Accessing Services Across Jurisdictions

2012 UAKN Research Paper Series

Excerpt

This paper contributes to our understanding of the challenges around accessing services across jurisdictions and explores what might constitute culturally appropriate ISD. It has also put forward practice and policy recommendations that would improve urban Aboriginal peoples’ abilities to access services across jurisdictions. Clearly, success moving forward is predicated on: fostering and strengthening relationships that enhance services for Aboriginal people; and breaking down the extant silo mentality that prevents cooperation between and amongst service providers. What’s encouraging about this picture is that the urban Aboriginal people and the city of Fredericton, with a little help from the province, have everything at hand to address many of the gaps and disjunctions/duplications cited. Taking action on these gaps and disjunctions is only a matter of political and community will. Furthermore, the proposed provincial portal and Urban Aboriginal Family Resource Centre, as well as the key take home messages around optimizing communication, networks and partnerships, and identifying and leveraging local resources and capacity — will be of interest to urban Aboriginal communities right across Canada.