Giwetashkad
Homelessness Prevention
Homelessness Prevention
Giwetashkad – Preventing and Alleviating Homelessness
“Giwetashkad” is an Anishnaabemowin (Ojibwe language) word and concept that can roughly be translated to “circle.” Because the Anishnaabemowin language is not primarily noun based, “circle” can only be understood as an action of moving in a circular fashion or as “coming back around.” As the root word “giiwe” means “home,” and is also the root of the word “giiwedinong” or the Northern direction – where the spirits go home – “Giwetashkad” is a term that evokes movement through the cycles of life, rebirth, and renewal.
The Giwetashkad Indigenous Homelessness Strategic Plan (2020-2023)
Giwetashkad began in 2017 as a strategic planning process to create an Indigenous homelessness strategy for London, where, as in other cities across Turtle Island, there is an alarming rate of Indigenous homelessness. The Strategy shares a community story of “home” based in local knowledge and history, intergenerational resiliencies, and the difficult realities of homelessness for Indigenous peoples in London.
Giwetashkad has evolved into a suite of Indigenous-led homelessness programs and services alongside education and advocacy to address and alleviate Indigenous homelessness in London. Using cultural knowledge and practices, the Strategy aims to promote truth and reconciliation and break the cycles of historic and continuing traumas faced by Indigenous peoples as a result of ongoing colonization.
Giwetashkad Implementation Evaluation: From Community-Based Strategic Plan to Indigenous-led Service Model
Atlohsa has evaluated Giwetashkad’s implementation outcomes to better understand the impact of the efforts under each Strategic Direction—highlighting successes, identifying challenges, and surfacing opportunities for growth and change.
This evaluation report summarizes the impacts and key learnings from the three-year implementation of the Giwetashkad Strategic Plan. It shows that Indigenous-led, culture-based services and supports are essential for Indigenous peoples experiencing various forms of homelessness, and that continued education and advocacy are also required to vanquish Indigenous homelessness. The four strategic directions of the Strategy remain relevant, and Giwetashkad is producing positive impacts for Indigenous peoples, community partners, and the broader community.
The Giwetashkad Strategy has become our foundation and the model that guides our work as we continue “bringing people home”.
For more information, please contact giwetashkad@atlohsa.com
About Indigenous Homelessness
About Indigenous Homelessness
“Indigenous homelessness is a human condition that describes First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals, families, or communities lacking stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means, or ability to acquire such housing.
Unlike the common colonialist definition of homelessness, Indigenous homelessness is not defined as lacking a structure of habitation; rather, it is more fully described and understood through a composite lens of Indigenous worldviews.
These include individuals, families, and communities isolated from their relationships to land, water, place, family, kin, each other, animals, cultures, languages, and identities. Importantly, Indigenous people experiencing these kinds of homelessness cannot culturally, spiritually, emotionally, or physically reconnect with their Indigeneity or lost relationships.”
(Aboriginal Standing Committee on Housing and Homelessness, 2012)
For more information, please contact giwetashkad@atlohsa.com