Established in 1995, the Youth Substance Addiction Committee (YSAC) is a network of 10 Treatment Centres across Canada who provide addictions and mental health services to First Nations and/or Inuit/Innu youth and families within residential and outpatient treatment settings. The strength of this group lies in its ability to come together around a shared vision, while still encouraging each centre to function within its individual treatment philosophy. The group meets quarterly in various regions of Canada to define strategic initiatives, collaborate on research and prevention efforts, determine training needs, and share best practices in Accreditation, Governance, Human Resources and Program Support Services.
Vision
Delivering proactive, social, cultural and evidenced-based programs that empower Indigenous, families and communities to improve their quality of life.
Mission
To work in partnership with member centers and external agencies to set the direction for the provision of quality youth treatment service delivery at a national level, while respecting the autonomy of individual centres.
Mandate
- To strengthen our Indigenous Recovery Network of substance addiction Treatment Centres for youth, their families and communities;
- To provide services based on Indigenous principles and values;
- To utilize and respect the natural value of culturally based programming;
- To develop and share Best Practice initiatives with members and partner organizations, nationally and internationally;
- To ensure a national perspective is considered in conjunction with, and attention to, and respect for, regional and centre based priorities and projects.