Non-status residential school survivors no longer qualify for free counselling: health authority – CBC
Apr 09, 2024
Mental health-care provider worries non-status clients will have ‘nowhere to go’
Care providers are worried about the future of mental health care for residential school survivors who don’t have Indian status following a change in eligibility for counselling services funded by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA).
Effective immediately, only Indigenous people who have registered First Nation status will be eligible to register for counselling services, according to the FNHA.
Olivia Palomino, co-founder of Metro Vancouver Indigenous Counselling, said that while a change was expected, she is concerned that non-status Indigenous people will be left behind.
“By stating that they will only work with status individuals they are perpetuating the stereotype that there are deserving and undeserving Indigenous people,” she said.
