BIINDIGEN WELL-BEING CENTRE
Location
Hamilton ON
Client
dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, McMaster University Department of Family Medicine, City of Hamilton
Type
New Construction
Status
Proposed
Size
The Biindigen Well-Being Centre is a collaboration / circle of established partners who have come together with a shared goal to establish a new and innovative Indigenous-led Well-Being centre in the McQuesten neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario. This will be a new community hub of integrated health, family, social and housing services.
The main partners and supporters are the De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, McMaster University Department of Family Medicine and the City of Hamilton. They are strongly supported by the McQuesten Community Planning Team, and the Hamilton Community Foundation. An array of other Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations are active supporters intending to lend their programs and networks to making the Biindigen Well-Being Centre a true and comprehensive hub of health and social supports and services. Each partner has come to this circle to increase meaningful access to culturally relevant programs and services for Indigenous people in Hamilton. The Centre will also provide primary health care services to all residents in the neighbourhood where it will be located - regardless of culture or back- ground. Housing a McMaster Department of Family Medicine teaching unit, it will also act as a lively academic centre of shared immersion in best practice care, learning and research in Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and well-being.
The concept of co-location provides the opportunity for partners to work within a client-centred continuum of Indigenous and non-Indigenous service providers to meet the needs of the community, informing and enriching each others’ practices while uniquely meeting the needs of the community. In this way, all services and programs of the Centre will be informed by meaningful integration of Indigenous and non-Indigenous approaches to health and well-being.
The Biindigen Well-Being Centre will address significant and growing gaps in care, bring care and services into the community and help to alleviate pressures on hospitals. It will ensure high quality care in a culturally safe and respectful environment.