One group in the Fort has been awarded seed funding through Northern Health’s Imagine Grants.
Fireweed Collective Society has been given $500 towards blood pressure monitors for the community, which will also be used at the Breakfast Program.
The Breakfast Program offers one free breakfast a week to community members Thursday mornings to provide an opportunity for healthy eating and socialization.
Brandi Hanterman, executive director of the Fireweed Collective, said the group wanted to involve public health nurses. The group hopes the involvement of the nurses would provide harm reduction and support for people with high blood pressure by checking it once a month at the breakfasts.
The public health nurses will also be able to use the monitors for other community events.
Fireweed has received Imagine grant funding before, but another area recipient group has gotten a grant for the first time.
Takla Lake First Nation has also received some grant funding towards organizing some Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) projects.
The group is working on developing some programs to promote HEAL ideals and injury prevention.
“Part of what we do is go into communities and listen to what the community wants,” said Christine Glennie-Visser of Northern Health.
There were $120,000 in grants given out across the northern region towards seed funding to help out community-based initiatives which will benefit the health and well-being of people living in the north.
The small amounts of money are intended to encourage communities to get groups together to make local initiatives happen and to build a relationship between these groups and Northern Health.
The grant funding Fireweed Collective received will not be used for the rent and food costs of the Breakfast Program, and so Fireweed Collective is also going to be doing further fundraising to try and continue to provide this service to the community.
Hanterman said the group is looking for individuals, groups or businesses to sponsor a week’s breakfast by donating the $60 to cover the cost of the food and rent of the facility.
Donations to the Breakfast Program can also be made at Overwaitea or to sponsor a week contact Brandi Hanterman at 250-996-8081.