Grande Prairie woman hopes to inspire youth in her new role

“This is definitely something i’m going to be bringing back and using in my job. Within my job, I am already facilitating presentations around Indigenous culture and things like that, so this is just going to be another thing I’d like to bring back to the community and hopefully not just my school district. If there’s other people interested in the community that want to have presentations done around this, I’ll be available to do that.”

She works as an Indigenous liaison with Grande Prairie & District Catholic Schools.

“I help students to discover their cultural identity, so it helps them have a stronger foundation of who they are and helps them to be more successful. I’m just really passionate about the Indigenous youth and where things are going right now.”

Laviolette recognizes there will be challenges in doing this.

“I never grew up fully in my culture, so that’s something I’m learning about now as an adult and I want to help my students learn about that as well, so I’m kind of learning alongside them, which is exciting. But, yeah, you can definitely see effects of inter-generational trauma with cycles of addictions and abuse.”

Laviolette is hoping to break those cycles by helping people re-discover their roots.

In a news release, We Matter says the “National Ambassadors of Hope program is a one-year mentorship aimed at giving young Indigenous change-makers the tools, skills, and knowledge to feel confident inspiring other Indigenous youth, breaking mental health and suicide stigma, and promoting healthy communities.”

Laviolette is at the training at an event called the #HopeForum in Winnipeg all of this week.

by Curtis Galbraith

Grande Prairie woman hopes to inspire youth in her new role

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