What is Reclaiming Connections?

The co-creation of Reclaiming Connections is an ongoing collaboration among urban and rural Indigenous communities and caregivers across British Columbia, including government stakeholders and Simon Fraser University. The development of culturally sensitive and safe parenting programs for Indigenous families is among the calls to action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Although programs are available for caregivers of young children, few address the needs of caregivers of teens. Together our goal is to co-create a program built on the foundations of Connect, an evidence-based and relationship focused program. The Connect program was shaped through over a decade of feedback from caregivers, clinicians and community partners. Over 450 facilitators have been trained in communities to lead the Connect program and it has been delivered to over 6,000 families across BC. Connect has also been offered in communities across Canada, Sweden and Italy. To date, there has been strong positive feedback from caregivers that the Connect program has been helpful to both them and their teens.

We began the process of collaborating with a number of communities in the fall of 2014, to integrate the voices of group facilitators and caregivers and the heritage of Indigenous peoples of Canada into Reclaiming Connections, recognizing and respecting the unique strengths, wisdom and cultural practices of caregiving in each community. Communities have been generous in sharing their experiences of the diverse historical effects of government policies and forced acculturation that threatened their rights and privileges to parent their children. Communities have also shared their understanding of the challenges faced by their teens and their commitment to, and ideas about, how best to support the health and well-being of their families and communities. Through their wisdom, language and connection to cultural heritage, community, and land, these conversations began the process of the co-creation of Reclaiming Connections.

In its current form, Reclaiming Connections is a 10-week program for caregivers of Indigenous youth (ages 8-18). Honouring the diversity of the makeup of Indigenous families, caregivers and communities , the group meets together each week for 1.5 hours with two trained facilitators. Before coming to Reclaiming Connections, caregivers meet individually with group facilitators, building relations, trust, and inspiring hope and motivation. Rooted in the concepts of relationships, adolescence and parenting, each session begins with a guiding principle that relates to and supports caregiving. The program does not tell caregivers how they should parent. Through supportive open discussion and the use of role-plays and reflection exercises, caregivers generate ideas about how best to support their teen and to also balance the need for understanding, safety and guidance. In this way, Reclaiming Connections promotes the belief that relationships, connections and communication are the foundations of caregiving.

Through continued collaboration and partnership with all levels of community, we continue to gather information and reflect on how to make Reclaiming Connections relevant and ensure cultural sensitivity and safety. Information gathered belongs to each community and with permission, new knowledge will be shared to support the continued co-creation of the program.

For more information about Reclaiming Connections groups for parents, please contact:

Siobhan Avery
Email: Siobhan.Avery@gov.bc.ca

For Facilitators, Clinicians, and Researchers interested in learning more about Reclaiming Connections, please contact:

Annette McComb
Email: AnnetteMcComb@shaw.ca

During the Reclaiming Connections Gathering in March 2017 the following illustrations were created by Colleen Stevenson who is a graphic recorder.

Indigenous and non-Indigenous community stakeholders from across British Columbia, Indigenous Elders and Chief, the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre, Dr. Marlene Moretti, Connect team staff, and the Reclaiming Connections working group gathered together as contributors sharing ideas, experiences, concerns and knowledge with a focus of delivering Reclaiming Connections to Indigenous communities. 

Participants examined the program’s core elements, cultural meaning, sensitivity, community fit and safety of the program, integrated through each community representative’s unique Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Community collaborators were encouraged to make suggestions, discussing any concerns they had, keeping in mind the next steps of the program. The goal was to co-create an inclusive community guide together, one that provides suggestions, invites expression within an open exchange of ideas and can be adapted to fit the cultural needs of each Indigenous community. The hope was to co-create a culturally sensitive, resilience and strength based program, one that is relationally focused, supporting Indigenous communities, families and youth.

We were very fortunate to have Graphic Storyteller, Colleen Stevenson join us and express our ideas and reflections in 3 beautiful murals, portraying our daily collaborations together.

“Graphic recording is the real time capturing of dialogue in visual form. Colleen works quickly and quietly to capture the key points and themes, creating an artful composition that engages both the mind and the emotion of participants.

Layers of information become clearly visible with attention to metaphor and culturally-specific imagery. After the event, the images are photographed and distributed to clients electronically for use as follow-up notes that rekindle the passion of the event.

The large format lends itself well to long-term planning, to representing complex issues holistically and to drawing out the contribution of each and every participant. Participants appreciate having information organized visually. They leave seeing that their thoughts are valued, their questions are honoured and their contributions are made visible to the room.”