Dilico Anishinabek Family Care comes together for youth gathering
By Rick Garrick
THUNDER BAY — Dilico Anishinabek Family Care held a virtual Come Together Youth Gathering Celebration Lounge on Oct. 13 with a motivational talk by Turtle Concepts as part of its Step Up 2021 campaign.
“This celebration went very well,” says Dave Jones, founder of Turtle Concepts. “I’ve seen kids in this celebration that I’ve known for many years feel really relaxed, and I saw new kids get relaxed and realize it is OK to get proud and it’s OK to step up.”
Jones says the Come Together Youth Gathering featured four virtual events, including drum making, paint night, and the kick-off event in early September.
“It was the idea to try and get the kids connected and to keep their spirits glowing and learn even more about how to celebrate us despite the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Jones says. “I see kids that are still able to connect, they love the craziness of my personality, they love the willingness of my Turtles to show them that it’s not wrong to be excited and to persevere and to be living the life compared to what it was and learning the new life. I saw engagement like crazy, I saw willingness to call a friend and gossip about the purpose of Step Up, I saw kids just so committed to increasing awareness about stepping up in healthy positive ways.”
Jones kicked off the Celebration Lounge by introducing himself and Turtle Concepts staff Daniel Jones and Jodi Taylor.
“We’re coming together to be super proud, super loud, be our real selves and to Step Up,” Jones says. “We’re just excited tonight to come together and to celebrate and keep stepping up.”
Jones says the best part of the Step Up campaign is about challenging people to keep moving.
“I bet some of you stepped up already today, you stepped up from when you got out of bed, you stepped up a couple of stairs to get to school, maybe if you rode the bus you stepped up,” Jones says. “The best part about when you step up is you’re moving, and that’s what Dilico has been trying to do through the Laidlaw Foundation, is to make sure we keep moving, our brains, our hearts and our bodies. And then what happens with that is other people start to move with us.”
Dilico began the annual Step Up campaign in 2009 in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“Step Up 2021 is about amplifying the voices of Indigenous children and youth and coming together to build toward a future in which we can all feel safe,” says John Dixon, director of integrated services at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care. “By doing so we are helping children grow into strong individuals who will be capable of standing up for themselves, identifying child abuse, and will support the health, happiness and safety of children and youth.”
Fort William youth Daanis Pelletier, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg youth Laura Twance, and Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg youth Kiefer Sabourin also stepped up to share their views on how communities can step up to show that every child matters.
“The community can make youth feel safe, connected and hopeful for the future by being inclusive, including youth opinions and taking into consideration how things can affect them,” Pelletier says. “Also encouraging youth, making them feel like they do matter and how they feel matters, rather than shutting them down because they are younger or not an adult.”
“As an Indigenous youth, I feel like ways people can make youth feel more safe is ensuring an individual has a safe place to talk and knowing their voice will always be heard, regardless of whether their idea is little or too big,” Twance says.
“People can step up to show that every child matters by spreading more awareness about mental health, or other problems kids face today,” Sabourin says. “Also by talking, and having one-on-one conversations to let them know that they matter.”
Dilico also encourages people to wear a purple ribbon or purple outfit and to participate in Go Purple for Prevention Day on Oct. 27. Information about the 2021 Step Up campaign is posted online.