The Prince George Native Friendship Centre (PGNFC) has grown and continues to be one of the largest and busiest community agencies in Prince George. Our clientele of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal peoples have come to embrace the Centres’ programs that we have been offering the community for the last thirty years. The Friendship Centre has had the privilege to be able to tailor programs to meet the communities’ unique needs and to have the beneficial partnerships of many local, provincial, and national agencies, Ministries and Departments. We offer programs and services which include education, culture, employment, health, and social programs.

The PGNFC has always recognized the need for services to assist our clients to become a part of the workforce of the region as well as become better educated. With this in mind, we have always been proactive in establishing programs to help our clients work towards these goals. Our Employment Services Unit assists clients to recognize their strengths, develop Return to Work Action Plans and access required training to realize their career ambitions. Our Employment Services Unit maintains a current job board and an electronic resource room where clients can conduct job searches, research employment job possibilities and access the Canada Job Bank.

The Friendship Centre also runs two school programs for youth who have had difficulty in adjusting to the mainstream high schools (Restart for youth living at home, and the Start Program for street involved youth). The goal of these programs is to both to ensure they continue with their education and to help prepare them to return to the regular high school system.

First started as one position for an Alcohol & Drug Counselor in 1988 the Native Healing Centre (NHC) has expanded it’s services to include counseling for abuses of all kind. We have a multi disciplinary team that works with individuals and families on a broad scope of issues. These issues include violence, sexual abuse, sexual assault, family breakdowns, child apprehensions, residential school abuse, traumas, addictions, suicide, and mental illness. To help in the healing we support cross-cultural services such as sweat lodges, Yuwipi ceremonies, and other cultural practices. The NHC works with our clients in a holistic manner with flexibility for individual needs.

The Aboriginal Head Start is a preschool program designed to meet the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs of the child. The program stresses parental involvement and encourages holistic growth by understanding the importance of community, family involvement, cultural awareness, and respect.

The importance of a person having access to community based resources that encourage personal growth is the goal of the different initiatives within Social Programs. Through programs like Reconnect Street Workers Program; Sexually Exploited Youth Outreach Worker; the Integrated Resources for Aboriginal Youth; Nights Alive; Youth Residential Resources; the Friendship Centre is able to assist high risk youth and youth at risk. Additionally the Ketso Yoh Centre, a halfway house/shelter offers residential and support services to parolees and ex-offenders as well as transient men in need of food and shelter.

Ketso Yoh offers a housing outreach worker, who assists individuals in accessing safe, affordable housing in the community of Prince George. All programs are delivered in a holistic manner and compliment the other areas of service delivery of the PGNFC.