The Wellness Teams Comprehensive Needs Assessment, June 2019,[1] initiated by First Peoples Wellness Circle in collaboration with members of Mental Wellness Teams from across Turtle Island, indicated the need to develop and implement a strategy focused on supporting the well-being of the First Nations Mental Wellness Workforce (FNMWW), which includes Mental Wellness Teams, Crisis Support Teams, and other specialized wellness workforces (such as the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program).
This Workforce Wellness Strategy aims to:
- Support the wellness of the workers who comprise the First Nations Mental Wellness Workforce who serve First Nation communities and their members,
- Be reflective of those workers and the current realities they work in; and,
- Contain strategies that can be implemented in meaningful ways
Informed by the workers who comprise it, the Workforce Wellness Strategy provides pathways, strategies, and recommendations to enhance the well-being of the First Nations Mental Wellness Workforce, which serves First Nations communities. The process to arrive at this strategy was a nationwide engagement and included:
- Being guided by a working group comprised primarily of members of the First Nations Mental Wellness Workforce (FNMWW) to provide culturally grounded, community-driven guidance and feedback relating to design, implementation, interpretation, and analysis
- A literature review of the most current publications around Mental Wellness from an Indigenous perspective (including international works)
- A nationwide survey directed toward the FNMWW
- Nationwide focus groups to expand on the literature review and survey
Through this journey, several meaningful themes emerged, which formed the framework for the Workforce Wellness Strategy (represented in the dark blue circle of the visual):
- We all have a responsibility to ensure worker wellness and create an environment to support overall wellness;
- Indigenous wellness workforces are unique given their connection to family, community, culture and inter-relationships;
- Safety and safe work environments are critical in supporting wellness; and
- Support of all three Wellness Focus Areas is necessary to enhance worker wellness, which are:
- Individual
- Organizational and Environmental
- Systemic and Political
Each of the three Wellness Focus Areas (represented in the light blue areas of the visual) are unpacked further with themes, descriptions, and specific strategies. The strategies listed are recommendations for supporting wellness at all levels. They are not listed in order of importance, do not need to be implemented in a specific order, and do not represent an exhaustive list. The strategies listed in each theme aim to support the wellness of the FNMWW and the overall implementation of the Workforce Wellness Strategy.
The Workforce Wellness Strategy is guided by the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework (FNMWCF)[2]. The themes of hope, purpose, meaning, and belonging can be seen in the white band in the visual. These themes are connected to the three Wellness Focus Areas that are aligned within the visual. The importance of Kinship, Elders, Clan, and Community found in the FNMWCF is woven throughout the strategy. In addition, the FNMWCF Implementation Guide[3] is referenced throughout the strategy as a resource and tool that can support the implementation of specific themes and strategies.
The Workforce Wellness Strategy is expected to be available to the First Nations Mental Wellness Workforce in 2023.
If you have questions, comments, or reflections about the Workforce Wellness Strategy, please contact:
Keith Martin
Workforce Development Lead
First Peoples Wellness Circle
Keith.Martin@fpwc.ca
[1] First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework. Thunderbird. (2015). https://thunderbirdpf.org/?resources=first-nations-mental-wellness-continuum-framework
[2] First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework Implementation Guide. 2018. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://thunderbirdpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FNMWC_implementation_guide.pdf
[3] First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework Implementation Guide. 2018. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://thunderbirdpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FNMWC_implementation_guide.pdf
