About the Cultural Safety Grants program

We have created a Cultural Safety Grants Program aimed at supporting family physicians to continue or initiate new culturally safe practices. The program forms part of the BCCFP’s ongoing Declaration of Commitment to Reconciliation and addressing anti-Indigenous racism and inequity in health care.

NEW in 2024! We are excited to announce that we have expanded the Cultural Safety Grants Program. The grants available will now include:

Up to seven (7) grants of up to $5,000 each
Up to three (3) grants of up to $10,000 each

Grants are awarded based on the potential of the project to*:

Assist family physicians in engaging and developing relationships with Indigenous communities.
Embed Cultural Safety & Humility (CS&H) into community-based family practice, Patient’s Medical Home, and/or Primary Care Networks.
Create or modify tools and/or resources, that improve the delivery of care for Indigenous patients.
Support in the creation of a network or practice community that focuses on practical ways to incorporate CS&H into practice.
Develop a mechanism whereby family physician voices can be heard and lent to advocacy efforts around CS&H to create a climate for change.

*Please read grant criteria in full below.

2024-2025 Grant Recipients

- Grant Program Criteria & Guidelines

1. Integrating Indigenous Approaches to Care at Herway Home Clinic: Unceded Traditional lək̓wəŋən Territory (Victoria, BC)
A project that seeks to build upon and strengthen existing relationships with Indigenous organizations, Indigenous Elders, Aunties and Knowledge keepers to consult on service structure. This project seeks to formalize a program that will integrate culturally safe practices into direct patient care at Herway Home clinic. Through this work, the project aims to be able to offer patients culturally safe and holistic support that will adequately address patient needs.

2. Improving Access to Culturally-Safe Abortion Care on Southern Vancouver Island: Unceded Traditional lək̓wəŋən Territory (Victoria, BC)

A project that aims to improve abortion and contraception care to First Nations, Inuit and Metis (FNIM) people through education for providers. This work will be done through implementation of a workshop of staff, reflections on learning and development of training materials which will serve as a resource for staff members at Vancouver Island Women’s Clinic. Through teachings about the impacts of colonization on FNIM women and reproductive health, the clinic will aim to improve its ability to provide culturally safe and accessible care for patients.

3. Shuswap Lake General Hospital – Sacred Garden Revitalization Project: Unceded Traditional Territories of the Secwépemc people (Salmon Arm)

A project that will implement a sacred Indigenous healing garden at Shuswap Lake General Hospital. The healing garden will be co-developed with local Indigenous partners and will provide a space for traditional medicines, ceremonies and land-based healing practices that will integrate Indigenous healing models into the healthcare system. This project seeks to enhance cultural safety competency, improve communication and foster trust with Indigenous patients and communities, and create a welcoming space that will inspire others in their journey towards Truth and Reconciliation.

4. Leading Our Way with Culture – Nisga’a Valley Health Authority Community Guidance Circle Project: Nisg̱a’a Lands (Gitlax̱t’aamiks, BC)

The project will form a Community Guidance Circle of community appointed Indigenous Elders and individuals which will meet with physician and nursing teams to align the work that the Nisga’a Health Authority does with Nisga’a principles. Initial \goals for the Community Guidance Circle will be to inform how to create more culturally appropriate

and safe clinical spaces and how to better integrate traditional medicines and wellness into health centers. This project will aim to strengthen relationships between the Nisga’a Valley Health Authority, the four Nisga’a communities ((Gitlax̱t’aamiks, Gitwinksihlkw, Lax̱g̱alts’ap, and Ging̱olx) and Nisga’a Elders and Knowledge Keepers.

5. Healing Encounters: Cultural Safety and Trauma Sensitive care in the ER: Unceded Traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en people (Smithers, BC)

This project will have 3 three hour sessions, with a group of 10-15 family physicians and other front line staff, which will be facilitated by a local Wet’ suet’ en leader. The aim of this project is to learn about Indigenous-settler relations in the Smithers area as well as to become more informed about healthcare related trauma for Indigenous patients. It is through this work that primary care providers will be able to provide safer and more sensitive care to vulnerable patients.

6. Enhancing Cultural Safety in Family Medicine: Partnering with Indigenous Communities to Co-Create Culturally Safe Care Pathways: Unceded Traditional territory of the Stó:lō Coast Salish peoples (Chilliwack, BC)

This project will be guided by local Indigenous leaders and health advocates to educate and equip family physicians with knowledge so that they may work together to co-create culturally safe practices and protocols to provide care for Indigenous patients. This project seeks to establish sustainable relationships with knowledge keepers, Elders and community leaders to support ongoing cultural safety training for health care providers. The work will prioritize a reciprocal partnership with Indigenous communities so that patients and families can share their experience and help to inform create of culturally safe care pathways.

7. Walk-in Clinic at Osoyoos Indian Band Health Centre: Unceded Traditional territory of the sukənaqin and sməlqmix people (Oliver, BC)

This project supports the creation of culturally safe community-based care walk in clinic in the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) Health & Resource Centre. One of the aims of this project is to reach out to residency programs and medical schools to encourage rotations through the clinic where students and residents can learn how to provide culturally safe care. The project also seeks to recruit local Indigenous high school students to volunteer at the clinic to encourage the pursuit of family medicine as a career. The clinic seeks to address the shortage of primary medical care by attaching Indigenous patients to providers that provide care with a cultural safety and humility lens.

8. Food & Friends – Strengthening Relationships and Raising Voices: Unceded Traditional territory of the Coast Salish People (Langley, BC)

This project will be supported by the Langley Division of Family practice and their existing relationships with Kwantlen First Nations, Matsqui First Nation, Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society, and Waceya Metis Society and Foundry. The project will use a decolonial approach to gathering through creation of a safe space for family physicians, community family care providers, local First Nations and Indigenous community members to have dialogue about how to best incorporate culturally safe practices in primary care. The project seeks to foster trust between community and primary care providers and build