the
community who preferred to be represented
with a more respectful term.
For more information contact:
The Ontario Federation
of Indigenous Friendship Centres
219 Front Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1E8
(416) 956-7575
www.ofifc.org