The government recently passed legislation to make September 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This holiday provides an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools, and the day has been known in the past as Orange Shirt Day.

 As an Indigenous organization, this day has always had, and will continue to have, significant meaning; it is an opportunity to honour residential school survivors, as well as those who never made it home.

Though it is not recognized as a statutory holiday in Ontario at this time, we want to acknowledge this day for our staff, clients, their families, and communities. As such, we will continue to use this day to pay respect and honour residential school survivors and victims. SOAHAC will be open; we are hosting events, facilitating programming and providing teachings on the importance and significance of this day. Each Integrated Care Manager has worked with their site teams to determine what this day will look like for each SOAHAC site; you can contact the site closest to you for more details.

Miigwetch to our clients, who are the reason we exist and who inspire us every day as they work to heal from the generational trauma of residential schools and its impact on our communities.

Sincerely,

Brian Dokis, CEO & the Senior Leadership Team