Health Opportunities for Aboriginal People (HOAP)

HOAP is a group of First Nation, Metis, urban and rural health and social service providers who meet regularly.  Originally, they came together to have conversations about health planning in Aboriginal communities.  As part of their conversations, they agreed they wanted to know more about the health concerns and hopes of Aboriginal communities living in the HNHB LHIN.  To learn more, HOAP planned and hosted a three day Search Conference.  Some results included an expanded understanding of health determinants and planning framework designed and approved by the participants.  

Presently HOAP's role includes sharing knowledge about health planning, advancing the ideas from the Search Conference, and helping the LHIN find ways to inform and include Aboriginal communities in health transformation initiatives.  HOAP's role will evolve.  At a retreat in February, HOAP will discuss this evolution and how to formalize their role with the LHIN. 

Soaring Vision: Aboriginal Health Search Conference, February 2008

A Search Conference is an event that enables people to create a plan for the most desirable future for their community.  Participants take ownership of the issues and the solutions.  The Aboriginal Search Conference was held, February 29 to March 2, 2008 at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.  It was hosted by HOAP (Health Opportunities for Aboriginal People) - a small group of interested First Nations, Métis and urban Aboriginal health and social service providers – in conjunction with the HNHB LHIN.  During the search conference, participants expanded the range of health determinants, explored current trends affecting aboriginal health, and created a shared vision for the future for Aboriginal health care.  Read the following documents to learn more about local Aboriginal health concerns and ideas to improve the local health system for Aboriginal people.  

• Facilitator's Report - this document will give readers a general idea of the conference proceedings. 
• Membership - this is a list of people who helped plan the Search Conference. 
• Planning Considerations  - this document provides an overview of the Search Conference model and describes the details that must be considered when planning such an event. 
• Conference Feedback - this document shares the views of the participants regarding their experience at the Search Conference.
• Aboriginal Health Search Conference Community Report- this document represents the gathering together of all of the work completed during the search conference.  It brings together the previous documents into a whole. 

Follow Up - On September 29, Search Conference participants reconvened to celebrate their work and refine their vision for health planning.  They invited a broader range of stakeholders and community members to come and learn about Aboriginal perspectives on health.