Indigo Spirit of Awareness Society

Indigo Spirit Of Awareness Society

Vision

All youth are safe in our schools, on the streets and in our community.

Mission

Indigo Spirit of Awareness Society guides youth to define, discover and accept their authentic self, through support, education and community building.

The Indigo Spirit of Awareness Society (2004) was founded by a group of concerned citizens who saw a pressing need to support and augment the work of schools, the non-profit community and volunteers.
The executive director Paula Miles spearheads the following committees: Empower Our Youth Committee, Youth Suicide Prevention Committee, Learning Circle and Youth Net.

Indigo Spirit of Awareness Society addresses the social and health needs of the community, in a way that is respectful and inclusive of diversity in the valley's population. The Empower Our Youth committee is the advisory group of community agencies and concerned individuals which oversees the operation of Indigo Spirit. This committee ensures that all youth in the Okanagan Valley are safe regardless of gender or sexual orientation. We are the only agency addressing theses issues.

Purpose

(a) to assist and strengthen the gay and lesbian community
(b) to empower individuals to embrace their authentic self
(c) to provide support to individuals who are questioning their personal orientation
(d) to conduct community outreach, and bring people together
(e) to provide information and education to and about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community
Indigo Spirit of Awareness Society has received a grant from Crime Prevention Canada, Community Mobilization Program. We are currently conducting a Youth Needs Assessment in the Central Okanagan, regarding bullying and harassment with respect to diversity and sexual orientation. This assessment will consist of two community forums, a youth survey and an agency survey. The surveys will be posted on the website in May 2006.

This organization will conduct special projects, which include awareness and education campaigns. Many of the activities will be community outreach based.

The first area we want to address is the veil of secrecy under which the gay and lesbian community lives. We want to address the discrimination and internalized homophobia that exists in the valley.
Many people contact us for information regarding gay and lesbian issues, especially the coming out issues for gay and lesbian youth. The entire community benefits from the availability of this information, because awareness decreases discrimination. Awareness makes it much easier for all gays and lesbians to be proud of who they are.

Membership
Membership in the Indigo Spirit of Awarenes Society is $12.00 per year

Please print and complete the membership application.