BC First Nations and Aboriginal People’s Mental Wellness and Substance Use - Ten Year Plan
Overarching Principles •
Recognise that culture, traditions, and language are the foundation to healthy individuals, families, and communities.
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Make sure that health and human service providers work in a manner that is culturally safe and respects individual customs, values, and beliefs.
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Support approaches that ensure First Nations and Aboriginal people receive safe and effective care from health providers.
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Find ways to address travel and funding blocks that make it hard for First Nations and Aboriginal people to access and reach mental wellness and substance use programs and services.
Recognise that the social determinants of health have a key role in mental wellness and empower communities and leadership to address these determinants through intersectoral collaboration and action.
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Encourage approaches that are based in and build on individual, family, community, and cultural strengths.
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Reduce stigma against First Nations and Aboriginal people who have mental wellness and/or substance use issues.
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Recognise that responses to mental wellness can be gender specific. This includes both men and women, trans-gendered, lesbian, gay, bisexual and two–spirited, queer and questioning individuals. Programs and supports may need to be modified to support this population.
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Support healthy infant and child development and intervene early in the lifecourse when challenges arise.
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Build and strengthen capacity among First Nations and Aboriginal communities.
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Make sure that services and programs are kept local, where possible.
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Support broad, collaborative multi-system approaches that consider social and economic determinants of health.
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Build and strengthen partnerships among First Nations and Aboriginal communities, the regional, provincial, and federal systems and non-governmental organizations, including improved coordination and leveraging of innovations and resources.
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