In January 2019, Keeping Families Together (KFT), a grassroots peer-led support group was born. Over the comfort of food, parents who are dealing with the child welfare system come together in a place where they can openly tell their story and vent confidentially, where there are no barriers, where attendance is not taken and there is no sharing outside of the circle.
Within this space, there is an understanding of the unjust systemic barriers some parents face: the facts, the mistreatments, the violent history of colonialism, and the intergenerational trauma related to disconnection from land, culture, family, language, and identity. There is open sharing and ongoing dialogue, education and reminders about parent, child and family rights such as Federal Indigenous Child Welfare Bill C-92, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) Inquiry, affordable housing, and foster care settlements.
KFT collaborates to increase knowledge and awareness of the current child welfare system while asking:
How do we put a stop to the injustices that are continuing to happen to families in our community?
How can we work to fix the systems that should help us and not hold us back?
How can we most effectively connect with service providers whose hearts and minds are committed to the same goals and dreams?
KFT provides a link to support and advocacy with parents' consent. Advocates act in solidarity with parents and support them to find programs, attend court and witness child apprehensions. Support is offered to make sure parents know that they are not alone. KFT creates community and connection as parents seek to move forward with the support their families deserve.
KFT aims to provide preventive community care and support in place of unnecessary child apprehensions. Proactive and innovative in their approach, KFT hosts circles where influential guests such as Jennifer Charlesworth, BC’s representative for Children and Youth.