(Ottawa, ON) October 15, 2021 – The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is pleased to receive a $20,000 grant from the Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund to support the development of an online training session for those providing mental health services to Indigenous Survivors.

The Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant will support the LHF in its efforts to provide front-line workers who work with Indigenous Peoples the basics of Indigenous history along with highlights about trauma therapy that complement Indigenous spiritual ways of healing. The LHF will also develop On-the-Land Cultural Workshops and videos to add to a collection of mental health resources across Canada as part of a toolkit that will be developed in Ottawa. This toolkit will be distributed across Canada to more than 600 First Nations, Inuit communities and Metis settlements, listing resources for every province and territory with online cultural supports available to Survivors and intergenerational Survivors.

“The LHF is so thankful for the Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant because now more than ever, Indigenous Peoples need support from the triggers from each new recovery of children’s remains outside of Residential Schools, and this grant will go a long way to support meaningful healing and wellness for Indigenous Peoples,” said Teresa Edwards, Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel.

This project will significantly contribute to the capacity-building of the community since it offers a Train-the-Trainer Trauma Informed session for people who work with hundreds of Indigenous Peoples. This project will eventually help thousands of Indigenous Peoples who access the services that those trainers provide. Trainers can share the materials with other service providers and adapt them for the specific needs of the Indigenous Peoples in that area to make them more culturally-appropriate and meaningful for Indigenous clients.

“Bell Let’s Talk is pleased to support the Legacy of Hope Foundation’s mental health training to support Indigenous Survivors,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “The Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund provides grants to mental health organizations in communities throughout the country, including those working to expand access to mental health care to Indigenous Peoples who need support in their communities.”

Bell Let’s Talk promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 21 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School Systems and subsequent Sixties Scoop on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to promote hope and healing in Canada. The LHF works to encourage people to address discrimination and injustices in order to contribute to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples and to foster Reconciliation.

The LHF has 25 exhibitions that are available for loan for free. Our recent exhibition, Escaping Residential Schools: Running for their Lives, is now available through an animated virtual video, along with the Survivors’ Oral Testimonies. The exhibition examines the experience of Survivors of the Residential School System and raises awareness on the impacts it has on our communities. For more information on the project, please visit: https://legacyofhope.ca/project/escapingrs/ The LHF is working on making its other exhibitions also available online.

The LHF also has curricula from K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Training and Workshops, and Podcasts all aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the links to the high rates of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, etc. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding so as to eliminate racism and discrimination.
To donate, please email donations@legacyofhope.ca Our charitable is #863471520RR0001.To purchase any resource or curricula, or an Orange T-Shirt, or for more information about the LHF visit www.legacyofhope.ca.