We are pleased to announce that the Piruqatigiit Resource Centre is the recipient of our Claudette Bradshaw FASD Innovation Award for 2022.
The FASD Innovation Award
Awarded annually, the FASD Innovation Award celebrates the work of individuals and organizations across Canada who have created innovative solutions to address FASD in their communities. It was named in honour of the late Claudette Bradshaw to recognize her work on FASD, early education, and homelessness.
About the Piruqatigiit Resource Centre
Piruqatigiit is a grassroots organization that serves individuals with suspected and confirmed FASD across Nunavut. “Piruqatigiit” means grow/growing together. Everything they do is centred on Inuit-led and informed knowledge and worldview. All their service provision, knowledge translation, and communications are translated in English and Inuktitut.
Prior to Piruqatigiit, there were no FASD specific services in Nunavut and very few FASD-informed educators and service providers. Jennifer & Noah Noah recognized this gap and started providing free support for community members and education for Government departments in 2016. In 2018, they, along with community members, founded Piruqatigiit as a nonprofit society.
“Piruqatigiit Resource Centre has applied for the Claudette Bradshaw FASD Innovation Award because we are innovation at our core. We strive to support Nunavut communities through innovative programming, resource development and knowledge translation activities that are culturally safe.”
Piruqatigiit’s Successes and Achievements
This organization has achieved many successes since it opened just over four years ago. Here are just some of the many highlights:
- They provide advocacy support to caregivers and individuals to help them navigate systems, understand their rights, and access resources
- They developed a therapeutic program for iilagiit (close family members) to support their mental health and well being
- They have helped guide and lead culturally safe messaging about FASD in Nunavut, including providing guidance to the health department about how past messaging has contributed to harm
- They provided land-based camps for both children with FASD and their iilagiit (close family) with Elders that provided 1:1 support for children with FASD or neurodiversity
- They created a sensory space and programming for both families and schools to access
- They created a paediatric FASD Assessment and Diagnostic Clinic to be launched this month!
The Piruqatigiit Resource Centre is the first organization in Nunavut to focus on FASD. Over the past four years, they have had a substantial impact in their communities. The organization is guided by immense lived and professional experience and their interventions are innovative, community driven and reflect the needs of their community members. We are pleased to award them this honor in recognition of all of their hard work to move FASD services and supports forward in Nunavut.
Be sure to watch our webinar on Friday to learn more about this organization and the work that they do.