Host Carol Hopkins is thrilled to be joined by Deb Dell and Karen Main in a conversation highlighting the quality of addictions services for First Nations youth, how they know there is quality, what that looks like and their processes for facilitating continuous improvements.

Karen and Deb both work with YSAC, a network of 10 First Nation Youth Residential Treatment Centres across Canada, offering holistic, culturally grounded addiction services that are centred in First Nations ways of knowing and being. 

For 27 years Debra Dell has been working at the Y-S-A-C and at its member centres. She is a founding member and currently the organizations Executive Director. She focuses on research and practises quality, as well as human resource training and competency work. She has a dual masters in counselling psychology and adult education and a doctorate in distance education. She is a first generation settler from Scotland who works in Treaty Six territory in Saskatchewan. 

Karen Main is Associate Director for the Y-S-A-C where her focus is providing support to their ten centres in accreditation, board governance and life promotion training programs. She spent 15 years as Executive Director of Leading Thunderbird Lodge – part of the Y-S-A-C network.She is a proud member of the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in southern Saskatchewan.

***And related to this conversation, please take a moment to take part in The​ Standards Council of Canada and the Mental Health and Substance Use Standardization Collaborative, questionnaire related to mental health and substance use from the perspective of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.

The questionnaire can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCMHZQL

Mahihkan Management has been contracted to create awareness among First Nations, Inuit, and Metis knowledge holders, and mental health and substance use experts, and allied professionals to gather

information about mental health and substance use services. This information will be used to inform a report on standardization of Mental Health and Substance Use Health services and other future work.

Please complete the survey before June 30th. Further engagement sessions will take place in the fall.

For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org

You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  

Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  

Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.