The Healing Fund

The Healing Fund was originally established by General Council in 1994 as a five-year fund-raising and educational campaign (1995-1999) to address the impacts of residential schools on Aboriginal people. It now continues as one facet of the United Church's ongoing reconciliation work with Aboriginal people.

Many Aboriginal communities today are dealing with the long-term effects of residential schools. The schools contributed to the loss of language, culture and parenting skills in many Aboriginal communities as children over several generations were removed from their homes and sent to distant schools. In some cases, tragically, the schools were sites of physical and sexual abuse. For many Aboriginal people, the experience of the schools caused deep hurt.