Aboriginal Health Centre
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Health Committee will establish a health centre with healthcare services specific to the cultural needs of the urban Aboriginal people
About You
About You
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Health Committee
Organization Website
Organization Country
Canada
Country where this project is creating social impact
Canada, QC
Is your organization a
Not registered
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
no
References - Please provide two references with a two-sentence biography, email address, and phone number for each
1) The Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network works to improve the quality of life of Aboriginal people living in the greater Montreal area. Their mandate is to act as the decisional structure and provide opportunities for organizations serving Aboriginal people in the greater Montreal area to broaden their achievements, through measurable and sustainable improvements.
Email: reseau.mtl.autochtone@gmail.com
Address: 801 Brennan, #5151.04, Montreal, QC, H3C 0G4
Phone: 514-872-9897
2) Native Friendship Centre of Montreal
The Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM) is a non-profit, non-sectarian, autonomous community development agency whose principal mission is to promote, develop, and enhance the quality of life in the urban Aboriginal community of Montreal.
Email: executive.director@nfcm.org
Address: 2001 boul. St Laurent
Montreal, QC H2X 2T3
Phone: 514-499-1854
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Research shows that although some urban Aboriginals use existing services for health care, many others do not, or do not feel comfortable doing so, for reasons including language and cultural barriers, lack of knowledge of available services,a lack of appropriate services, past negative experiences within the system, fear of racism or negative perceptions of Aboriginal people, and a perception that mainstream health services do not reflect Aboriginal values, which include a holistic approach to healing, a need for access to traditional and spiritually-based services, and more standard care. The results of our current needs assessment will further refine what services are most urgently required in order to establish an Aboriginal health centre to address these challenges and barriers.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
To better meet the health care needs of Aboriginal Montrealers, we propose the establishment of a holistic health centre modelled along the lines of similar, successful services such as Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health and Anishnawbe Health Toronto. The centre will provide culturally relevant, effective health care services run by and for Montreal’s Aboriginal community. A needs assessment is currently underway to identify gaps in health care services as experienced by Aboriginals in Montreal. We aim to improve access and continuity of health and healing services and improve the delivery of current services through the development of a new urban framework to ensure the provision of culturally appropriate and effective health services to Aboriginals. Our proposed services will cater to all Aboriginal groups not just an exclusive segment of the population. The centre’s services will be widely publicized to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health and social service organizations.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
It is well established that the current health care system is not fully aware of nor meets the unique needs of Aboriginal Montrealers. The creation of a holistic health centre where professionals will cater specifically to Aboriginals using a multidisciplinary health care model would offer more support to social welfare organizations. In addition to access to clinical practitioners, the health centre would offer holistic services such as counsels of elders, traditional healers, and medicine people, as well as traditional ceremonies deep-rooted in the many Aboriginal cultures. Furthermore, accompaniment and translation, specialized services for families, youth, the Inuit population and the socially excluded, including the homeless population, whose needs are large and varied and who face even more barriers, would constitute basic services at the health centre. The realities of many urban Aboriginals shed light on the need for more adequate services and stronger partnerships with those already in place. Because communication and information sharing with the public are important pillars of our vision, the health centre would educate and raise awareness as part of its outreach effort with service providers through a cross-cultural, anti-oppression, anti-racist model regarding cultural needs of and available services for the Aboriginal community.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
While Médecins du monde, Agence de Santé et des Services Sociaux, and Centre de Santé et de Services Sociaux of Montreal offer healthcare services to the general public, there are gaps that exist in the services for the Aboriginal residents. Currently, few offer holistic health services in Montreal, and certainly none that offers services to the extent that we envision. We strive to identify and fill these gaps, complementing traditional knowledge with clinical practice in a facility that would serve as a one-stop, easy-access point. By establishing corridors of service, providing recommendations, and building partnerships, the proposed health centre would only synergize the efforts among organisations and agencies to improve healthcare services for the Aboriginal community.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
The Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network (MUACSN) was founded in 2008 to respond to the needs of Quebec’s urban Aboriginals. The MUACSN has more than 500 members, representing Aboriginal groups,organizations and the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Their aim is to improve the quality of life and quality of services of Aboriginal people in Montreal. To reach this objective, they have a steering committee and six working committees (one of them being Health). The Montreal Urban Aboriginal Health Committee (MUAHC) was created with the goal of establishing a fully functioning health centre in Montreal.
Many Aboriginal people have found some level of health assistance through local programs; however, from an overall systems perspective, challenges appear to be throughout. The MUAHC represents a timely and important opportunity for Aboriginal organizations and their partners to consider how best to resolve the gaps and inequalities.
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
The MUAHC will contribute to the development of a new urban framework to ensure the provision of culturally appropriate and effective health services to urban Aboriginal people through the establishment of a fully functional, holistic health centre in Montreal. Results of our needs assessment will identify gaps and barriers to health services and we will address these discrepancies through the creation of the health centre. We are trying to increase access and use of health services by this population by ensuring that services are adapted to their unique and specific needs. We will also offer traditional and cultural healing services otherwise not available in Montreal to allow the community the right to choose traditional forms of healing, western approaches or a combination of the two.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
To date, we have begun the process of collecting data for the Aboriginal Health Needs Assessment in order to better understand the dynamic of the urban healthcare system through the lens of the Aboriginal residents: this includes accessibility and barrier issues as well as the appropriateness of existing services. While we have not yet been able to secure a physical location for the proposed health centre, we are actively using the information and initial feedback from the assessment to further develop our vision. Service providers are also benefiting from this conversation because they have voiced that such a project would greatly facilitate their services and programs. These responses clearly echo a dire need for Aboriginal-specific health services in Montreal.
An unexpected positive impact of our work has been the networking stemming from the projects that has allowed us to create positive links with government agencies and community organizations.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
In 5 years, we will have completed a literature review, a health needs assessment, a comprehensive database of existing health services in Montreal and a recommendation report for how existing health services can better accommodate the Aboriginal community. We will also be in the pilot stage of the Aboriginal health centre offering culturally appropriate holistic healing methods. These initiatives further aim to educate and raise awareness in the Aboriginal community and the general public regarding the health care system. Aboriginal Health is a field with little established literature. Our project would spearhead the movement in Montreal to inspire more concrete research and consequently policy-making in order to better meet the increasing needs of the Aboriginal population.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
We will have made steady progress in five key areas: communication, network, training, education, and health centre.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Develop an online database for the Aboriginal community of existing health services in Montreal
Task 2
Compile results of needs assessment into recommendations on how services can better accommodate community's cultural needs
Task 3
Establish the gaps in service delivery model that currently exist in Montreal from the results of the needs assessment
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
We will secure physical space in Montreal to pilot a health centre offering traditional and clinical healing services
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Actively seek out a physical space for the Aboriginal health centre by negotiating city buildings with municipal government
Task 2
Establish ties with potential partners in the healthcare community and develop MOU to have agreement on contribution of effort
Task 3
Secure temporary funding for sweat lodge coordinator for holistic healing before the official establishment of health centre
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
The MUACSN, of which the MUAHC is a key component, has representation from more than 500 organizations and community members as well as municipal, provincial, federal, First Nations and Inuit governments. MUAHC membership is equally as diverse. Representation of various institutions and government levels will further help to guarantee the commitment of more partners. The MUAHC has already secured funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, to conduct a Health Needs Assessment amongst the Aboriginal peoples in Montreal.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your innovation? If so, where and why?
We will not be targeting other populations simply because this initiative is specifically designed to narrow the discrepancies in quality and access to health care services for Aboriginal people. The glaring lack of appropriate services places this population at a great disadvantage as compared to the general population in Montreal. Additionally, we do not see a need to expand to other locations as most major Canadian cities already have similar services to that which we are proposing.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
The operating structure of the MUAHC is an intrinsically democratic body. It represents the health interests on behalf of the urban Aboriginal community of Montreal as a working committee that collectively makes decisions and communicates with a steering committee. Its project, the Health Needs Assessment, is a direct response to the experiences and opinions of the wider Aboriginal community regarding healthcare. Thus, contrary to the typical hierarchical structure common in many organizations, MUAHC operates as a collective, through constant communication with the MUACSN steering committee and its five other working committees, as well as the Aboriginal community at large. The larger network receives its mandate from the Aboriginal community and these directives are reflected in our work.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
 | 66 weeks ago Carrie Martin updated this Competition Entry. |
| 66 weeks ago Carrie Martin updated this Competition Entry. |
| 67 weeks ago Carrie Martin updated this Competition Entry. |
| 68 weeks ago Carrie Martin updated this Competition Entry. |
| 68 weeks ago Carrie Martin submitted this idea. |
