Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots (CTD) is an innovative project funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada*, which seeks to promote the mental health of urban Aboriginal youth and families by mobilizing the community to address risk and protective factors influencing mental health. The project is led provincially by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), BC Division and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, implemented locally through Friendship Centres and CMHA branches in three British Columbian urban Aboriginal communities: Kelowna, Port Alberni and Quesnel.

To improve urban Aboriginal mental health, CTD utilizes a model known as Communities that Care, an evidence-based community prevention system that uses a public health approach to promote positive health outcomes. The CTC model mobilizes the community to form formal coalitions, measure risk and protective factors impacting mental health, implement evidence-based programs, evaluate the program outcomes, and lobby for policy change to reduce the risk factors and enhance protective factors in a particular community.

Creating Communities that Care Artwork

The art on the right is designed by Aboriginal artist Jamin Zuroski, representing culturally relevant adaptations for Connecting the Dots. According to the artist:

• Hearts represent the love for our work, children, and communities.

• Faces (top) represent the need for strong communication.

• Faces (centre) represent the community.

• Thumbs/Books represent our journey. 

• Baggage tags represent the stereo types and racism that have and still exist in our society.

• Salmon heads represent our intuition, determination and vision for the future.

• Roots represent the foundation we continue to build and strengthen under the pressures and barriers we encounter every day. 

• Water represent the natural resource that provides us with knowledge and sustainability.

• Storming (Background color) represents the space where we need to listen, understand, and adapt to our different languages.

Project Goals

• To initiate and sustain a long-term partnership between CMHA and Friendship Centres

• To improve urban Aboriginal mental health

• To adapt the Communities that Care model in an urban Aboriginal context

Provincial Partners

Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), BC Division is a charity which promotes the mental health of British Columbians and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness. There are 19 CMHA branches across BC that serve over 100 communities.

BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres
The BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) is an umbrella organization for 23 member Friendship Centres across the Province providing services to BC’s urban Aboriginal population. The mission of the BCAAFC is to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal people by supporting the activities of Friendship Centres in BC.

_{*The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.}