How Anishnabeg Outreach is providing a pathway for Indigenous-focused mental health services – Cambridge Times
The Virtual Healing Lodge allows Indigenous people to manage their own healing, says Stephen Jackson
When Stephen Jackson first became the executive director of Anishnabeg Outreach in 2017, he knew that healing and mental health services would be an important part of the organization’s mandate.
In an era where mass graves of Indigenous children are being discovered in Canada and a pandemic rages on, Anishnabeg Outreach is providing a pathway for Indigenous-focused mental health services.
In 2021, many of the programs that Anishnabeg Outreach offered in partnership with Ontario Health West incorporated Indigenous healing practices with traditional mental health care. The program incorporated one-on-one counselling with healing lodges and teaching lodges, which includes teachings and ceremonies from Indigenous elders with an emphasis placed on interaction with nature.
