Rooted in story, trust, and relationship, the PATH Process is a community-driven way to better support our people, especially those navigating housing challenges.

The PATH Process is currently being piloted in four locations across Canada, and two additional locations are Preparation Sites in the PATH Project [Phase 2, Part 1], preparing to be future PATH communities.

Cowichan is a Western preparation site in Britich Columbia, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Quw’utsun territory of the Cowichan Tribes.

While PATH is a national, Indigenous-led framework, each community brings it to life in its own way. In Cowichan, the PATH Process is guided by local knowledge through PATH Working Groups: Nuts’a’wuqw Lelum and Cowichan Integrated Community Development, and led by Cowichan Women’s Health Collective (CWHC).

CWHC is the Coordinated Access Lead Agency for the Cowichan Valley region, an Indigenous Stream Community Entity with the United Way, and used an Indigenous-led approach to designing their Coordinated Access system. CWHC is rooted in inclusivity, empowerment, fostering of choice, cultural safety, and focused on improving services for vulnerable populations. Under the guidance of elders and community partners, Nuts’a’wuqw Lelum has emerged as the region’s decolonizing, community-informed Coordinated Access System that re-villages our approach to wellness, housing, and support services. Nuts’a’wuqw Lelum is a Hul’q’umi’num’ term gifted to the project which translates to “community house”.

This pilot is about more than testing a new tool. It is about reclaiming how we listen, support, and walk alongside one another in ways that reflect our people, our stories, our strengths, and our communities.

Mainstream tools (e.g., VAT) used in BC often ask the wrong questions in ways that feel disconnected from real housing needs.

The PATH Process was co-created by Indigenous communities coast-to-coast-to-coast, alongside the National Indigenous Homelessness Council, in response to a national call for change. Through the PATH Process, we:

• Honour stories and strengths
• Build relationships, not reports
• Make housing decisions with heart, not just data

Melaina Patenaude & Sarah Sadler
Community-Based Pathfinders, Cowichan
📧 email Melaina: camgr@cowichanwomenshealth.ca
📧 email Sarah: ca@cowichanwomenshealth.ca
🔗 Visit: cowichanwomenshealth.org

Local Support Partners

• Nuts’a’wuqw Lelum Advisory Committee
• Cowichan Integrated Community Development
• Cowichan Women’s Health Collective
• United Way British Columbia