From street life to student life: Moving the Mountain pilot program takes young indigenous women … – U of A

Nov 18, 2015

From street life to student life: Moving the Mountain pilot program takes young indigenous women in to an educational environment at the University of Alberta

When Aimee Bellerose walks around the University of Alberta, she’ll overhear other’s “struggles”: a girl complaining about her hair being four inches too short, a guy talking about the party coming up on Friday, or someone else gossiping, “Oh my God, did you see her shoes?” As a 22-year-old indigenous woman who’s lived through homelessness, incarceration, addiction and mental illness, Bellerose’s concept of a struggle is much different.

The city is a different place for an indigenous person who has been in and out of the system. Bellerose, and other women in similar situations, worry about things like whether they’ll eat tomorrow or find a place to sleep tonight. Or about whether they’ll get stopped by Edmonton Police Services for jaywalking and arrested for something completely different, which Bellerose said she has seen happen.

Read More: https://thegatewayonline.ca/2015/11/from-street-life-to-student-life-moving-the-mountain-pilot-program-takes-young-indigenous-women-in-to-an-educational-environment-at-the-university-of-alberta/