GRSJ224/Space for Aborignal Women in the DTES

From UBC Wiki

Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) is not a welcoming or safe space for the 8,00 Aboriginal women who live there, as this neighbourhood is twice as violent as the city average.[1] Even though Aboriginal women constitute only 4% of the female population in Canada, 45% of homeless in the DTES are Aboriginal.[2] In addition, Aboriginal women are five times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be victims of violence in the DTES.[3] Moreover, Aboriginal women are three times as likely to be sexually assaulted than non-Aboriginal women.[3] Although there are some culturally-appropriate safe spaces for Aboriginal women in the DTES, there are not enough. As Martin and Walia observe, "There is not a single inclusive Indigenous women’s 24/7 drop-in center operated by and for Indigenous women in the DTES."[1] This needs to change.

Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS)

There needs to be an Aboriginal community-based women’s only holistic healing centre in the DTES. The fact that there is not one facility serving all the needs of the most vulnerable segment of the DTES has to be addressed. Currently, the service delivery model is convoluted and divided across all levels of government. For instance, physical and mental health falls into the portfolio of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), which is a provincial agency. VCH oversees the Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS), which has been criticized for not providing culturally sensitive heath services.[4] According to Benoit et al., “the original intent of the VNHS when it was established in 1992 was to create an Aboriginal-administered, culturally focussed health centre exclusively for Vancouver’s Aboriginal people in the DTES.”[5] However, government funding and support needed to successful complete this endeavour never materialized.[4] Therefore, what could have been an effective holistic model never emerged as such, and has been criticized extensively by users for failures, which can be attributed to insufficient funding, and not prioritizing the needs for Aboriginal-operated health and well-being services in the DTES.

One need clients identified as not being met is the provision of a space which provides escape from the unsafe DTES. Another need commonly not met is the presence of staff who understand and are compassionate about the colonial oppression of Aboriginal women, including oppressive health practices. Another need commonly not met is the utilization of a preventative modern approach to health imbued with Aboriginal medicinal practices. Yet another need often neglected is the provision of a health care space which welcomes families, especially children.[6] In addition, VNHS services have been criticized by users for “the lack of integration between program areas” which is seen as “a barrier to restoring health and well-being to Aboriginal women,” as traditional Aboriginal approachers are integrated.[7] In addition, the delivery style has been criticized, as Aboriginal women indicated they wanted “more traditional, spiritual healing such as healing circles, access to traditional healers and more support and compassion from staff.”[8] The fact that important cultural healing practices are not provided by VNHS illustrates that Aboriginal needs have not been foregrounded. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that Aboriginal women want all-women programs, which the majority of VNHS services were not.[9] Therefore, VNHS has failed tof fill a significant hole in the DTES.

However, VNHS's Sheway has been praised by Aboriginal women of the DTES. Sheway is a space which provides services specifically for substance using pregnant women in the DTES. Statistics show this service has been successful, as within the first three years of its operation, Sheway mothers gave birth to children with healthy birth weights 86% of the time, which is well above the DTES average of 67%. This success is directly connected to the fact that Aboriginal women feel comfortable using Sheway, which includes numerous other services as well. Sheway uses a harm reduction philosophy, which is a must for any service that aims to help the most vulnerable in the DTES. Clients expressed they appreciated Sheway’s integrated approach and the depth of services offered. Clients also greatly appreciated “a non-task-oriented philosophy of care critical to getting women through the front door”[10] This idea of getting clients through the door without pressuring them, without having them engage in impersonal bureaucracy, and without requiring them to be in recovery has been proven to have significant success in attracting and empowering clients.[11] It is also a strong example of inclusivity, which needs to be at the centre of any truly Aboriginal approach.[12]

Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Society

In relation to the health and well-being of urban Aboriginal women at the federal level, one important cross-Canada organization is The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC), which is responsible for 107 friendship centres access Canada, including the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society. There are many positive aspects of Friendship Centres that should be incorporated into an Aboriginal community-based women’s only holistic healing centre. One aspect is the diversity of services offered. According to Sookraj et al. common services offered include “mental health advocacy and coordination; transitional housing for youth; diabetes prevention; employment- related services; advocacy; summer programs, recreational programs, after school programs for children and youth; violence prevention and alcohol and drug counseling programs.”[13] In addition, Friendship Centres provide individual and family counselling, and help families who are involved with the child protection system. Other programs offered include early intervention, family preservation, and wide variety of culture programs.[13]

Friendship centres strive to deliver programs in a holistic and integrated manner, which separates them from mainstream organizations, and which is why many Aboriginal people “prefer to receive services from Aboriginal organizations rather than mainstream organizations."[14] Other client-identified benefits of accessing friendship centres include the staff having had similar life experiences as the clients, resulting in the reduction of communication barriers, the respect for culture, and the genuine display of empathy and sympathy.[14]

One area of difficulty for friendship centres is providing community-based and culturally appropriate care. In fact, according to Sookraj et al. many friendship centres opt for a client-centred approach. Another area of concern for some clients is that the “the urban Aboriginal organizations are themselves becoming large and bureaucratic, putting them at risk of emulating some of the same negative attributes that Aboriginal people experience with mainstream organizations.”[15]

On the operational side accountability acts as a barrier to the provision of needed services due to the fact sponsors put demands and restrictions on funding. As Sookraj et al. argue, friendship centres are accountable to the “government – as registered nonprofit organizations; funding agencies, especially government institutions; provincial and national organizations with which they are affiliated; boards of directors; local communities; and service users.”[16] In this regard, the centres are accountable to a large pyramid-shaped bureaucracy.[16] As Sookraj et al. state, the centres believe that accountability to funders is important; however, at the same time, accountability to funders acts a barrier for a number of reasons. One reason is that the centre’s often have to navigate the different accountability requirements from different funders. Another reason is that it is often the case that donors want the funding to be targeted and are reticent to providing general funding.

