Partnering to Design a Mobile Healing Van Program to Bring Care to People in the North
Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin
Program Design + Evaluation
Grants + Strategy
Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM) is an Indigenous-led health organization established by the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Chiefs Task Force on Health.
Guided by First Nations leadership, KIM works to transform health and wellness services and improve outcomes for First Nations people across northern Manitoba. Its mission centers on comprehensive primary care, cultural safety, and withdrawal management that reflects Indigenous worldviews of healing and wellness.
Challenge
In northern Manitoba, many First Nations people face major barriers to accessing culturally safe and responsive health care. Thompson, the region’s largest service hub, experiences high rates of homelessness, emergency-department reliance, and limited access to primary care.
With Indigenous residents representing nearly half the city’s population, the need for accessible, trauma-informed, and culturally grounded care is urgent.
KIM sought support to advance the design and implementation of a Mobile Healing Van—a service that would reach unhoused and underserved First Nations people with low-barrier primary care, harm reduction, and cultural wellness supports. The organization needed a partner to help translate a powerful community-driven concept into a fully developed, fundable, and operationally ready program.
Solution
Changemark partnered with KIM and northern Manitoba communities to co-develop the program design, implementation plan, and operational framework for what became the Minoayawin Mobile Outreach Program (MMOP).
By grounding every step in ceremony, community voice, and collaboration, the process transformed vision into structure, ensuring the Healing Van reflected the wisdom, priorities, and lived realities of northern First Nations.
The project included:
Community-Led Design + Engagement
Co-development of engagement processes that brought together Elders, Knowledge Holders, Nation and community members across northern Manitoba
Facilitation of Walking the Healing Path consultations in Thompson and Community Wisdom Gathering sessions with Northern Tribal Councils
Integration of diverse stakeholder voices through town halls with the Northern Health Region, clinical providers, and First Nations police
Hosting of a Community Gathering and Naming Ceremony led by Elders and local partners to guide the van’s cultural identity and purpose
Program + Implementation Planning
Creation of a comprehensive Implementation Plan, including a program overview, logic model, workplan, and monitoring framework
Development of operational systems and tools, such as job descriptions, policy manuals, and readiness templates
Preparation of a full program budget, risk-mitigation plan, and communications strategy to ensure sustainability and alignment with funder requirements
Design of a pitch deck and engagement materials to communicate the model’s vision and secure investment
Integration of ceremony, community governance, and ongoing engagement into the program’s operating structure
Results
This community driven and partnership process led to a proposal securing $1.3 million in provincial funding to launch the Minoayawin Mobile Outreach Program (MMOP), a community-driven model that brings healing directly to the people of Thompson.
Impact Highlights:
Established an operational framework and tools to sustain the service long-term
Strengthened collaboration between KIM, the Northern Health Region, and First Nations partners
Centered Indigenous knowledge, ceremony, and community voice in every stage of design
Expanded access to culturally safe primary care, traditional healing, and withdrawal management services for unhoused and underserved community members
The MMOP stands as a living example of what’s possible when systems design begins with community voice, listening, reciprocity, and respect, turning a van into a vessel for healing, connection, and trust.
Interested in Learning More?
Let’s talk about how we can support you to bring care to your community through mobile programs.
