Mekaanetacha: The Landing Place opens to help locals 'look for' a better future
Locals from all walks of life now have a place to build confidence, stability, community connections and readiness for employment at a newly launched community-based employment service, The Landing Place.
Wherever you are in your journey towards employment readiness; whether you are experiencing mental health challenges, substance use or homelessness, the Landing Place, located at 10328 101 Avenue, next to the Northeast Native Advancing Society (NENAS) offices is there for you.
The services offered at the Landing Place – providing one-to-one support to help connect people to community services and take small steps towards employment readiness – spring directly from the service’s motto: “Start where you are, we’ll meet you there.”
“We’re here to welcome everyone who’s seeking stabilisation in the community,” said Anne McMenamin, Client Services Manager with Employment Connections North Corp., which runs The Landing Place. “We’re here for whatever it is that they need to fill in any gaps that are not already present in the community, in the services that are here.”
Staffed by what McMenamin describes as “two amazing community navigators,” the Landing Place “will walk hand-in-hand with the individuals that present themselves to us.”
The Landing Place offers flexible, trauma-informed and culturally safe services. The importance of culture in the journey towards employment was illustrated at the official opening on June 24, when Dane-Zaa Elder, song keeper and artist Garry Oker of Doig River First Nation addressed the crowd.
Oker spoke of the importance of blessings and drum songs; how he was taught as a child that your song was ahead of you, and you have “to look for it” – Mekaanetacha.
“Our human experience is to look for the things we want,” Oker said. “Once we find it, then we’ll be able to fulfill the things we need in order to solve the problem or give somebody what they need.”
Through a drum song and blessing, Oker said he “asked the Creator to bless our minds, bless our hearts, and bless our hands to create the things we need to create for the future.”
Click to hear Garry Oker’s drum song and blessing:
“We always talk about blessings because we want to by able to sing these songs ahead of time. So, by the time we get to that destination, it’s blessed and ready to go, for whatever wish that we have to accomplish,” Oker explained. “That’s why it’s important to understand the foundation of our drum songs.”
For Community-based Employment Services, at your own pace, without judgement or pressure, stop by The Landing Place between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday throughout July, except Canada Day.
For more information, you can reach The Landing Place at 250-261-2753 or by email at thelandingplace@employmentconnections.bc.ca.