4 local charities now have 'navigators' to help families understand region's child welfare system

A new program has been launched to help Black, Indigenous and people in racialized groups to better navigate the child welfare system in Waterloo region.

Four "system navigator" positions have been created at four local charities:

• Adventure4Change in Waterloo.
• Kinbridge Community Association in Cambridge.
• African Family Revival Organization.
• Healing of the Seven Generations.

The program is for anyone in the community, but specifically focuses on Black, Indigenous and racialized families because those members of the community are overrepresented in the local child welfare system, a release about the program said.

The system navigator positions were paid for by the Resilience Project, funded by the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation and Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region Foundation.

Dr. Jill Stoddart is the director of research, development, and outcomes at Family and Children's Services. She said in the pressrelease that thenavigator program "is not about people learning to navigate the system, but the system learning to navigate the needs of people."

Building relationships

Jeremy Horne, executive director of Adventure4Change,sees the program as much more than addressing the child welfare system.

He says the system navigator they have in place at their small charity which focuses on child, youth and family poverty and offers various programs like tutoring and knitting circles to build relationships is there to build connections with people in the community they serve, which is largely made up of newcomers to Canada.

The system navigatorcan answer one-off questions like where a person can go for health care if they don't have a doctor, buy grocery productsthey're more familiar with or how to get help with a resume.

But they can also address bigger concerns, for exampleif someone is facinga problem with their landlord. Another need might be tohelpteens get the most out of their high school experience beyond just attending classes.

"That person will grow. Their expertise will grow. So when somebody comes in with a housing issue one day a few weeks from now, the navigator will be more acutely aware of what the resources are and how to help the person," Horne said.

'We want you here'

Horne says his organization helps a lot of newcomers to Canada. Althoughthey may be happy to be in Waterloo region, they're also very confused how to move around the community. The system navigator can answer those questions, and building those relationships ultimatelybenefits the community, he said.

"We don't gain anything by holding people back, and we certainly don't gain by holding youth back. They have an awful lot to contribute and enrich our city and our region if we can just help them realize that they're important parts of it," he said.

"And I think that's partly what the navigator can do. [Say] 'You're wanted. Yeah, we want you here. We didn't just bring you this country to help you escape a situation. We want you here and we want you to make your best contribution.'"