Priority Areas
Through direct engagement with the urban Indigenous community and our supporters in St. John’s, First Voice has identified the following broad priority areas:
- Education, Training, and Employment;
- Health and Wellness;
- Housing and Homelessness; and
- Infrastructure and Service Delivery.
Work to advance systemic change in each of these areas is being led by the First Voice Standing Committees, which were launched in March 2021. Bringing together Community Advocates, Partner organizations, and Contributors, each of the four Standing Committees is in the process of reviewing the findings of the November 2020 #DecolonizeYYT virtual policy conference for the purposes of identifying, developing, and prioritizing short-, medium-, and long-term objectives. Finalized objectives will be included in our forthcoming Community Action Plan, set to be released in the spring of 2022.
Other Projects and Initiatives
In addition to the work being carried out by the four Standing Committees, First Voice is also leading action in the following areas:
- Strengthening police oversight in Newfoundland and Labrador, in line with two key Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG); and
- Recognizing outstanding efforts to advance the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Newfoundland and Labrador through the annual Indigenous Advocate Award.