“Mental wellness is supported by culture, language, Elders, families, and creation and is necessary for healthy individual, community, and family life.”– First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework
The First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum (FNMWC) is a national framework that addresses mental wellness among First Nations in Canada. It identifies ways to enhance service coordination among various systems and supports culturally safe delivery of services. The FNMWC Framework was developed through collaboration between the Assembly of First Nations, Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, the Native Mental Health Association, and other community mental health leaders. Here are the links for you to download or view online both the framework’s Summary Report and the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework documents:
– or –
This continuum is rooted in cultural knowledge and emphasizes First Nations strengths and capacities, building upon the Honouring Our Strengths national framework published by the Assembly of First Nations, the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, and Health Canada.
The FNMWC Framework identifies a continuum of services needed to promote mental wellness and provides advice on policy and program changes that will enhance First Nations mental wellness outcomes. This enables communities to adapt, optimize, and realign their mental wellness programs and services based on their own priorities.
The FNMWC Framework includes a number of elements that support the health system which include governance, research, workforce development, change and risk management, self-determination, and performance measurement. Service integration among federal, provincial, and territorial programs is central to its success.
The First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Implementation Team is guiding Implementation of the framework at community, regional, and national levels.
“Mental wellness is a balance of the mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional. This balance is enriched as individuals have: PURPOSE in their daily lives whether it is through education, employment, care-giving activities, or cultural ways of being and doing; HOPE for their future and those of their families that is grounded in a sense of identity, unique Indigenous values, and having a belief in spirit; a sense of BELONGING and connectedness within their families, to community, and to culture; and finally a sense of MEANING and an understanding of how their lives and those of their families and communities are part of creation and a rich history.”– First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework