My name is Vanessa Boylan and I am a mother to 3 wonderful children. My family comes from Ahousaht and mixed European descent. I was born and raised in Coast Salish territory on lower Vancouver Island. My career has enabled me to work for First Nations non – profit agencies and my teaching background has enabled me to continue to educate and support our communities for the last 17 years in various capacities.
I have a BA in English, a minor in History and I held a Teaching certificate while teaching in the Victoria School District. I have Wilderness First Aid and a canoe certification along with a number of other Family Support work training.
My role at Nil Tu,O Child & Family Services Society includes Family Support Worker, Indigenous HIPPY Coordinator/home visitor and Cultural Camp Coordinator. I have been with the agency for the past 4 years and enjoy the work that I do. Indigenous HIPPY – Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters – includes teaching parents how to teach their children and I provide free resources and materials for children ages 3 – 5 years of age. I also share the SMART program with our families – Supporting Mothers and Raising Toddlers – it is a program for children ages 18 months to 3 years. Both programs follow the school year and provide the curriculum for the parents and the materials and books for their children. I meet with families once a week and provide the program for free to the First Nations communities that we serve.
The Cultural Camp is a camp for children connected to our agency and includes a variety of activities including the most recent, blessing the log that is being used to make a canoe for our kids connected to the agency. I run pro – D day camps once a month, spring break camps and summer camps. This past summer included two overnight camps in Qualicum.
