Kílala Lelum Health and Wellness Cooperative is a community-based health organization that provides Elder-guided, culturally safe, trauma and violence-informed care in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver. It uses a wholistic, patient-centred model of care that fosters health equity and physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness.
Kílala Lelum has been open since 2019 and serves over 2,000 members, offering various programs and services, including primary care, social work, mental health counselling, cultural and food security programming, outreach, and chronic pain management. Central to this work are Elders and Knowledge Holders who support members in affirming and reclaiming their cultural identity alongside opportunities to engage with Indigenous teachings, traditional medicines, and Sharing Circles.
Thanks to support from our generous donor Julie Glover, the Foundation provided some of the funding to Kílala Lelum to expand on their important work with the opening of a new wellness and resource hub, Doris Fox Lelum. This hub will provide low-barrier access to cultural, medical, and harm reduction services for Indigenous people who use drugs (IPWUD) and Kílala Lelum members living with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). The hub aims to reduce harm by providing accessible drop-in programming and services in a less medical setting. The team hopes to provide clinical services like nursing, peer support, and systems navigation, as well as opportunities to connect with Elders, Knowledge Holders, cultural programming, and the Social Navigation team. It will be staffed by people with lived/living experience of substance use (peers), healthcare workers, counsellors, Elders and Knowledge Holders. This work honours the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action 22, which calls upon those who can effect change to recognize the value of Indigenous healing practices and use them in the treatment of Indigenous patients, in collaboration with healers and Elders. Our Foundation recognizes that we are in a privileged position to effect change, and we are proud to support programs that centre around Elder support and Indigenous healing.
By supporting programs like Kílala Lelum and Doris Fox Lelum, you’re helping create a future where every person has access to compassionate, culturally grounded care rooted in community and respect.
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