CANADA
Kiana Cardinal's best friend used to come over to her family's house
to play. They would do normal things, like annoy Cardinal's older
sisters and then take off running and laughing to the trees outside,
where they'd try to build forts.
Then one day when they were
still elementary-school age, Cardinal's best friend was gone. The other
little girl was a child in care. She had lived with her siblings in a
group home on Alexander First Nation.
Cardinal remembers hearing
that her best friend had gone back to live with her mother. Years later,
when Cardinal was starting high school, she heard the news: her old
friend had gotten in with a bad crowd and was dead.
"There were
no supports," Cardinal said. "There were no better systems in place to
make sure it was a stable home for her to go back to and to make sure it
was a safe environment."
Cardinal, now 20 years old, is the youth
engagement officer for the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations.
She's part of a team that also includes representation for Treaty Seven
and Treaty Eight, and which is facilitating a conference on
transitioning youth out of the care system.
Nearly 100 youth
from First Nations across Alberta will meet in Edmonton between Monday
and Wednesday to – for the first time – give their opinions on what
supports are necessary to succeed.
'A real vulnerable
time'
The provincial child and youth advocate, Del
Graff, said there's a gap when it comes to the youngsters aging out of
the system.
"Transitioning into independence, that can be a real
vulnerable time," said Graff, who will speak at the conference.
"Transitions are difficult for young adults in the best of
circumstances, but when they struggled with being in care … it can be
that much more."
While Indigenous youth make up 10 per cent of
the population of Alberta, Graff said they make up 70 per cent of the
children in provincial care.
"Because of that
over-representation, we've got to have some dialogue with those young
people," said Graff, who is Métis himself and has firsthand experience
with the care system. "What would make it so they didn't have to grow up
in a system that's not meant for children to grow up in?
"Those
of us who have had experience with adversity certainly do have some
understanding of what that feels like. We've got to be able to learn
from the young people and that's really part of what this conference is
all about."
By Roberta Bell
30 April 2018
