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About Us

The Family Support Institute is a volunteer-powered network across BC that provides peer-to-peer support, information, events and training and community.

About FSI

The Family Support Institute of BC (FSI) is a provincial not for profit society committed to supporting families who have a family member with a disability. 

FSI is unique in Canada and the only grass roots family-to-family organization with a broad volunteer base. 

FSI’s supports and services are FREE to any family.

Get in touch by phone

1-800-441-5403

Get in touch with email

Email Us

Mission & Vision

OUR VISION


All individuals and families are supported, connected and fully valued in their communities.

OUR MISSION


To strengthen, connect and build communities and resources with families of people with disabilities in BC

OUR BELIEFS


The Family Support Institute of BC (FSI) honours that FSI grew out of an era that did not value the pivotal role of families. Therefore, FSI believes:

  • Families are the best voice to speak for their unique circumstances
  • Informed, involved, and confident families are the most effective agents for creating social change
  • Informed families are more empowered to speak for themselves when needed
  • Families are the best resource to support one another
  • Families have a critical role in shaping the future for their family members

Guiding Principles

*All guiding principles will be led by our Vision, Mission and Beliefs as an organization in all we do

  • Keep the organization’s vision, mission and beliefs at the heart of all we do.
  • Support, mentor, and build capacity in families.
  • Promote inclusion for people with disabilities and their families in all aspects of our work.
  • Promote equal rights and equitable opportunities for people with disabilities and their families in all aspects of our work.
  • Support families to advocate for and promote quality supports and services for people. with disabilities and their families and respect choice and diversity in all areas of life.
  • Celebrate and support team members for exemplary teamwork and collaboration.
  • Share knowledge and best practice in family support, advocacy, stakeholder relations, and projects always.
  • Build relationships with community partners who align themselves with the organization.
  • Advocate for the social change.
  • Participate and contribute in community and with families.
  • Value diversity in backgrounds, experience and perspectives.
  • Be inclusive – inviting and accepting of differences in one another.

History

FSI WAS CREATED TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES WHO FACED THE EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES THAT COME FROM HAVING A FAMILY MEMBER WITH A DISABILITY.

In 1985, the members of a family support committee of Inclusion BC discussed ways to better support families.Our founding members were facing the challenges of institutions, navigating segregated education systems, and making an inclusive and valued place for them in society. At the time, families were not recognized as vital voices in decision making for their loved ones. They wanted better lives for their children and knew there were hundreds of other families like them across the province who wanted the same. It became clear that there was a need for an organization to bring these families together to provide this family support. In the fall of 1986, with funds from the St. Christopher’s Foundation, the Family Support Institute of BC (FSI) was established.

The first of its kind in Canada, FSI became a separate non-profit agency. The mandate of the Family Support Institute of BC is to strengthen families who had a son or daughter with any disability. FSI began with 6 volunteer Resource parents and have now grown to over 260.

  • 1987: FSI held it's first Training Weekend on Bowen Island.
  • 1992: FSI became a Registered Charity.
  • 2018: Historian Committee was created in 2018. This committee continues educating our board, members, staff, network and community on the history of the FSI.

Welcome

Bonnie's Story

WayFinders

More FSI Videos

Our Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Read More

Strategic Priorities & Plan 2023-2028

Increase awareness of FSI throughout the province so families find us when they need us.

Strengthen our programs, particularly in Northern, rural, and remote communities.

Strengthen FSI’s organizational capacity to be healthy and sustainable to better serve families.

Raise the voices of families and people with disabilities to affect systemic change in BC.

Embed and embrace Equity, Decolonization and Inclusion in all aspects for the organization.

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227 6th Street
New Westminster, BC
V3L 3A5

(604) 540-8374 ext. 523

Support Line:
1-800-441-5403

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As a provincial organization FSI acknowledges that our work spans across all of the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Indigenous territories in BC. Therefore, we respectfully honour all First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, as well as their ancestors, who have lived here and cared for these lands. It is with gratitude that we can live, learn and do our work in the province now known as British Columbia.

