All Children and Youth Thrive!
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Time to Take Action
By Angela Bellegarde, OKN’s Manager of Indigenous Strategy September 30, 2022 marks Canada’s second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a day all Canadians are called to commemorate and honour all Indigenous people who attended Residential Schools, especially those who did not make it home. It is a day to reflect but to also take meaningful actions in Canada’s reconciliation process. Many of us know to wear orange shirts on September 30th but do you know why? The movement was started by Phyllis Webstad, who was excited to wear her orange shirt on her first day of attendance at Residential school. It was taken away from her and was the beginning of the trauma she would face during her school years. We wear orange to be reminded of how Residential Schools stripped the dignity, culture, and family away from Indigenous people in Canada. Residential Schools Created an Identity Struggle Until Today I have recently spent time in Saskatchewan with my extended family. Our...
Youth Volunteerism: A Key to Thriving Neighourhoods
By Lily Viggiano, former Halton Youth Initiative Project Coordinator “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” – anonymous. This...
The OKN Data Portal: A Sandbox of Knowledge
By Juan Medina, Children’s Services Research Advisor, Halton Region I had no idea what to expect when I started working for the Halton Region two years ago. I was juggling with a lot of personal change – a new career, the first time working for government, and moving...
Developmental Relationships are the Foundations for Young People’s Success
By Steve O’Hearn, Transitional Youth Worker, Bridging the Gap Program I often reflect on my high school experience, whether it be the social circles, the extracurriculars, or the stressors of navigating the world as a teenager. I still remember, quite clearly, my...
Where do Halton Youth Find their Safe Space to Connect?
By: Lacey Swamy (She/They), Youth Leader, Writing from Treaty 22 Land For years, I thought I was white. Truth be told, I never felt ‘brown enough’ to identify as anything else. I’m half Guyanese and half British, making my skin tone definitely not white. It wasn’t...
The Power of an Apology
By Angela Bellegarde, OKN’s Manager of Indigenous Strategy Angela reflects on the Pope’s recent apology for the Catholic’s Church role in Canada’s Residential School System. It was a difficult week watching the news coverage of Indigenous representatives meeting with...
National Indigenous History Month: Reminiscence and Revelation of a Non-Indigenous Person
By Janice Robinson, Halton Children’s Aid Society executive director My journey of Truth is an attempt to reconcile what I thought was the truth about a place I lived in when I was young, with what I later learned when Indigenous Peoples, events, communities, and most...