Mental Health & Addiction Programs

Adult Mental Health and Addictions (MHA) Program and Services

The KCA Services for Adult MHA is operated under an adaptation of a Case Management Model and incorporates an Anishinaabe Worldview that offers guidance in a client led process through challenges that may require a Holistic Approach to strengthening connections to self, family, and community. In addition to this support, clinical observation and conclusions are supplemental in strengthening positive client outcome with regard to care continuum. The clinical support is provided by outreach, referral, and advocacy with local health care providers that include Doctors, Nurses, and Psychiatrists.

Mental Health Case Management (Age 16+)

Case Management services are provided to the members of the community in a manner that maintains the client’s right to choose, respects culture & spiritual beliefs/traditions, respects the person’s needs and values, develops personal strengths and abilities, advocates for client’s rights and provides support as long as it is required.

Community Treatment (Age 12+)

Case managers provide outreach community-based treatment, counselling and aftercare in a culturally sensitive manner that incorporates Traditional healing.

Pre-arrest Diversion Program (Age 12+)

This program was developed to reduce the probability of contact with the legal system for those living with mental illness and/or addiction issues.  Service delivery is based on the case management model with an emphasis on illness stabilization, life skills development, building social and family support systems, education and advocacy and restorative justice.

Bail Residency Program (Age 18+)

This program, through a service agreement with Ne-Chee Friendship Centre and KDSB, provides insular mental health counselling, life skills workshops, group led land-based and culturally appropriate activities to mandated clients that have had exposure or are currently interacting with the Legal Community. The goal of this program is to augment rehabilitation and re-integration into community when client has met all of their respective legal mandates.

Social & Cultural Wellness Project

Program Objectives:

  • Provide direct culturally appropriate group and one on one training to inmates
  • Create a foundation based on Culture, Traditional Teachings and Language
  • Deliver bi cultural education on Mental Health and Wellness
  • Train life stabilization skills with the goal of successful reintegration into community
  • Build on the strengths of individuals and be responsive to needs
  • Emphasize development of greater self awareness and personal efficacy
  • Focus upon enhancement of resiliency
  • Engage in and provide outreach and aftercare services

Short-Term Crisis Counseling

Program Objectives:

  • Deliver culturally safe, trauma informed clinical crisis intervention
  • Focused counselling and debriefing for individual, family, groups
  • Stabilize identified crisis situations
  • Referrals – can be self, family, community leader, first responder, community agency/service provider, community member, third party

Mobile Youth Crisis & Outreach

Program Objectives: In partnership with the Kenora Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police and Treaty Three Police Service, KCA’s Youth Mobile Crisis Workers provide crisis intervention support and outreach for youth (ages 12-24 years) in the City of Kenora and surrounding First Nation communities.

Child & Youth Case Management

Program Objectives:

  • Case Management Model for children & youth (ages 0-18 years)
    • Direct counselling to clients and families
    • Education on Mental Health and Substance abuse concerns
    • Support and advocacy for the client
    • Linking client to specialized services ie. Psychiatric assessment
    • Linking clients and families to cultural and spiritual supports
  • Community Collaboration – our goal is to engage in partnership with community service providers to assist, support and empower children, families and the community

Youth in Transition Program

Program Objectives:

  • Support Indigenous youth in transitioning from child welfare system into adulthood
  • Assess and determine needs of the youth
  • Assist in developing goals they would like to achieve
  • Identify, assess and navigate adult services such as: Health and Mental Health services, Life skills training/housing, Employment Services and training, and Education

Kenora Youth Wellness Hub

The Youth Wellness Hub (YWH) is a multi-year funded project through the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, in which KCA is the Lead Agency, amongst a network of partners representing an array of social services across sectors such as Education, Employment & Training, Mental Health & Substance Use, Culture, and Primary Care. The objective of the YWH is to provide an integrated youth service site where all youth (12-25 years) are able to access the right service, at the right time, based on what the needs are.

Youth Outreach Worker Program

The role of YOW staff include creating positive opportunities for at-risk youth, helping youth prepare themselves to connect to support services like therapy, as well as being a support for families with respect to their youth. YOW staff are both Peer Supports and Cultural Liaisons, helping youth where they are in themselves, and connecting youth to culture and ceremony as ways to heal and understand themselves. The YOW Program serves youth between the ages of 12-25 years, and is delivered in KCA’s 9 member First Nation communities.

Support Services

Program Objectives:

  • Intake – completes intake screening as well as crisis intervention for new clients
  • Data management for electronic client records
  • Training/Workshops – ASIST, SafeTALK, Traditional Parenting, Setting Boundaries, Grief & Loss, Elder Abuse, Understanding Trauma, Suicide Prevention & Self-Harm, Conflict Resolution & Team Building, Substance Abuse, Anger Management, Intergenerational Trauma & Resilience, Healthy Relationships

Binesi Waziswon Healing and Treatment Services

Binesi Waziswon is an Anishinaabe-led residential youth treatment program that blends both traditional healing, and western approaches to treatment of complex mental health needs and is situated on our 327-acre Youth and Family Wellness Camp water-front property located approximately 15 minutes outside Kenora, Ontario.

Binesi Waziswon aims to bridge the care continuum between Schedule 1-Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Units, and community-based MHA programs for youth in the North region, specifically those aged 12 to 17. This voluntary, live-in stabilization and treatment program offers a safe, supportive environment for clients who may be stepping up from community-based supports, where without more intensive therapeutic interventions, will likely lead to an admission to an inpatient unit. Alternatively, youth accessing this program may be stepping down from an inpatient unit but have an identified need for additional support as they transition back to home, and community.

Binesi Waziswon is funded by the Ministry of Health (MOH) & Jordans Principle, and licensed by the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (MCCSS). Binesi Waziswon offers 8 beds with 2 beds funded through Jordan’s Principle being reserved for Kenora Chiefs Advisory’s 8 Member Communities, the other 6 beds funded by the Ministry of Health are open to the Ontario Health North Region.

Our interdisciplinary team, comprising frontline care staff, care coordinators, counsellors, therapists, Anishinaabe cultural and traditional healing staff, primary care providers, and other specialists such as psychiatry, will provide comprehensive services. Psychiatric support is accessible through care pathways with Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) and Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre (TBRHSC), as well as access to psychiatry services.

The program’s objectives are as follows:

– Offering a safe, home-like setting for youth in need of stabilization.

– Providing programming, counselling, assessment, care, and life skills.

– Fostering skills and knowledge in healing practices rooted in Anishinaabe ways of wellness, including a connection to the land.

– Implementing a holistic approach with warm hand-offs to community-based supports or further in-patient care.

Our team consists of:

Child and Youth Workers
Bicultural Counsellor
Youth Counsellor
Care Coordinators
Operations Manager
Land-Based Manager
Clinical Manager
Director
Psychiatry through Partnerships

Contact us:

All referrals begin with a General referral form to intake@kenorachiefs.org.

For general inquiries, please contact us at binesi.waziswon@kenorachiefs.org.