Secwepemc Child and Family Services to begin offering CLBC services

Photo: CLBC

Carmen Hance, vice-president of Secwepemc Child and Family Services board of directors and Community Living BC CEO Ross Chilton signed an agreement on Sept. 15.

A Kamloops First Nations service provider has signed a unique agreement with a provincial Crown corporation, which will allow disabled Indigenous people in the region to access support and inclusion services.

The memorandum of understanding between the Secwepemc Child and Family Services Agency and Community Living BC endeavours to offer CLBC-funded services to members of seven First Nations bands.

“This agreement is important because it demonstrates how we can collaborate with Indigenous partners to create culturally appropriate relationships,” Ross Chilton, CLBC CEO, said in a news release.

“At CLBC, we’ve been building toward this milestone for years, by growing our Indigenous relations team and working with our Indigenous advisory committee and elders advisory council to acknowledge the harms of our colonial past and work toward advancing reconciliation. Now we are partnering with SCFSA to build capacity for the Secwepemc nation to be self-determining over their programs, services and policies.”

Five people are already receiving services under the agreement.

“We’re working to clear the path to remove barriers for people with disabilities,” Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Sheila Malcolmson said in a news release.

“Indigenous people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Kamloops can now stay in their own home communities, supported and surrounded by Secwepemc culture and teachings.”

SCFSA was incorporated in 1999 by chiefs representing the Tk’emlups, Skeetchestn, Simpcw, Adams Lake, Bonaparte, Neskonlith and Whispering Pines bands.

CLBC is a Crown corporation that funds community living supports for adults with developmental disabilities and adults with intellectual disabilities.