Welcome to Anishnebeg Outreach - AO CAN

Anishnabeg Outreach (AO) is on the road to realizing a fully functioning Indigenous-focused Ontario Early Years Family and Child Center and we are planning to launch midsummer. We have partnered with Waterloo Region to deliver our services and we are funded by the province’s Journey Together initiative. Learning from the YMCA and other early years partners, we are intending to offer common best practices while delivering life long learning opportunities and social space for families with a special emphasis on supporting those critical first few years of life.  We will also be providing Indigenous led and developed programs associated with traditional and land-based wisdom and skills.  We will be relying on the ongoing guidance of Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers to deliver these programs.

The AO Family Centre intends to fill a void in the region and provide more services geared toward healing, wellness, spirit building and empowerment for Indigenous families: wholistically and inclusively. It’s an exciting time for First Nations, Metis and Inuit in the region to learn, gather and celebrate our heritage and our common challenges.

Our vision is to make this a beacon for all First Nation, Metis and Inuit living here now and into the future.  Waterloo region is a growing and dynamic place with a diverse Indigenous population who are raising families in various circumstances. We plan to provide services along a spectrum of needs and offer many supports that encourage cultural resurgence while instilling a sense of belonging, pride and confidence for the nuclear and extended families of our youngest members.

As they saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child” and our family centre intends to be a village of caring and trustworthy staff delivering the best culture-based programs we can design, develop and offer. We will be a community of professional service providers who care profoundly about our young people and who understand the challenges that come with living and raising our families as Indigenous peoples today in urban centres. We intend to serve you with open hearts, minds and resources all under one roof for all participating families.

Do you think you can help bring this idea from dream to reality?  Are you passionate about children and a forward thinker? Are you a RECE? Then you may be very interested in this opportunity and the right person for the job. For the posting click here.

We are looking forward to meeting our first Early ON Child and Family Centre Supervisor! These are exciting times for the new AO and for all Indigenous Families in Waterloo Region.