Kelly (kaummajuk) is Inuk and Settler, born in central Labrador. As a youth, she split her time between practicing traditional ways in Labrador and living in the south. She graduated with her bachelor of Social Work from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2009 and has 13 years of experience in the helping field including mental health counselling for the Inuit community, as the clinical team lead for a counselling team, and most recently, as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives at Mamisarvik Healing Centre in Ottawa. Kelly has also participated in activism with regard to resource extraction projects and appropriate access to healthcare supports. As such, Kelly has diverse competencies in mental health, group facilitation, advocacy, housing supports management and community consultation. Kelly believes the path to healing is through culture and reconnection.
For years, Kelly has been a voice in the creation of an Inuit model of wellness – including, most recently, the Inuit Mental Health Model – a decolonial approach to mental health training for Inuit. She continues to participate in such through collaborative explorations of what Inuit mental health means via consultation with collateral resources and community members and uses this information to steer necessary program/structural development. Kelly has a passion for healing, mental wellness, and Inuit excellence that she channels into all the work she does. In her spare time, Kelly is invested in fitness and the mind-body connection.
For Kelly, Not Deciding Alone work means breaking down barriers that have previously prevented Inuit from fully understanding they have choices, and respecting Inuit to make these choices in an informed, collaborative way.