H E A LT H
Project Jewel Family Wellness at Reindeer Station Text and photos by Elizabeth Kolb Project Jewel is Inuvialuit Regional Corporation’s (IRC) land-based health and wellness program. It is principled on being culturally relevant, client-centred, community-driven and collaborative. After starting as a pilot program in 2014, Project Jewel has expanded by those principles: offering follow‐up camp opportunities and aftercare to participants, and working with an Advisory Committee established with Elders, past participants and staff. A strategic planning session in 2018 with 42 elected Inuvialuit Settlement Region Directors suggested having their own wellness camps and programs based in each community.
A year later, Land Program Coordinators in each community had been hired and exposed to a full complement of tailored training and certification from emergency response and risk management, Mental Health First Aid Inuit and ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) to program development, administration and Canadian Firearms Safety. Project Jewel Community Programs like Seal Hunt with Strength and Perseverance for Youth,
Elder’s Fishing Trip, and Culture and Wellness Winter Camp were starting in several commu‐ nities, relationships and partnerships with stakeholders and organizations were being solidified and tent frame locations were being sought for year‐round programs accessible to the community. By spring and summer 2020, the value and benefit of families spending their time as much as possible on the land was being acknowledged
The land way above Reindeer Station has blueberries in the summer and a view of the Delta.
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