Qavvivik
Inuit Family and Community Health Centre
For the greater good of the Inuit community in Southern Quebec
WELCOME! ᑐᓐᖓᓱᒋᑦ! BIENVENUE!
We are so happy you found us!
Qavvivik in Inuktitut means a place where one is raised up. Created in 2023, we are a non-profit organization run by and for Inuit living in southern Quebec. Qavvivik is dedicated to improving the health of Siqinirmiut (Inuit living in the south) by providing and facilitating access to services that are culturally adapted, safe and responsible to the community.
Qavvivik works for all Siqinirmiut and their families living in southern Quebec.
In May 2023 we moved into our administrative offices in Verdun and started to offer services to the community. Check out the programs and services we are offering now and follow us on Facebook for news. In March 2024 we began to offer medical services to Inuit at the Queen Elizabeth Health Centre at 2100 Marlowe, suite 236, Montreal. Check out the clinic page for more info.
We are a community organization responsive to our people. We invite all Inuit living in the south to become members. Simply fill in the membership form here and you are in!
Who we are
Qavvivik is an Inuit-led and Inuit-run organization located in Montreal.
Qavvivik is supported by and receives funding from Makivvik, the organization that represents the rights of Nunavik Inuit under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. We are a member of the Montreal Indigenous Health Advisory Circle (MIHAC) and other key city and provincial Indigenous organizations. We are currently developing partnerships and funding proposals for more programs.
Qavvivik works closely with members of the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval and McGill University.
What we do
Our mandate is to provide and facilitate access to health care services for Inuit living in southern Quebec.
Our approach is inspired by the “IQI model” developed in Nunavik as part of the Qanuilirpitaa 2017 health survey. It describes health according to Inuit knowledge and experience. The model has three parts.
Ilusirsusiarniq
The health of the body, in general. It is a condition of normal functioning without disease, pain, injury or sickness that impedes people from doing what they want to do.
Qanuinngisiarniq
A broad sense of “well-being” that includes being happy, unworried, without pain, comfortable, and free of emotional distress.
Inuuqatigiitsianiq
A kind of social health that is concerned with relationships with family members, friends, neighbours, and other people in the community.
Over time we will develop services oriented to each of the three components of the IQI model.
How did Qavvivik come about?
The need for health and social services for Inuit living in the south is not new. Reports going back more than 20 years have made this case. We have been working on the creation of an Inuit-specific service and clinic since late 2021.
Qavvivik was registered as a non-profit organization in September 2022. In May 2023 we secured a location in the Verdun neighbourhood of Montreal for our administrative offices. Our Board of Directors adopted our by-laws in June 2023.
Our plan is to start with a modest location that is accessible by public transit. This site would work with the frontline services offered by Projets Autochtone du Québec, Médecins du monde, Chez Doris and others while also welcoming families and individuals from across the city. In a second phase, a second site, probably on the West Island, would be developed, in conjunction with other organizations to serve the large number of Inuit there. The services are organized around a social determinants approach to health. This means we focus on improving the conditions that lead to health, like access to country food, well-baby clinics, disease prevention, education and family support, as well as frontline clinical services.
Our plans for the future
The best way to help people with their health is to work in collaboration and partnership with other Inuit and health organizations. Inuit know best the needs and situations of Inuit. We believe strongly in working together for a common good. This is how we can all be “raised up”, as our organization name says.
Our immediate goals are to begin helping people in the south by offering health system navigation, interpretation and referral to other health and community service providers. In April 2024 we began to offer access to medical services to Inuit at the Queen Elizabeth Health Centre (2100 Av. Marlowe, Montréal - Metro Vendome). Working in partnership with the Indigenous Health Centre of Tiohtià:ke the clinic is open on Thursdays from 10AM to 4PM. All the doctors at the clinic have experience with Inuit in Nunavik. A patient navigator and Inuktitut translation is also available.
We are at the very beginning of the process of creating a permanent health clinic and service centre for Inuit in Southern Quebec. In the future we plan to expand the offer of medical and nursing services, community health (vaccinations, well-baby checkups, sexual health counselling, etc), family support, mental health, addictions, healing and other services.
Get in touch
#203 4468 Rue Wellington, Verdun, QC H4G 1W5, Canada
T: 514-373-4596