COVID-19 Grants: N'Amerind (London) Friendship Centre

COVID-19 Grants: N'Amerind Friendship Centre

The N’Amerind Friendship Centre is a non-profit organization committed to the promotion of physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual well-being of native people and in particular, urban native people. For many Indigenous Peoples living in London, the N’Amerind Friendship Centre is a safe, non-judgmental place where they can seek support for everything from pre-natal care to accessing employment and training opportunities.

Personal, face-to-face contact is a key component of every N’Amerind program, and with the pandemic forcing them to shut their doors, this essential aspect of their programming has been lost. And while social isolation is an issue in and of itself, many clients also lost access to food when N’Amerind’s regular programming ceased.

“Virtually every N’Amerind program involves offering food to our clients,” says Al Day, Executive Director of N’Amerind Friendship Centre. “Food is part and parcel of Indigenous activities. In some instances the food we provide to clients is very important from a socialization perspective as well as essential to the client’s personal well-being in terms of nutrition and food security support.”

Thanks to a grant from the LCF COVID-19 Response Fund, N’Amerind was able to build a partnership with At^lohsa Family Healing Services, Southwestern Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC), Mnaasged Child and Family Services and Middlesex London Health Unit to prepare, cook and deliver hot meals to urban Indigenous community members. This partnership allowed the agencies to react quickly and respond immediately to the needs of the community while building capacity.

“N’Amerind has been able to maintain a level of interaction with our clients and also provide food security support to Indigenous Peoples in need,” says Al. “We’ve been able to ensure sanitization is followed throughout the food preparation cycle and to sanitize the facilities after the meal cycle is complete thanks to this grant.”

While COVID-19 may have created some temporary challenges, N’Amerind’s nimble, collaborative response has allowed them to continue serving their clients safely. Contributions from the broader community have also been a stabilizing force for N’Amerind, facilitating their flexibility and allowing them to adapt.

“We’ve been very fortunate and have had individuals reach out to us with donations of all kinds,” says Al. “It’s heartening to know that our community has so many individuals with the means, ability, and will to help people in need across our society.”

If you’d like to find out more on how you can support N’Amerind Friendship Centre, please call 519-672-0131 or send an email to reception@namerind.on.ca.