Preparing Our Home

Program & Host Organization

Preparing Our Home is an Indigenous youth-led, community-based emergency preparedness and resilience program. Hosted by the Preparing Our Home Program, it supports First Nations communities by connecting youth, Elders, and other community members to strengthen resilience, safety, and wellbeing.

Location & Scope

The initiative operates across Canada, with activities delivered in schools, daycares, community centres, gathering spaces, and on the land. It has been running for ten years and engages communities year-round.

Who It Serves

The program serves First Nations children, youth, young adults, adults, Elders, and professionals such as firefighters, emergency managers, and disaster volunteers. Participants come from over 120 Indigenous communities across the country.

Climate & Mental Health Focus

Preparing Our Home addresses a wide range of climate-related mental health impacts, including grief, loss, trauma among Indigenous first responders, and community distress linked to disasters, displacement, and land loss. It operates in communities disproportionately impacted by wildfire, flooding, and structural inequities rooted in colonialism.

Activities & Format

Activities are delivered in person through land-based learning, culture camps, emergency preparedness workshops, community gatherings, and intergenerational mentorship. Programming includes full-day sessions, multi-day workshops, and a week-long annual national gathering. Peer-led facilitation supports youth empowerment and community-driven learning.

Inclusion & Accessibility

The program prioritizes Indigenous communities most affected by climate change and ensures culturally safe, intergenerational engagement. It includes and uplifts youth with disabilities in leadership roles.

Outcomes & Evidence

Outcomes include youth empowerment, strengthened emergency preparedness, intergenerational knowledge exchange, and increased community capacity. Medium- and long-term goals involve expanding training opportunities and supporting communities in developing their own resilience strategies. Evaluation details were not provided. The approach draws on Indigenous science, participatory planning, and best practices in disaster risk reduction.

Guiding Principles

The initiative reflects climate literacy, emotional processing, social connection, nature bonding, emotional resilience, climate justice, trauma-informed practice, community-led adaptation, and collective responsibility through culturally grounded, community-driven processes.

Resources & Sustainability

Details not provided.

Team & Partners

The program is facilitated through peer-led models involving Indigenous youth, Elders, and community partners. It supports Nation-to-Nation learning and collaborates with First Nations communities and external partners to build skills and capacity.

Challenges & Context

The program operates within a context of climate vulnerability compounded by historical and ongoing colonialism, structural inequities, and disproportionate exposure to disasters. Other contextual factors were not described.