©2024 Family Support Institute  |  Privacy Policy  |  Registered Charity Number: 105629497RR0001. We acknowledge the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia.

Patti Mertz
Patti Mertz
Director of Operations (FSIBC)

Patti Mertz has extensive experience in senior leadership and is known for her ability to build and align organizational policies, procedures, and culture with strategic objectives. As Director of Operations at the Family Support Institute of BC, she oversees the pan-provincial workforce which includes 200 volunteer peer mentors, supporting families of children with disabilities. Her role includes data analysis, workforce development, program strategy, communications, and CARF compliance. Patti is a member of Race & Disability Canada – IDEA Practitioners and Professionals Network, and is passionate about integrating the principles of cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion into the organization’s work. She collaborates closely with FSI’s Indigenous Practice Advisor to support commitments to Truth & Reconciliation and anti-racism. 

Sarah Russ  
Childcare Advisor for Aboriginal Head Start Association of BC (AHSABC)

Sarah Russ is from the Ditidaht First Nation on her Maternal side, and the Skidegate First Nation on her Paternal side. She is the mother of two beautiful boys, James and Kolbi. She has a diploma in Early Childhood Education and now works with childcare programs across BC as a childcare advisor with the Aboriginal Head Start Association of BC (AHSABC).

Angela Clancy
Angela Clancy   
FSI Executive Director 

Angela Clancy has been the Executive Director of the Family Support Institute (FSI) for 25 years. In her role at FSI, she has been able to maximize her long history of experience and education with families who face the extraordinary challenges that come with having a family member with a disability.

Angela has been personally and professionally inspired by growing up with her brother, Alan, who requires ongoing supports throughout his life due to disability challenges. Angela’s education and life experience have led her to form a strong value system that is based on equal rights, equal opportunities, and community inclusion for all people. She brings skills in ethical practice, policy development, non-profit management, human resources, trauma-informed practice, cultural competency and intelligence, strategic planning, fiscal management, child development, family support, and Advocacy.

Angela has 3 daughters who have all individually taught her lessons about herself, her dedication to family, and how to maximize each opportunity in your life for what it has to offer you; to cherish every minute and every experience.

Laranna Scott
Laranna Scott     
FSI Indigenous Practice Advisor; FSI Resource Parent 

Laranna Scott lives with gratitude on the shared traditional territory known as the Boundary, where she honours and acknowledges all the Indigenous peoples and ancestors who lived there and cared for the lands in Grand Forks, BC. Laranna has Danish and Métis ancestry from her mother’s side and Russian ancestry from her father’s side. Laranna’s grandfather, Métis Elder Thomas Taylor, was a direct descendent of Ambroise Lepine, and the one to encourage Laranna to embrace her Métis roots while she was still in high school when he helped to form the Boundary Metis Community Association. As a result, Laranna acted as the first Youth Representative for both the Boundary Métis Community Association as well as for the Boundary Indigenous Education Advisory Council. 

Laranna holds a certificate in Early Childhood Education from the College of the Rockies and diplomas in Special Needs Education and Infant-Toddler Education, culminating in a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Youth Care from the University of the Fraser Valley. She is the proud mother of her daughter Trinity and a firm advocate for and believer in the power of early intervention. In 2017, Laranna was awarded the BCACCS Aboriginal Child Care Recognition Award, which honours Early Childhood Educators acting as exceptional role models. 

Laranna has been a part of the Aboriginal Steering Committee (ASC) at UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) since the Fall of 2014 because of her passion to support the health and well-being of children and families across the province. She believes that children are a gift from Creator and shares in HELP’s vision of “all children thriving in healthy societies.” Laranna has worked in a variety of capacities for nearly 25 years in the child and youth care field and helped establish an Aboriginal Head Start Child Care program in the Boundary. She was also the Early Learning and Child Care Engagement Manager for Métis Nation BC’s Ministry of Education. 

In Laranna’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, husband, friends, Elders and extended family. She also loves travelling and being out in nature hiking, mountain biking, and scuba diving. Since 2019, Laranna has been a volunteer Resource Parent with FSI and now serves as FSI’s first Indigenous Practice Advisor. 

Alyssa Crees
Wellbeing Coordinator, Métis Nation BC (MNBC) 

Alyssa Crees is a proud Cree/Métis woman. 

In her current role, she provides funding for families with children birth to 8 years, that have additional support needs. She funds services such as assessments, Speech & Language, Occupational Therapy and medical equipment. She also has 9 years of experience supporting children with complex trauma and developmental disabilities, as well as adults. In addition, she has recently started her post-secondary journey towards earning an Indigenous Human Service Worker certificate. 

Alyssa is grateful that she gets to be a part of this circle of support for families across the province, and to have the opportunity to lend her voice to important causes and groups, as both a citizen and a professional in the field. 

Jennie Roberts   
Provincial Indigenous Child Care Advisor 

Jennie Roberts is a mom of 10 children ranging from 12 all the way to 40 years old. She is currently the Provincial Indigenous Child Care Advisor with the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society.  

Jennie has enjoyed her experience with being an Early Childhood Educator and really loves the joy she sees in children. She enjoys the learning experiences from the children that Creator has blessed her with and hopes to bring this joy to FSI’s Indigenous Advisory Circle. 

Dixie Hunt-Scott   
Provincial Advisor for Aboriginal Infant Development Program (AIDP) 

Dixie Hunt-Scott is a member of the Kwakiutl First Nation of T̕sax̱is (Fort Rupert), which is located on the northern part of Vancouver Island. She has Kwaguʼł, Ma’amtigila, Tlingit, and Scottish ancestral roots. Dixie is also married into the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. She is the mother of two children and has a Cree/Métis grandson.

Dixie completed her diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education while living in T̕sax̱is. She went on to complete a diploma in Child and Youth Care First Nations while working as an Aboriginal Infant Development Consultant for the Kwakiutl Band. After moving to the Comox Valley, Dixie completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Child and Youth Care. She also had the opportunity to participate and complete the Professional Specialization Certificate in International CYC, Indigenous Early Childhood Development at the University of Victoria.

Throughout her academic career there has been a focus on learning traditional teachings from the Elders. Many First Nations people refer to children as the “gifts from the Creator.” Dixie has been working in the field of Early Childhood Development, which has granted her the opportunity to honor those gifts by supporting Indigenous children and their families.

Dixie is the Provincial Advisor for Aboriginal Infant Development Programs (AIDP) in BC. This is a new position that she started in April 2023. Twenty-five years ago, she began working with AIDP in her home community of T̕sax̱is, on Northern Vancouver Island, as a consultant. She went on to work as an Infant Development Consultant (IDC) and as an Aboriginal Early Years Consultant in the Comox Valley. While working as an IDC, Dixie was also the Vancouver Island AIDP Regional Advisor for 12 years.

Dixie has a remote office in the Comox Valley where she has the privilege and honour to live and work in the unceded traditional territories of the Pentlatch, E’iksan and K’ómoks First Nations.

Sheila Grieve   
Vancouver Island University (VIU) Professor of Early Childhood Education and Care 

Sheila Grieve, ECE, BPE, BA, MAIS is grateful to the Snuneymuxw people on whose unceded traditional territory she currently learns, lives, and works. She is the daughter of the late Evelyn (Ducharme) Grieve and late William Grieve. As a member of the Métis Nation, Sheila commits to the concept of Kaa-Wiichihitoyaahk, taking care of each other. She is low vision (legally blind) and a professor of Early Childhood Education and Care at Vancouver Island University (VIU). Her research interest is land–based learning with a special focus on plants and our connections to plants; everyone has the right to thrive outside. 

Dave Seaweed  
Knowledge Keeper

Dave was born and raised in East Vancouver. His Great Grandfather was from Blunden Harbour, and his Grandfather and Father were from Port Hardy, Alert Bay. He belongs to the Kwakiutl Nation. 

Most of his educational and professional life was spent with Douglas College. His first credential was a Diploma in Arts, followed by a Sports Science Diploma and an Associate of Arts degree. He was an athlete and a coach as well as the President of both the Student Union and the Alumni Association. When in the office of the VP, he played a big role in establishing both the Student Union building as well as the Aboriginal Gathering Place. As their Indigenous Coordinator for 23 years, he has taught many guest lectures in a variety of faculties and subjects. He is honoured to have a Scholarship named after him at Douglas College – the Dave Seaweed Award of Distinction, awarded to Indigenous Athletes in the College.  

In addition to all of this, Dave was an elected member of the Board of Directors for the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) from 2015 to 2023. He was also one of 4 elected Executives of the BC Indigenous Post-Secondary Coordinators Council (BC IPSC), as the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley Rep working with the Ministry of Advanced Education for the last 9 years. He was an Advisory member for the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) as well as an Indigenous Advisory member for School District 40 (SD40) in New Westminster from 2004 to 2023. Dave was recently recruited as a member of the New Westminster City Council Community Advisory Assembly as well as FSI’s IAC. 

Rona Sterling-Collins  
Provincial Advisor for Aboriginal Supported Child Development (ASCD); FSI Resource Parent 

Rona Sterling-Collins is Quist’letko from the Nłeʔkepmx Nation. Rona was raised on her ancestral land, Joeyaska First Nation in the Interior of British Columbia and she continues to reside there among her extended family. She is married and has two adult children and a four-year-old granddaughter. Her son Wyatt has autism, which challenged her to become an advocate for him and other Indigenous children and adults with developmental disabilities. 

She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work. In 1996, she started a Consulting Business – Rona Sterling Consulting – and works as an Indigenous Consultant across the Province of BC. Rona has had the honour of working with many Indigenous organizations and communities and championed many projects and initiatives. Her work has included training, curriculum development, strategic planning, policy development, program reviews, and various community and capacity building projects. She is currently doing more work in the Indigenous early years and disabilities field as an Aboriginal Regional Advisor for the Thompson/Shuswap/Cariboo Region. Rona has also recently taken on the Aboriginal Supported Child Development Provincial Advisor role and has been a Resource Parent with FSI since 2014. 

Rona approaches her life from a wholistic perspective and promotes this philosophy to continue to create systems of change.  She is dedicated to decolonization and Indigenization, and she holds children and families at the heart of her work.  

Katie Pearson 
Parent & Auntie 

Katie is honoured to work and live on the shared unceded traditional territories of the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo and Tsawassen First Nations. She is Coast Salish from the shíshálh Nation. Her father was a residential school survivor. Her mother left him with her sister when Katie was 3. She was raised away from her people, her culture and her territory.

Katie’s cultural reclamation journey began at age 38 as a new mother. She and her daughter began attending a program called “Aboriginal Mother Goose,” a parent-led preschool program when her daughter was 2 months old. This program gave her the courage to feel safe enough to leave the house with her newborn daughter that first year. What’s more is that the program facilitator was one of the first positive Indigenous role models that she met on her journey to reclaim her culture. Indigenous representation matters. It was through that program she developed a relationship with the Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society (LFVAS). In 2012, she began to volunteer at their events; in 2013, she was nominated to the board of directors as their Treasurer. In 2015, she became the President of the Board, and in 2018, Katie was hired in a newly created role as CEO. In 2024 Katie resigned and now works at SFU as an Indigenous Student Life Coordinator.

Katie believes that culture saves lives and she is grateful to be on the journey to reclaim hers over the last 13 years. hay ce:p q̓ə. All my relations.

