Helping to Make a Difference in the Delivery of Care in
First Nations Communities
As any adult student will tell you, taking courses or workshops can pose a challenge. First Nations communities often face added barriers to education. Small communities in remote (especially far northern) areas of the province often have difficulty amassing the relatively large group of students required by many schools. Leaving the community poses a different set of challenges; distance and the resulting travel costs can quickly make education unaffordable. That’s where Capacity Builders comes in. In collaboration with the First Nation, we identify appropriately-skilled educators within, or that frequently visit, the community. Trainers often stay in their communities to act as a local resource, and to train new students.
Capacity Builders is committed to helping enhance the level of care delivery in First Nations communities through helping communities educate Personal Support Workers. To do this, we take the following approach:
Flexibility - we tailor the program to suit the schedule of the communities with which we work. For example, we schedule training to avoid traditional activities such as hunting; we work around fly in and out schedules as well to avoid adverse weather conditions.
Accessibility – we offer programs to groups as small as three. Many remote communities do not have a large population, yet cannot afford to send students out of the community for the program. By preparing health professionals already in/visiting the community to teach, we can deliver the program to small groups, where they live, and taught by people who also know the community.
Sensitivity – we ensure that relevant traditional principles around caregiving are incorporated into the program. Each community is different, so the traditions can and do vary from community to community.
Practicality – we help PSWs learn the critical thinking skills required for providing personal support in remote and northern communities where PSWs may be the primary support provider.
In the preparation and delivery of our PSW programs we have collaborated with Home and Community Care coordinators, Health Directors, social workers, therapists, nurses, child care workers, and others with a health care background or important knowledge of the communities in which we are working.
To speak to someone about our work in First Nations communities please contact 416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 237 info@capacitybuilders.ca
Capacity Builders is committed to helping enhance the level of care delivery in First Nations communities through helping communities educate Personal Support Workers. To do this, we take the following approach:
Flexibility - we tailor the program to suit the schedule of the communities with which we work. For example, we schedule training to avoid traditional activities such as hunting; we work around fly in and out schedules as well to avoid adverse weather conditions.
Accessibility – we offer programs to groups as small as three. Many remote communities do not have a large population, yet cannot afford to send students out of the community for the program. By preparing health professionals already in/visiting the community to teach, we can deliver the program to small groups, where they live, and taught by people who also know the community.
Sensitivity – we ensure that relevant traditional principles around caregiving are incorporated into the program. Each community is different, so the traditions can and do vary from community to community.
Practicality – we help PSWs learn the critical thinking skills required for providing personal support in remote and northern communities where PSWs may be the primary support provider.
In the preparation and delivery of our PSW programs we have collaborated with Home and Community Care coordinators, Health Directors, social workers, therapists, nurses, child care workers, and others with a health care background or important knowledge of the communities in which we are working.
To speak to someone about our work in First Nations communities please contact 416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 237 info@capacitybuilders.ca
Where We've Trained:
- Pikangikum
- Little Current
- Keewaytinook Okimakanak
- Big Trout Lake
- Attawapiskat
- Bearskin Lake
- Cat Lake
- Constance Lake
- Deer Lake
- Eabamatoong
- Fort Albany
- Kasabonika
- Matawa
- Mishkeegagomang
- Sandy Lake
- Slate Falls
- Wapakeka
