New program aims to help Indigenous men and boys break cycles of violence

New program aims to help Indigenous men and boys break cycles of violence

Published 10:36 am Monday, October 5, 2026

A new program at the Dze L’kant Friendship Centre Society in Smithers aims to help Indigenous men and boys break cycles of violence, abuse, self-neglect, and disconnection through culture, nurturance, workshops, and community support.

The Indigenous Men and Boys Nurturance Space, is funded through a Path Forward grant from the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC).

The society’s alcohol and drug counsellor Mel Bazil applied for the grant money because he had a vision for an Indigenous men’s and boys’ healing and violence-prevention program. It is also intended to include marginalized and unhoused men and boys.

He said there are so many programs for women in the community but felt the men also needed a safe space.

“As Indigenous men affected by residential schools, MMIMB, ’60s scoop… we’re at a point where we need to reset as Indigenous men and boys,” he said. “Why don’t we get a whole lot of men and boys together and get the best out of them and let them all rub off on each other and have a healthy community, but also fill a space full of materials, books, videos.”

Bazil discussed how residential schools separated children from family, culture, land, traditional authority, and intergenerational teachings.

He connected this history to present-day fear, disconnection, confusion, and harmful behaviour among Indigenous men.

“I think what caught my thunder this year was I talked about my concept on mental health is that we are suffering not from PTSD, post-traumatic. We don’t have complex PTSD either. It’s not a not strong enough terminology for me, so I thought, let’s call it complex ongoing genocidal traumatic stress disorder.

“That’s what our people are going through. If it was post-traumatic, it means everything’s done in the past. It’s not. We’re always bracing ourselves for what’s next. So instead of bracing ourselves for what’s next, let’s put our men and boys into a position where they can keep themselves safe.”

With the funding, they were able to hire Lyle Michell as the Indigenous Men and Boys Director and help setup and run the new program. He said some of the planned activities include hunting, fishing, trapping, toolmaking, language, drumming, singing, and potlatch teachings.

He added the focus will be on cultural knowledge, respect for Elders, women, and children, and learning about gender-based violence.

“For the men and boys, it’s just to teach them about the gender-based violence because there is a lot of. There’s a lot of hurt men out there that that don’t want to open up, and if they are to find a safe space to open up and and even just learn to respect your elders, the women, the children, that’s what we do as young warriors,” he said.

The program has just begun and they have funding for two years. Bazil is hoping to get more long term funding and be able to rent a house, to have a safe place with a workshop in the backyard and maybe a barbecue, with rooms to house more resources so the men can grab reading material or movies.

“We want to break the cycle of violence, abuse, self-neglect, the pain, and fill ourselves with love and return to nurturance,” Bazil said. “Even men can be loving towards each other. It used to be more common to see men having more love for each other. It’s these fears nowadays, and it’s like, let’s get back to having love in our community.”