Duane Jackson  
Knowledge Keeper

Duane Jackson is from the Gitanmaax of the Gitxsan Nation. With a background in early childhood education, he has worked with Success By 6 and Children First as well as partnered with various early childhood and health initiatives in BC. He has been a member of UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership’s (HELP) Aboriginal Steering Committee (ASC) for the past 15 years. 

Duane has been involved with the Patient Voices Network for 8 years, being involved in many initiatives attached to patient quality improvement. He was a member of the technical committee that helped create the Cultural Safety and Humility Health Standard that is currently in BC hospitals. 

Duane is also focused on men’s health. He is founder of the Tauhx Gadx men’s program, which focuses on being a whole person. “The idea is not to look at what it means to be a ‘man’ within today’s society but rather to get an understanding of what it means to be a ‘whole person’.” 

Jean Lloyd
Elder

Jean is the provincial Elder on the Minister’s Advisory Council for Children & Youth with Support Needs (CYSN MAC) in BC, joining us from Christina Lake. She is the proud mother of two sons, seven grandchildren, four step grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Jean appreciates the gifts in everyone and is honoured to have a grandchild with Down syndrome as well as an adopted grandchild with complex support needs and a great grandchild on the autism spectrum.  

For a lot of her life, Jean was unaware of her Indigenous roots. Her contributions as a respected Elder are representative of her commitment to learning her culture, and engaging in her community. In 2021, Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) awarded Jean with the Volunteer Recognition Award for her continued community engagement, noting her mobilization efforts during the pandemic. 

As an Elder, Jean is honoured for her wealth of experience, wisdom and the deep compassion she shows for people. She is on several councils and committees where she works on projects to support children inviting them to open themselves to the natural world of Creator’s outdoors. Jean is also a self-published author of the children’s book Little Bird, which was inspired by many years of hiking in the Kootenays and a joyful rewrite of a childhood she never had. The book characterizes Jean’s appreciation for the connectedness of all living things, and the possibilities of manifesting our beliefs. 

Diana Elliott, IAC Member
Diana Elliott
Elder

Diana Elliott is retired from 33+ years working in Indigenous Early Childhood Development and Family Support Programs.  Diana is Coast Salish from Cowichan Tribes in Duncan B.C and has equal roots in the Nuu Chah Nulth Territory from the Hupačasath First Nation in Port Alberni. She spent almost 20 years of her career as the Provincial Advisor to 57 Aboriginal Infant Development Programs (AIDP) throughout BC on reserve and in urban communities. Her passion has been to support families to raise their children through early learning in loving and nurturing homes. She will continue to be a champion for Indigenous children and be a support and ally to the programs that support them. 

FSI Privacy Consent and Authorization

  • You understand and agree that you are providing the Family Support Institute of BC (“FSI”) with personal information, either of yourself or on behalf of another individual regarding whom assistance is sought (the “Personal Information”). The Personal Information may include, but is not limited to, medical information, health care history, education information, financial information, employment information, and/or contact information.
  • You represent and warrant that you have the authority to provide the Personal Information to FSI.
  • You consent to the collection, use and disclosure of the Personal Information for the purpose of participating in the programs and/or activities of FSI. You understand and consent to this information being used to facilitate participation in the programs and activities of FSI, including, but not limited to, support programs; workshops & training; networking opportunities; and information and referrals.
  • You understand and consent to the Personal Information being provided to FSI personnel, including, but not limited to Resource Parents and Resource Peers.
  • You understand that FSI is collecting the Personal Information under the applicable provincial legislation and any questions about the collection, use or disclosure of the Personal Information may be directed to .
  • By submitting the form, you agree that you understand the above consent and authorization and you represent and warrant that you have proper authority to provide such consent and authorization. You further understand and agree that you are providing consent and authorization to FSI concerning the Personal Information as set out herein.