The Wotakuye Program at Ain Dah Yung Center builds healthy and supportive networks of support for Ain Dah Yung Center young adults and their family and friends. We work to connect, reconnect, and find important people in their life who are able and willing to become part of their larger circle of support. Young adults and their connections and relations will have access to information about grief, loss, historical trauma, healthy boundaries, healthy expectations, and community support. The Ain Dah Yung Center’s Wotakuye Program aims to create and restore long term connections.
People with an absence of connections to relatives, community, and culture do not have access to the support and social capital those connections provide. This reduces the chances that they will have someone to turn to when they need emotional or practical support. One thing that is consistently missing in almost all “independent living” programming and case management for youth and young adults is attention to building or restoring a natural support network of human relationships. Building a network of people and cultural connections for and with people will provide than with deeper meaning and connectedness in their lives.
The Wotakuye Worker is trained to deal with trauma and emotional stress that may come up during the process of reconnection with distant family members. This person is also educated in Indigenous family systems that tend to be larger and encompass a more diverse range of relationships than the nuclear family unit.
Wotakuye Program Outcomes
- A reduction in the number of young adults who experience homelessness after exiting foster care and/or reduce the time they remain homeless.
- Increase in ability to successfully remain in housing.
- An increase in the number of supportive (non-worker) adults in their network.
- An increase in a sense of connectedness to community and culture.
- An increase of knowledge and skills to navigate the emotional and mental health challenges associated with the historical/generational trauma of family separation.
The Wotakuye Program is ready for referrals. Eligibility parameters are as follows:
- Age guideline: 18+
- Internal referrals – must be program participant of current ADYC programming
- Internal referrals – we can accept referrals of current ADYC program participant’s (18+) family members and friends, if there is a direct connection to ADCY programming
- To refer participants to this program, download and print the form provided below or fill out and submit the form below. Once the referral notification is received, we will contact you within 2-3 business days to confirm submission and follow-up with any questions.
ADYC Kinship Referral Form PDF - DOWNLOAD & PRINT
Wotakuye Program Contact Information
Melisa Gronlund | Wotakuye Program Kinship Coordinator
Ain Dah Yung Center
melisa.gronlund@adycenter.org