Indigenous-led B.C. services addressing trauma of residential schools get funding boost

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — As Canada gets set to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, culturally safe supports for Indigenous people in B.C. affected by the residential school system are getting some much-needed funding to continue their work.

On Monday, the province outlined how funding initially announced earlier this year is being used, acknowledging the importance of having Indigenous-led, trauma-informed options.

“Indigenous service providers are receiving $1.5 million in provincial funding to address the urgent need for culturally safe and trauma-informed mental health and wellness supports for residential school survivors and Indigenous peoples as a result of the ongoing findings at former Indian Residential Schools,” says a statement from the province.

“This funding is part of $12 million announced in June 2021 for the BC Residential School Response Fund.”

Angela White is the executive director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) which operates a 24/7 crisis line. She says the organization has been fielding hundreds of calls each day since the unmarked graves of 215 children were confirmed on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential school in May.

“It just goes to show how necessary these places are,” she says, adding a boost in funding will allow them to hire more counsellors and reduce waitlists.

“IRSSS has tirelessly gone through so many years in ensuring that there is cultural safety and spaces for each person that extends a hand out. Some of the words that we have received from those that have partaken in that crisis line was they are happy to have a place where they feel safe, that they know that the person on the other end of the phone is Indigenous and that they understand where they’re coming from.”

In previous years, the organization has seen a spike in demand in the days leading up to Orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30. This year, she anticipates a lot of calls for support amid the added and ongoing trauma of the confirmation of unmarked graves at residential school sites across the country.

“We are as ready as we possibly can be,” White says.

Re: what has demand been like since May following @Tkemlups announcement about mass graves in #Kamloops?

Angela White, the executive director of Indian Residential School Survivors Society, says they get up to 600 calls per day to their crisis line. #bcpoli @NEWS1130

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) September 27, 2021

Minister Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin wants British Columbians to consider that the residential school system can not and should not be understood as merely a part of Canada’s past.

“This work does not stop. Communities across British Columbia, are doing the difficult but essential work to find answers for the generations of families that attended residential schools in this province. I know and you know that there’s much more work to be done, and there’ll be many more difficult days ahead,” he says.

“We often talk about the history of residential schools but for survivors and their families and communities — no — it’s not history. The impacts continue to this very day.”

The Tsow-Tun Le Lum Society in Cowichan, and the Métis Nation BC are also getting additional funding to support survivors and those impacted by the intergenerational trauma of the residential school system.

Rankin says investing in these services is crucial, pointing out that trust in many government institutions is undermined by systemic racism and the legacy of colonialism.

“It’s so important for Indigenous people to have access to supports that they can trust, supports that understand the impact of the residential school system. It’s important that these services be Indigenous-designed and Indigenous-delivered,” he says.

Support services for residential school survivors in B.C.

•Indian Residential School Survivors Society
1-800-721-0066 or (604) 985-4464

•Tsow-Tun Le Lum for Indigenous peoples in B.C.
1-888-403-3123

•The Métis Crisis Line for Métis people in B.C.
1-833-638-4722

•The KUU-US Crisis Line Society
1-800-588-8717

•First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line for Indigenous people across Canada
Phone toll-free 1-855-242-3310 or online

•24-Hour National Crisis Line for residential school survivors and others affected
1-866 925-4419