Portage Friendship Centre Housing, Inc. 

Portage Friendship centre housing Inc is a not-for-profit organization focused on providing affordable housing to Aboriginal families throughout Portage la Prairie and its surrounding area.  The PFC-H Inc was established in 1989 with about (8) homes that were available to help Aboriginal families through their transitional phase from a reverse setting to an urbanized setting.

While the federal government stopped funding social housing programs across Canada in 1993, the PFC-H Inc was able to purchase twelve (12) more housing units and a fourteen (14) unit complex to accommodate more families, as during this era the organization had noticed an increased number of Aboriginal families moving off their reservations into the Portage la prairie community.  Today the PFC-Housing Inc. has a total of thirty-four (34), 3 bedroom housing units to accommodate families of (4) or more. 

PFC-Housing Inc. Coordinator Vacant
 

 
 

January 2012 Calendar

Partners for Careers 

Partners for careers program links Aboriginal graduates with suitable employment.  The service provides the link for employers to tap into highly motivated Aboriginal students eager to join the workforce.  The service also provides resume building, job search training, and acts as an information and resource centre for individuals seeking employment, or to further education.

Employment Counsellor – Shirley Bernard

 

 
 
 

Parent Child Program 

The Parent Child program is a program to provide after school recreational activities for children aged 6 to 12 years in an environment that is safe, fun and culturally sensitive.  This program strives to provide activities that the entire family can enjoy together and to enhance children’s awareness of their own cultures and languages.

The parent/child program offers a cultural summer day camp during the summer months, also a play group for children
aged 3-5 years.  Parental involvement is strongly encouraged. 

Parent/Child Coordinator – Stephanie Spence



 
 
 

 

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative 

 ADI Program is intended to service people and for our clients to have the opportunity to access health activities, diabetes awareness and prevention.  We target all age levels and try to be culturally appropriate and to follow program objectives. The Program objectives are; Public awareness, Health education, Skills development, Community action and creating a supportive environment.

Background:
Diabetes was virtually unknown amongst Aboriginal people 50 years ago. It is now recognized as a significant health concern. The prevalence rates of diabetes are now 3-5 times higher among Aboriginal people than in the general Canadian population. Type 1 diabetes is rare among Aboriginal peoples, meaning the majority of diabetes cases in First Nations communities are due to type 2 (Canadian Paediatric Society, 1994), which is preventable.
While diabetes rates within Aboriginal peoples are rising rapidly, there is a special concern in the rate growth among children and women of childbearing age. Normally considered a disease of aging, type 2 diabetes is now beginning to emerge in Aboriginal children as young as five years of age.
Because Aboriginal ancestry is a risk factor for diabetes (Young et al., 1990), this disease is of importance to all Aboriginal communities, regardless of whether or not a community currently experiences a high rate of disease. Due to the nomadic lifestyles and feast/famine cycles of their ancestors, Aboriginal peoples in Canada are likely to be genetically predisposed to store energy from the diet very efficiently. The adoption of a market diet high in energy, saturated fat and simple sugars, along with an increased tendency towards sedentary lifestyles and reduced physical activity, leads to a rise in the prevalence of obesity and subsequently diabetes (Thouez et al., 1989)
Diabetes is a significant concern in Aboriginal communities for a variety of reasons other than high rates of disease, including earlier onset, greater severity at diagnosis, high rates of complications, lack of accessible services, increasing trends, and the increased prevalence of risk factors for a population already at risk.

The "Eat Right. Be Active. Have Fun. You can prevent Diabetes" Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative Social Marketing Campaign is framed around Aboriginal families and communities, with particular emphasis on parents and caregivers of children 5-15 years of age. The parents and caregivers are usually the primary influence in the lives and health of their children.
 
 
 
Family Counselling  

Our Family Counsellor provides traditional and contemporary counselling methodology and is prepared to deal with individuals or families on any issues that may require help.

 
 

Eagles Fire Youth Centre 

Urban Multi-purpose Aboriginal Youth Centre is hosted at the Eagles Fire Youth Centre located at 350 Saskatchewan Avenue. Programs here are designed to improve and enhance the quality of life for the Aboriginal youth through positive lifestyle activities, with guidance from community Elders’ and Friendship centre Staff. Youth participate in a variety of recreational and cultural activities. As well the youth centre provides employment skills, life skills and leadership skills.
 
 
Insight Mentoring Program

This program is to promote healthier lifestyles for mothers to be in order to prevent the occurrence of FASD -
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder .