ABOUT
Mamowichihitowin
Mission statement
To enhance community healing by providing quality, evidence-based, culturally relevant treatment to Indigenous and Non-Indigenous families who have been affected by sexual violence.
Who the Program Serves
All My Relations
(kakiyaw niwahkomakanak)
The Mamowichihitowin Program is inclusive, and consistent with its grounding in a holistic healing philosophy and approach. As a result, there is diversity in the age, gender, and ethnicity of clients. As a non-profit agency, we receive specific funding from different sources, and each has its own requirements. Some of which include:
People who have experienced or perpetrated sexual violence
Individuals/families with children (up to 18) who have experienced neglect or abuse
Indigenous (Status/non-status/Metis/Inuit) people affected by colonial trauma
Photo Courtesy of Larissa Delorme
Our Core Values & Beliefs
ABOUT
People
Every person has the right to be free and connected to others and to the Earth
Every person who has experienced trauma has the right to have the support to heal
Every person has gifts and deserves the opportunity to develop these gifts (their medicine)
Every person has an innate spiritual connection
All people deserve respect
People are diverse and we are inclusive of all ways of being (culture, religion, sexual orientation, sex, or gender)
Everyone has the capacity to heal from sexual trauma and colonial trauma
No one should live in an abusive environment
Holistic treatment requires attention to all four parts of self (medicine wheel) - the body, mind, heart, and spirit. Our interventions go beyond managing risk and treating trauma and focus on overall wellness/quality of life
Wellness is not a destination that you arrive at, it is a lifelong journey to be maintained
The therapeutic relationship creates a safe foundation for the healing process
The medicine wheel teachings are a holistic tool that assist clinical work and help provide a decolonized perspective and are meant for ALL people
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Therapeutic
Treatment
Healing requires a systemic focus (inter-connectedness). We are all part of families, communities, and systems that influence who we are and how we behave
Treatment is more than talk therapy; it is also experiential and includes stories, narratives, written word, body experiences (visual, auditory, etc.)
In keeping it simple, accessible, and responsive to different needs (e.g. cognitive and emotional capacities)
Effective treatment balances accountability with compassion
That the clinical work must come from the heart
ABOUT
Treatment for Sexual Violence
Treatment is led by the survivor
There are different types of sexual offenders that range from low to high risk, which results in different treatment goals/needs
Sexual offending behaviour that is a by-product of trauma and not having one’s needs met. This trauma occurs at many levels, an individual level, a cultural level, and a community level. The culmination of these serves to negatively impact personal functioning and behaviour
Sexual abuse trauma has a deep impact on an individual’s medicine wheel in all areas
Sexual abuse needs to be taken seriously at all levels
Interventions must consider how all family members are impacted and how to help each family member heal
It is important to advocate for families to retain connections in safe and healthy ways, with or without reunification
In considering and attending to the historical trauma of people and their communities and how this relates to sexual violence
Regarding those who have sexually offended:
Mamowichihitowin does work with people who have engaged in sexual offending behaviour when it is within a family context, (incest or intra-familial offenders). The program does not typically accept individuals whose sexual offenses are non-familial in nature or those individuals who have been identified as high risk individuals and who engage in predatory types of offending behaviours. We recognize that every situation and individual is unique, so can make exceptions if it is in the best interest of the survivor/community.
If you are unsure if this program is a fit for you, please reach out to our team for an intake call and we can determine your eligibility. If our program is not a good fit for your needs, we will help you find other resources that would be a better fit.
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