Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) Projects

• Click here to see a list of completed projects.

• Aboriginal Family Centre - Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
• Hopedale Suguset Centre - Hopedale, NL
• Our Children And Our Way - Halifax, NS
• Shakastueu Pishum Centre - Sheshatshiu, NL
• Under One Sky - Monoqonuwicik-Neoteetjg Mosigisig, Inc. - Fredericton, NB
• Wekatesk Aboriginal Head Start Project - Charlottetown, PEI

Aboriginal Family Centre

Organization:	Labrador Friendship Centre
Internet Site:	www.lfchvgb.ca

Description:

The Aboriginal Family Centre is sponsored by the Labrador Friendship Centre and is based in Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the Lake Melville area of Labrador. Happy Valley has the largest concentration of off-reserve Aboriginal people in Labrador, making up nearly half the total population, with over 300 Aboriginal children ages 0 to 6.

The Aboriginal Family Centre is unique in that it is a multicultural centre for Inuit, Innu, and Métis children and their families. Parents and guardians, the primary teachers and caregivers, are encouraged to accompany their children to the centre. The Family Centre offers a school readiness program and a summer program for children, as well as programs for parents and caregivers.

Hopedale Suguset Centre

Organization:	Nunatsiavut Government, Department of Health & Social Services
Telephone:	(709) 933-3846 (709) 933-3739

Description:

The Hopedale Suguset Centre is sponsored by the Nunatsiavut Government, Department of Health & Social Services and located in Hopedale, a Northern Inuit community on the coast of Labrador. The Hopedale Suguset Centre Committee (HSCC) works in partnership with the Aboriginal Head Start Initiative, the Inuit Child Care Initiative, and the Brighter Futures Program to manage a family resource centre in the community. This project is a coordinated effort of three major organizations to provide fully integrated services for children and their families in Hopedale.

The Hopedale AHS project focuses on the needs of children ages 3 to 5 by offering a school readiness program. The centre also offers programs for parents that encompass teachings in traditions, health promotion, social support, and nutrition. Parents are encouraged to interact with their children in a way that is culturally, socially, emotionally, and intellectually stimulating.

Our Children And Our Way

Organization:	Mi'kmaq Native Friendship Centre
Telephone:	(902) 422-7850

Description:

Our Children and Our Way is sponsored by the Micmac Native Friendship Centre located in the Mi'kmaq Child Development Centre. The Halifax area has a large and diverse off-reserve Aboriginal population that includes approximately 500-600 children ages 0 to 6.

Our Children and Our Way aims to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal families with young children through positive contemporary and traditional teachings. The centre offers a school readiness program and other family related programs. The components of these programs include nutrition, education, social support, health promotion, culture and language, and parental support.

Shakastueu Pishum Centre

Organization:	Sheshatshiu Innu Band Council
Telephone:	(709) 497-8458

Description:

The Shakastueu Pishum Centre is a project sponsored by the Sheshatshiu Innu Band Council in Sheshatshiu, Labrador. The project will offer an early intervention program for children from birth to 6 years in a centre that can accommodate 23 children. The staff includes a director, a parent program coordinator, early childhood educators, a cook and a janitor. The project is set up to address the six components of AHS: culture and language, education, health promotion, nutrition, social support and parent involvement. Parents and extended family members are encouraged to attend and participate with the children.

Under One Sky - Monoqonuwicik-Neoteetjg Mosigisig, Inc.

Organization:	Under One Sky Aboriginal Head Start
Telephone:	(506) 458-9269

Description:

Under One Sky - Monoqonuwicik-Neoteetjg Mosigisig, Inc. is a one-year project of Under One Sky, a Fredericton-based Aboriginal coalition devoted to meeting the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical needs of Aboriginal children. Members of the coalition include the Fredericton Native Friendship Centre, the MAWIW Tribal Council, the Union of New Brunswick Indians Training Institute, the Aboriginal Women’s Council and the New Brunswick People’s Council. The project will offer programs for Aboriginal children ages 3-6 and their families, addressing the six components of Aboriginal Head Start: culture and language, education, health promotion, nutrition, social support, and parent involvement.

Wekatesk Aboriginal Head Start Project

Organization:	Aboriginal Women’s Association of PEI
Internet Site:	www.mikmaqfamilyresources.ca

Description:

Wekatesk Aboriginal Head Start Project is a four-month initiative of the Aboriginal Women’s Association of PEI. This half-day, Monday-to-Thursday school readiness program will work with Charlottetown’s off-reserve Aboriginal children and their families. In addition to increasing school readiness, the program will increase the children’s knowledge of their Mi’kmaq language, culture and traditions and provide them with nutritious food and food learning activities. Parents will become more involved in their children’s learning. They will also experience greater social support through both project activities and referrals to community resources such as housing, legal support, employment services, addiction programs and various other health services.