Kids Help Phone & We Matter address Indigenous youth crisis

Through ongoing collaboration both partners will identify opportunities to work together to support Inuit, Métis and First Nations youth in their well-being

Toronto, ON (March 10, 2020) – Today, Kids Help Phone and We Matter announce a partnership to strengthen support services available to Inuit, Métis and First Nations youth from coast to coast to coast. The goal is to support the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being of Indigenous young people across Canada. This multi-year partnership includes collaborating on awareness campaigns, school programming and shared training and research to name a few. Both organizations work together to provide mental health support and access for Indigenous young people across the country.

“We Matter is very excited to form a formal partnership with Kids Help Phone, stemming from the organization’s Indigenous Youth Action Plan, Finding Hope,” said Tunchai Redvers, Co-Founder and Executive Director, We Matter. “As two organizations who both work to provide mental health support and access for Indigenous youth, it is important to foster collective understanding and collaboration. There is so much work to be done, and we know that by working together, we will be able to reach even more young people in even better ways.”

The partnership will maximize efforts to acknowledge and support the wellness of Indigenous youth across Canada by cross promoting their efforts to ensure all young people are aware of the support services available to them wherever they are in Canada.

“We recognize that to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth, we must learn and embrace leadership from Indigenous peoples and organizations, like We Matter,” said Katherine Hay, President & CEO, Kids Help Phone. “This partnership is much more than a collaboration of efforts; it’s a fundamental movement in ensuring we support the Indigenous young people across the country in any moment of crisis or need.”

To learn more, about Kids Help Phone’s Indigenous Youth Action Plan, Finding Hope, visit here. For more information on We Matter, visit here.

ABOUT KIDS HELP PHONE

Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only 24/7 national service offering professional counselling, information and referrals and volunteer-led text-based support for young people. Kids Help Phone’s free, confidential services are available in both English and French.

Kids Help Phone is a registered Canadian charity, and raises the majority of revenue from individuals, foundations, corporations and community fundraising.

ABOUT WE MATTER

We Matter is a national Indigenous-led and youth-centered organization and registered charity dedicated to Indigenous youth support, hope and life promotion. We provide a forum for people across the country to share messages of hope, culture, and strength. By sharing our stories, our words of encouragement, and our authentic messages of hope and resilience, we help to make a community and nation stronger. We remind youth that I Matter. You Matter. We Matter.

For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Constantina Ellinas

Kids Help Phone Communications

416.209.8890