Five years of FOXY
Youth come from across the territory for workshops and activities
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
FOXY celebrated its fifth birthday last week with some fun and hard work.
Malina Dawn carves snow from Back Bay Lake on March 1 to make an igloo, as part of FOXY's 5th anniversary. - Robin Grant/NNSL photo
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Participants in both the FOXY (Fostering Open eXpression among Youth) and SMASH (Strength, Masculinities and Sexual Health) programs travelled to Yellowknife from all over the NWT to participate in workshops on violence and trauma as well as partake in team-building activities, such as igloo building on Back Bay Lake. The group's photography exhibit has also been on display at the snow castle for the past week.
On Saturday night, participants attended a costume party where they dressed up as what they wanted to be when they were five-years old.
The FOXY and SMASH programs educate youth about health, sexuality and relationships. The group talks to schools and holds youth groups throughout the territory.
Kleo Skavinski from Hay River was building an igloo on the afternoon of March 1. She said the workshops she attended have helped increase her understanding of how violence affects youth.
"I learned a lot about how to help others cope with trauma and how to recognize the aftermath of it, especially in youth," she said. "Up here in the North, it's important for us to know because we work with a lot of youth, especially indigenous youth, who have experienced trauma ... it's very eye-opening."
FOXY project co-ordinator Kayley Mackay said events like this one play a significant role in reviewing the quality of both FOXY and SMASH lesson plans.
"The amount of information that came out (of the event) is just fantastic," she said. "We did an incredibly successful think tank to develop the SMASH program, and so (last week's session) was very much built on that style," she said.
In December, FOXY was awarded Meritorious Service Medals, which are honours presented by the governor general in communities across the country to help share inspiring stories and celebrate contributions to Canadian society.
In 2014, FOXY was the first organization to be named the sole laureate of the $1 million Arctic Inspiration Prize.
"When we've been developing our programming, we talk to a huge number of people from across demographics to make sure that we're doing our job," said Mackay. "We are constantly self-evaluating to make sure they're able to flag anything that we are doing better or what we need to work on."
Since 2012, FOXY and SMASH have reached more than 1,800 youth in more than 35 communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. The organization has offered more than 150 workshops and seven peer-leader retreats that have brought together another 175 Northern and indigenous young and SMASH and FOXY peer leaders, according to a FOXY news release.