Recommendations

Vancouver's DTES needs an Aboriginal community-based women’s only holistic healing centre. In the VNHS and Friendship Society models success and positive outcomes were connected to empathic staff, cultural-relevancy, and the provision of integrated services. This healing-centre should provide all the services that Aboriginal women living in the DTES need with these service being culturally appropriate, integrated, and inclusive.[17] The need for culturally appropriate and integrated services cannot be overstated with 92% of Aboriginal people in Vancouver believing that health, well-being, and addiction services for Aboriginal people need to be embedded in Aboriginal practices.[18] The minister envisions this integration as well as a horizontal organizational structure to create as welcoming environment as possible. The services this Aboriginal community-based women’s only holistic healing centre should offer include all the services mentioned above in relation to VNHS and the Friendship Centres, as well as self-help groups, professional counsellors, exercise facilities and classes, job training, classes in areas of interest, and healing circles and other culturally appropriate well-being focused practices. This women-only centre will be a self-contained community, including housing. The community members will be the most vulnerable Aboriginal women living in the DTES.

Governments at all levels need to recognize that the current state of Indigenous women’s health and well-being in Vancouver’s DTES is a direct result of colonialism and government policies.[19] Therefore, the entire leadership team should be Aboriginal women, which means that the leadership model established by NAFC will be adopted[20] In addition, it is recommended that the Aboriginal community-based women’s only holistic healing centre in Vancouver be run by the NAFC, as a special addition to the organization’s portfolio. This centre should be an autonomous Aboriginal undertaking with autonomy extending to the design, delivery, and evaluation of all the centre’s programs, which opens the door for inclusive decision-making. Bureaucracy and misguided government policy will not interfere with or impede the delivery of culturally appropriate programs or services.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Martin, C., and Walia, H. (2019). Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, 43. Accessed at https://online.flowpaper.com/76fb0732/MMIWReportFinalMarch10WEB/#page=46
  2. ↑ Stats about Indigenous Women in Canada (2019). Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter. Accessed at https://www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca/blog/stats-about-indigenous-women-canada
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Martin, C., and Walia, H. (2019). Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, 42. Accessed at https://online.flowpaper.com/76fb0732/MMIWReportFinalMarch10WEB/#page=46
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Benoit, C., Carroll, D., and Chaudry, M. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine 56, 825.
  5. ↑ Benoit, C., Carroll, D., and Chaudry, M. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine 56, 824.
  6. ↑ Benoit, Cecilia, Carroll, Dena, and Chaudry, Munaza. “In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.” Social Science & Medicine no. 56, 2003, 830.
  7. ↑ Benoit, Cecilia, Carroll, Dena, and Chaudry, Munaza. “In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.” Social Science & Medicine no. 56, 2003 ,827.
  8. ↑ Benoit, C., Carroll, D., and Chaudry, M. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine 56, 827.
  9. ↑ Benoit, C., Carroll, D., and Chaudry, M. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine 56, 828.
  10. ↑ Benoit, C., Carroll, D., and Chaudry, M. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine 56, 828.
  11. ↑ Karabanow, J. (2004).  Making organizations work: Exploring characteristics of anti-oppressive organizational structures in street youth shelters. Journal of Social Work, 4(1), 49.
  12. ↑ Saulis, M. (2003). Program and Policy Development from a Holistic Aboriginal Perspective. In A. Westhues (ed.), Canadian Social Policy: Issues and Perspectives. (p. 291). Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sookraj, D., Hutchinson, P., Evans, M., & Murphy, M. (2012). Aboriginal organizational response to the need for culturally appropriate services in three small Canadian cities. Journal of Social Work, 21(2), 144.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Sookraj, D., Hutchinson, P., Evans, M., & Murphy, M. (2012). Aboriginal organizational response to the need for culturally appropriate services in three small Canadian cities. Journal of Social Work, 21(2), 145.
  15. ↑ Sookraj, D., Hutchinson, P., Evans, M., & Murphy, M. (2012). Aboriginal organizational response to the need for culturally appropriate services in three small Canadian cities. Journal of Social Work, 21(2), 146.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sookraj, D., Hutchinson, P., Evans, M., & Murphy, M. (2012). Aboriginal organizational response to the need for culturally appropriate services in three small Canadian cities. Journal of Social Work, 21(2), 148.
  17. ↑ Saulis, M. (2003). Program and Policy Development from a Holistic Aboriginal Perspective. In A. Westhues (ed.), Canadian Social Policy: Issues and Perspectives. (pp. 291).Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
  18. ↑ Bluesky, K. (2017). Aboriginal Health, Healing, and Wellness in the DTES Study. City of Vancouver, 44. Accessed at https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/aboriginal-health-healing-wellness-final-report.pdf
  19. ↑ Martin, C.M., and Walia, H. (2019). Red Women Rising : Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Vancouver: Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 183.
  20. ↑ Lewis, H. (2020). The Friendship Centre Movement, Where Women Have Always Been at the Forefront. Future of Good. Accesses at https://futureofgood.co/friendship-centre-movement-women/
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