The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) has introduced a Family Support Initiative that will provide each Qikiqtani household with a $1,500 grant to help cover costs of harvesting, sewing and the purchase of groceries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
photo courtesy of Susie Qaunaq
The program’s fund totals $2.65 million. Applications are open until Feb. 26, or when funds are exhausted.
“The Qikiqtani Family Support Initiative provides much needed financial support to Inuit as we face the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic,” says QIA President P.J. Akeeagok. “These funds will help families harvest country food, purchase groceries including cleaning products and access supplies for sewing warm winter clothes.”
Applications can be accessed online at https://www.qia.ca/qikiqtani-family-support-initiative/ .
Financial support for QIA’s Covid-19 response plan comes from the federal government’s Indigenous Community Support Fund. It provided $4.3 million to the QIA, $2 million of which was allocated for an Emergency Harvester/Social-distancing on-the-land initiative that began in April. Covid-19 Mental Health Surge Funding also plays a role in the Family Support Initiative.