Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC)

AHSUNC Program Celebrates 15 Years of Success!

This year marks the 15^th anniversary of the Government of Canada’s Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities program.
 
The Aboriginal Head Start pre-school program helps to ensure First Nations, Inuit and Métis families with children grow up healthy and reach their full potential. Over the past 15 years, AHSUNC has demonstrated that locally controlled and designed early intervention strategies can improve the health of Aboriginal children by supporting their physical, personal and social development.  Ultimately the program provides Aboriginal children with a positive sense of themselves, a desire for life long learning, and opportunities to develop into successful young people. 

Each year, the AHSUNC program supports more than 4,800 children and their families in 129 sites in urban and northern communities across Canada.  This year, on the eve of National Child Day, the AHS program received new funding to continue its work over the next five years (2010 to 2015). This support will help train staff to better respond to health issues in northern and urban communities, including childhood obesity, mental health problems, and children with special needs. An equivalent on-reserve program also received support that will be directed to outreach services and training of new outreach workers.

Whether on or off-reserve, Aboriginal Head Start programs aim to provide Aboriginal children with a positive sense of themselves and a desire for learning. All the sites will celebrate the occasion in their own way. One thing is certain - graduates and their families are thankful the program helped give them a good first start in life so they could become the best they can be. 

About Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC)

The Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC) Program is a community-based children’s program delivered by the Public Health Agency of Canada. AHSUNC focuses on early childhood development (ECD) for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and their families living off-reserve.

The program began in 1995 and has had a major impact on the children, families and communities that have participated. It was established to support the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical development of Aboriginal children, while supporting their parents and guardians as their primary teachers. It addresses general health concerns in vulnerable populations and works to benefit the health, well being and social development of Aboriginal children.

AHSUNC sites typically provide structured half-day preschool experiences for Aboriginal children focussed on six program components:

• aboriginal culture and language,
• education and school readiness,
• health promotion,
• nutrition,
• social support, and
• parental involvement.

You may also be interested in:

• Community Action Program for Children (CAPC)
• Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP)
• Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve (External link) (AHSOR)