Agency works with survivors of the child welfare system

Craig Benson's involvement with child welfare didn't end when he became an adult, and now that his children are in care he plans to work hard to provide for them, change his life, and stay hopeful he will get them back.
For 31 year-old Benson, growing up as a permanent ward of the government meant rarely seeing his home, Alexis First Nation.
He grew up in foster homes and in youth care facilities, he said. At a workshop last weekend, hosted by the Creating Hope Society, Benson began to look even deeper at how his life is still being spent in the government systems.
"I've been in the system all my life and they helped me identify a few issues that have to do with my behavior patterns and plus now my son and my godson who are 13 and 14 are in care because I'm on day parole," said Benson.
Benson currently attends Norquest College taking an upgrading course during the day and reporting back to the Stan Daniels Healing centre every evening to finish his five-year sentence.
"The first time I ever stole a car and ran from the cops, I was running away from a foster home when I was 13," said Benson.
Now, Benson's godson is in the same secure custody youth facility where he himself stayed as a youth. His biological son is staying in a foster home. Working with the Creating Hope society is about ending the cycle of involvement with child welfare for his sons, he said.
The story of how Benson and both of his sons wound up in care with child welfare is complex and tragic, he said. Benson knows it will be very hard to get his sons back. Still, he plans to continue working towards wellness for himself and his family.
"I'm dealing with my issues first, that's why I'm in school I sweat and practice the culture," said Benson.
As part of his healing from his past mistakes and his own experience growing up in care, Benson believes he may have to try something different in his life.
He can't say exactly what that is right now, except that working with Creating Hope facilitators has given him faith that he will find out.
It takes so long for anything to get done and the people at Creating Hope are helping him stay focused on giving his sons a good home by the summer, he said.
Benson attended the latest workshop offered by the society that gave participants a chance to hear and experience cultural teachings with Darlene Auger.
"It was really what I needed, the negativity was really getting to me and this put my mind back in focus," said Benson.
He will be going back to court with child welfare for his son this month hoping to keep him from becoming a permanent ward. Facilitators from the Creating Hope society will be there to support him, he said.
The society formed in 2006 after a conference on what is known as the 1960's child welfare scoop. The 60's scoop is about a time when hundreds of Aboriginal children taken from their parents and placed directly in care. Many of these children had no idea where their biological roots were, said Bernadette Iahtial.
One of the ideas that came out of the conference was to have a support group for adults who were and are involved with child welfare, she said.
"Part of creating hope was about healing and reconciliation, it's about healing yourself and forgiveness," said Iahtail.
There are at least 10 calls a week from people who are dealing with child welfare in some way, she said. Some of the issues involve kinship care for relatives in care, parents who want their children back and people who still are trying to resolve personal issues from their past experience with child welfare.
"Right now there are at least 3,000 kids in the child welfare system and at least 60 per cent of those kids are Aboriginal in this area," said Iahtail.
Iahtail realized something about what the system meant to her. It means sharing your story with every member of the community and making a difference, she said. People who have been somehow involved with child welfare carry a lot of shame about it, she said.
"The kind of program that should be designed to be done with Aboriginal people really doesn't fit in the western way of thinking and it's always seems we have to fit into what their criteria is, our traditional ways of healing do work," said Iahtail.