Knowles Centre incorporates Truth and Reconciliation

WINNIPEG

North Kildonan

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This article was published 10/01/2024 (643 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The grassroots, non-profit Knowles Centre has worked to help children and young adults through a variety of programs and services for over 100 years. Launched as a home for boys in 1907, the centre has developed and shifted to further how it can benefit those in need of its services.

Going into 2024, the Knowles Centre intends to refocus its programming around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and Bill C-92 — An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families — which was enacted by the federal government in 2019 to recognize the jurisdiction of Indigenous peoples in youth and family services.

Knowles Centre CEO Mia Guenther said the prospect of the renewed focus is very exciting.

“I think (in the past,) there was a really good foundation laid for the care of young adults. What we’re learning now, though, in terms of speaking with all the staff and the kids that go to Knowles, is that the direction we really want to head into is (supporting) Bill C-92. And so that looks different in each of our programs,” Guenther said.

The centre’s Healing Homes group care-home program for those aged 12 to 17, for example, has pivoted to attempting to reconnect Indigenous youth with larger communities and, by extent, their culture. This is being achieved through the help of an Indigenous inclusion co-ordinator, as well as elders and knowledge keepers. Healing Homes is run through five units, two on the Knowles Centre’s Henderson Highway campus and three in the community.

“Of course, it’s their choice, if they (the youth) would like to take us up on that invitation,” Guenther said. “But I think that is a really big part of the work we need to be doing — supporting kids in that exploration, so that as they grow, they are grounded in their own identity, and have that self-worth and self-esteem that comes from being grounded in identity.”

The experiences in community and cultural connection, will happen both on and off-site, Guenther said, citing the example of someone whose family is in northern Manitoba.

The same principles will be extended to the foster care programs run by Knowles Centre. Including the people and community in a child’s life during foster care, if done safely, can pave the way for beautiful moments, Guenther said.

“Last summer, we had a foster family go to a camp, and they rented the campsite. And then they invited the birth family … And so, over the course of that time they were together, then the kids (could) toggle back and forth, and they can see that really beautiful relationship building between the families,” Guenther explained.

“That support makes it a lot easier for kids, I think, to accept support and care as well. Because they know their birth families are part of the network, rather than being completely excluded. Because that’s where some damage can occur,” she said.

“So we’re looking at redoing things in that way and being more intentional about creating those opportunities for birth families to have a voice and a place in the care of their children. And as long as we continue to listen to the voices of lived experience … that will inform our next steps.”

Knowles Centre is also further developing its Supported Advancement to Independent Living program, which helps those aged 15-18 prepare for the independence of early adulthood.

Guenther wants to continue creating similar opportunities in a consistent manner.

“We want to be intentional about that effort,” she said. “So how are we continuing to do those types of things and offering those experiences throughout the centre intentionally? I think that’s really our focus.”

For more information on Knowles Centre and its programming, visit www.knowlescentre.org