Help-an-Elder Program in Tk’emlups te Secwepmc

In Tk’emlups te Secwepmc, through the Sports & Recreation department, many First Nations youth have had the chance to visit and serve Elders in their community.

“It was just awesome to see that Elder’s eyes light up when he got to see our youth playing on the stuff he built in his yard,” says Myron Thomas, former Community Mentor, since elected to Council in his community. The program was also supported by Wyatt Camille, a local youth worker, and Angela Hance, a university practicum student working with the family support team.

The Help-an-Elder program ran for a little over a year, and began with simple things, like yard work. As the program connected with more Elders in the community, it eventually grew to include cultural activities, passing knowledge across generations on topics such as medicine harvesting, ceremony, and even building a sweat lodge, with the guidance of Knowledge Keeper, Greg Ferguson.

The calls from the community became so big that Myron, and Wyatt had to start setting boundaries on the kind of work that pre-teens and teens could be doing.

Many of the Elders they worked with are residential school survivors. “This was huge,” Thomas says, “having them see children laughing and playing which was something that they never got to…”

The benefits didn’t just flow to the Elders. Many of the participants were able to put down their work in the program to volunteer hours and CVs, and learned skills surrounding safe work attire, and cultural practices. Some of these connections lasted beyond the length of the program. Some youth still visit an Elder they were connected with through the Help-an-Elder program.

Rebuilding any youth program after the Covid controls began to loosen took time and effort. Many community connections and collaborative efforts have resulted in rich child and youth programming, which also includes sports, city trips, and events. Collaborating groups for the youth programming include Right To Play in co-operation with Community Services, and the local Family Support Team. Connecting with the entire community was essential to reaching Elders, and the subsequent success of the program.

When reflecting on the impact for youth, Myron Thomas says “the important part about it was giving the youth ownership of what they helped work with, right? So they could have a sense of pride in the community.”