First responders career camp hopes to inspire Indigenous girls this summer

This summer, a group of Indigenous girls will learn to stitch up wounds, work with police dogs and climb a 30-metre ladder as part of a first responder career camp in the Halifax area. 

Camp Courage started as a way to encourage girls to consider careers in the emergency services field and this year, one camp is focusing on Indigenous teens.

Andrea Speranza, the camp's founder, hopes that if more Indigenous people join the first responder fields, relations between police, paramedics and firefighters can improve between Indigenous communities. 

"I think the diversity of our youth will bring great change," said Speranza. 

The camp hopes to bring 24 Indigenous teens ages 14-19 for an eight-day camp where they receive training in the emergency services while receiving advice from professionals in the field. Instructors will also receive cultural sensitivity training.

The camp is working with the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax. An elder will also be brought on board to offer support to the campers. The camp will run July 3-10. 

Speranza spent almost 30 years as a firefighter and said as people from diverse backgrounds break through in these fields, they need continued support.

"They need to feel welcomed and comfortable, so we can provide them with the best experience," said Speranza. 

'Best week'

Amber Barkhouse, 19, is a medical first responder for the Northfield District and Cornwall fire departments in Nova Scotia. 

The Mi'kmaw woman's father and grandfather were both firefighters and she attended Camp Courage in 2019. 

"It was the best week of my life," said Barkhouse, a member of Acadia First Nation. 

She credits the program with encouraging her to learn more about the first responder fields. She said she's glad to see the camp actively recruiting Indigenous people as it's rare to see other Indigenous first responders. 

"We don't really see each other that often and usually we have a really nice connection with each other," said Barkhouse. 

She hopes the more Indigenous people enter the field, the more Indigenous people will be drawn to it.

Salary matching and burnout

The Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada applauds the recruitment of Indigenous first responders but says more can be done to even the playing field for those working on reserve.

Michelle Vandevord, the association's president, is a member of Muskoday First Nation and has been a firefighter for the community for over 20 years.

"We always want to hire and have our own firefighters and emergency service personnel, we just need to be able to pay them properly," said Vandervord. 

She said Indigenous people serving their own community is valuable because they know the land and the people, but reserves often can't match the salaries of larger urban centres. 

She added that Indigenous first responders on reserve experience higher levels of burnout because they know and love the people they serve.

But Vandervord said a career in the emergency services can still be rewarding. 

"I'm showing girls in our First Nation communities that girls can become firefighters," said Vandervord.