Metis youth in foster care in Merritt will receive additional support in finding permanent homes with family members.
Lii Michif Otipemisiwak Family and Community Services in Kamloops has obtained a $20,000 grant to further adoption and permanency arrangements. The agency operates a satellite office in Merritt.
“One of the things we’ve observed as an agency is that a lot of our Metis children linger in foster care without exploration of possible permanent care within their own families,” said Colleen Lucier, executive director.
Lii Michif Otipemisiwak (which translates from Cree as “We are Metis people and we take care of ourselves”) works in collaboration with the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Services.
Often children in care are shuffled from one foster home to another.
“That’s the cycle we’re trying to break,” Lucier said.
