Prevention Services

Prevention Services: Keeping families together

QBOW believes that all our Nation’s children are invaluable; they are our future.

Our prevention services focus on early intervention – promoting healthier communities and supporting parents and families so that the homes our children live in are healthy and safe.

We partner with the leaders, Elders and youth in our communities to create prevention strategies, programming and services tailored to address their child welfare concerns. Culture and tradition are imbedded in all of the work that we do.

Our prevention programs and services aim to:

  • Encourage healthy, trusting and respectful relationships between parents, youth and community members.
  • Encourage and promote independence, self-awareness and self‐esteem and empower youth to make healthy and positive choices.
  • Recognize our Elders as important knowledge keepers, and as communal, cultural, and client supports within our communities.
  • Address mental health issues and provide healthy outlets for children and youth to relieve stress.
  • Promote positive self and cultural identity through cultural activities and teachings.
  • Provide encouragement, through sober and healthy living through culture enrichment.
  • Promote physical well-being and wellness and address issues like drug/alcohol/substance abuse, domestic violence, gang affiliation/violence, Indian Residential Schools trauma/healing, health concerns, mental health awareness, safety awareness, etc.
  • Provide learning and resources that relate to real-life experiences.

Our prevention programs and services goals focus on:

  • Family and kinship bonding: We reinforce and encourage familial and kinship bonding within the family unit and provide opportunities for families to participate in activities that promote positive and healthy lifestyles.
  • Cultural reinforcement: Cultural reinforcement and inclusion is crucial to the development of a positive self-identity, and strengthening of kinship, familial, and communal ties.
  • Learning: Programming is focused on parenting, youth issues, health, historical education, and personal development. We provide opportunities for our community members to learn about important subjects that are relevant to them.
  • Health: We use an Indigenous holistic approach to health that incorporates physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health for children, parents and families.
  • Community support: We believe that developing good working and trusting relationships with our community members contributes to building healthy communities.
  • Children and Youth: Many of our children and youth programs focus on addressing the needs, strengths, and concerns of youth within each of our communities and includes topics such as youth empowerment, physical activity, drug & alcohol awareness, gang awareness, and the promotion of overall individual well-being.
  • Parents: Our goal is to deliver parenting programming and services that contribute to the reunification of families and build healthy families and communities.

Prevention Programs and Services

Below is a short list of the prevention programs, services, events, and activities that we work to provide to children and families in each of our communities:

  • Learning programs and presentations on issues including:
    • youth empowerment, child safety and well-being, family budgeting, suicide/mental health, domestic violence, youth mental health, traditional parent, parenting roles, intergenerational trauma, MMIW awareness, art therapy, etc.
  • Youth Activities including:
    • head roach making, ribbon skirt making, regalia making, drum making, beading, drawing, painting, movie nights, swimming trips, jigging classes, star quilt making, moss bag making, babysitting courses, etc.
  • Children’s Activities including:
    • bike safety, art contests, etc.
  • Family Activities including:
    • Back to School BBQ’s, Grandparent’s Day, community BBQ’s, golf for Father’s, holiday events, candle honouring veterans, National Addictions Awareness Week Round Dance, etc.)
  • Elder’s Appreciation events

QBOW Prevention Staff

Southern Office (Fort Qu’Appelle)

  • Yvette Cappo – Prevention Supervisor
  • Marcella Yuzicappi – Prevention Worker (Standing Buffalo)
  • Rodney Isnana – Cultural Liaison (Standing Buffalo)

Northern Offices (Beardy’s & Okemasis and Wahpeton Dakota Nations)

  • Sub Office – Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation
    • Joanne Brittain – Prevention Worker
    • Tyrone Smallchild – Prevention Worker
  • Sub Office – Wahpeton Dakota Nation
    • Beverley Waditaka – Prevention Worker
    • Jeremy Waditaka – Prevention Worker