Mino Bimaadiziwin Healing and Prevention Centre opens its doors in Toronto

By Rick Garrick

TORONTO — Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) celebrated the grand opening of the Mino Bimaadiziwin Healing and Prevention Centre with a virtual tour and comments by dignitaries on Nov. 18.

Located at 185 Carlton St., the new permanent space is designed to provide the Indigenous community with a sense of space, privacy, ownership and belonging.

“The challenges faced by Indigenous children and families lie in the intersection between housing, employment, poverty, justice, intergenerational trauma and so many other things,” says Jeffrey Schiffer, executive director at NCFST. “Here at our new Mino Bimaadiziwin Healing and Prevention Centre, we address these challenges through an integrated culture-based approach. We support many families that have been residing here in the City of Toronto for decades as well as Indigenous children and families from across the province of Ontario who come to the City of Toronto to access programs and services not available in their home communities.”

In addition to the new Tikinagan Mobile Pre and Post-Natal program, the centre will offer a range of services including group therapy for children exposed to domestic violence; sharing circles to assist with positive Indigenous identity development and self-care; and case management for children and youth and referrals to other needed services offered at other NCFST locations or by other organizations.

“A legacy of trauma has left many Indigenous peoples struggling, and one of the biggest challenges for Indigenous children and youth in Toronto is the need for culturally-informed support services that are accessible and capable of meeting their unique needs,” Schiffer says. “The new Mino Bimaadiziwin Healing and Prevention Centre will be not only a one-stop resource for them to receive the support they need, but a space they can call their own and connect with their community.”

Indigenous Services Canada Minister Marc Miller and Toronto Centre MPP Suze Morrison, official opposition critic for urban Indigenous issues and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Response, congratulated NCFST on the grand opening of the centre.

“Today’s official opening is a significant milestone and I’m happy to celebrate it with you,” Miller says. “While we reform Indigenous child and family services, we must focus on prevention that supports family preservation and community wellness. This is essential and it will help families stay together whenever possible, ultimately reducing the number of children and youth taken into care, which is exactly what you are doing.”

Miller says the federal government is committed to working in partnership with Indigenous organizations and communities to reform child and family services.

“We must continue to do what we can to ensure … that children never have to suffer the same discrimination as many before them did,” Miller says. “You have my heartfelt congratulations on what you have achieved with the centre and the services offered will have a positive impact on the wellbeing of First Nations children in Ontario.”

Morrison says NCFST’s holistic culture-based programs and services have made a positive difference in the lives of children and families across the Greater Toronto Area.

“This year has been difficult for so many people in our community — the COVID-19 pandemic has put an added threat on the lives of children and families,” Morrison says. “During this time, your work has become more important than ever before. It is an absolute honour to be here virtually to celebrate the grand opening of the Mino Bimaadiziwin Healing and Prevention Centre and this new chapter for Native Child and Family Services of Toronto.”

Plans for the centre include a range of traditional cultural activities, ceremonies and feasts with staffing by Elders/Knowledge Keepers, traditional healers, counsellors, doulas, psychotherapists and others.