DHSD Community Offices:

Dedicated staff including Team Leaders and Community Health Workers are committed to offering the best programs and services possible. There are health promotion, prevention and education activities available for all ages and are designed to foster healthy communities, families and individuals.

There is a community office in each of five Nunatsiavut communities as well as in North West River and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Each of the seven community offices develop an individual annual work plan to identify programming priorities and areas of focus for the upcoming year. By offering programs and initiatives that are focused to address each community’s specific needs, we hope to provide effective and meaningful programs for our Beneficiaries in all communities. Topics and activities vary among the seven communities but all communities offer programming that incorporate cultural activities, healthy lifestyles, positive social interactions, good nutrition and physical activity.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about the programs and services offered in your community, please contact or visit your local DHSD Community office.

Nain Community Office
7 Commercial St.
(709) 922-2126

Hopedale Community Office
38 Center Avenue
(709) 933-3894

Postville Community Office
35 Kaipokok Drive
(709) 479-9878

Makkovik Community Office
6 Willow Creek Lane
(709) 923-2340

Rigolet Community Office
8 Shiwak’s Lane
(709) 947-3309

North West River Community Office
1 Mission Road
(709) 497-8807

Happy Valley-Goose Bay Community Office
14 Corte Real Road
(709) 896-3396

Childcare:

Regulated, quality daycare services are offered in the five Nunatsiavut communities. These include the Pigutsavik Centre in Nain; the Aiagutak Centre in Hopedale, the Pinguavik Centre in Postville, the Suguset TigikKuk Centre in Makkovik and the Kangnik Centre in Rigolet.
Daycares provide childcare services for parents and cater to children between 24 and 72 months. Daycare Operators and Childcare Workers trained in Early Childhood Education aspire to provide quality care in a happy, healthy, stimulating and culturally appropriate environment. For more information on this service, please refer to the Parent Handbook (link).

Aboriginal Headstart (Hopedale): The Suguset Centre focuses on the needs of children ages three to five. The Centre offers a school readiness program as well as programs for parents that encompass teachings in traditions, health promotion, social support and nutrition. Parents are encouraged to interact with their children in a way that is culturally, socially, emotionally and intellectually stimulating.

Language Nest: DHSD runs two Language Nest programs, which are Inuktitut immersion program for infants. There’s the Nain Language Nest Centre and the Innuagualiut Centre in Hopedale.

Family Resource Centre (Nain): The Pigattuk Centre is funded by the Provincial Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and recognizes the importance of providing a variety of community based activities and resources that emphasize early childhood development and parenting support. A range of childcare programs are offered focusing on children from infancy to five years of age. The programs are designed to promote social, cultural, educational and nutritional growth for children and their parents / caregivers.

NG Status of Women:

This file is focused on supporting Labrador Inuit women on long standing and emerging issues by developing relationships, fostering partnerships and liaising with the goal of identifying common interests and sharing resources. This file has a specific focus on 1. Violence Prevention, 2. Women in Leadership and 3. Women’s Well-being. Represents NG in regional, provincial, national and international committees related to women’s issues. Plans, implements and coordinates commemorative dates and events that relate to and highlight women, with DHSD front-line staff and various partners.

Food Security:

Food Security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Nunatsiavut communities have some of the highest documented rates of food insecurity in the country. The 2014 Nunatsiavut Household Food Security Survey found that 61.1 percent of Nunatsiavut households were food insecure.
What is Inuit food security? A person is food insecure if they do not have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This could mean that they can’t afford a balanced diet, they miss meals or do not eat for days at a time. For Inuit, it can also mean that they don’t have access to country foods from the land which are central to our culture and way of life.

Food insecurity has significant negative impacts on physical health, as well as mental health, and becomes a serious cause of stress within households and communities.

Food security is a complex issue that requires a multiple prong approach to address short and long term concerns. Programs that address the emergency need for food such as community freezers where residents can access wild foods that are harvested and donated to the freezer. As well as programs to help improve food literacy skills such as community kitchens, meal bag programs and label reading are some of the actions in Nunatsiavut to help improve food security.

Regional Team:

The Regional Team supports the community in carrying out the planning and implementation of program and services. The Community Programs regional team consists of :
• