A new partnership between the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) and the John Howard Society Pacific is being hailed as a potential breakthrough for support programs and projects in the Yukon.

During a Zoom conference held Wednesday afternoon, representatives of both groups said they have developed an agreement.

It “will guide the sharing of expertise and solutions related to programs that support people with complex needs, specifically Yukon First Nations, with the goal of collaboration on the delivery of programs in the Yukon.”

Grand Chief Peter Johnston said “the agreement provides an outline that formalizes the arrangement for governance of the organizations’ shared activities.”

In practice, the John Howard Society will assist the CYFN in writing and submitting proposals to government departments and officials.

“The organizations have recently partnered on several expression of interest submissions and have made joint proposals to the federal and territorial governments.

“The John Howard Society Pacific has a long history of service delivery and expertise in supporting people with complex needs,” said a news release that accompanied the news conference.

“The Council of Yukon First Nations has a long history of working for the advancement and betterment of Yukon First Nations and is in a strong position to deliver and advise on services that meet the needs of Yukon First Nations.”

“The agreement formalizes the commitment between the Council of Yukon First Nations and John Howard Society to work collaboratively to support and enhance service delivery for the benefit of Yukon First Nations,” said Johnston.

“It is a welcomed partnership that affirms CYFN’s active involvement in solutions and supports that are culturally-informed and appropriate for Yukon First Nations, helping to address gaps in current service delivery models.”

“Our collaboration with CYFN is invaluable to ensuring that we provide services which meet the needs of Yukon First Nations,” said Mark Miller, the John Howard Society’s CEO.

“We are honoured to have the opportunity to work alongside CYFN and learn from Yukon First Nations, and are committed to ensuring that we provide culturally-informed and appropriate services for the people and communities we serve.”

According to the release, and Shadelle Chambers, the CYFN’s executive director, “the partner organizations will exchange views, information, experience, and solutions related to programs that support people with complex needs, and collaborate on the delivery of such programs in the Yukon.”

The agreement outlines areas for collaboration between CYFN and the John Howard Society.

Those areas include creating opportunities to better support the integration of Yukon First Nations people; collaborating on the design and approach of programs in the Yukon; partnering to deliver culturally safe, sensitive, and relevant services to Yukon First Nations; and consulting on operational challenges and critical incidents which may have an impact on the well-being of Yukon First Nations.

“In all these activities, the partners will seek to ensure multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral, trauma-informed, and inclusive approaches that take full account of issues related to human rights and inclusion,” the representatives stated.

The news release said the organizations have recently partnered on joint submissions to expressions of interest and proposal calls by the federal and territorial governments, including Services for Justice-Involved Women; Housing First Residence, and the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter.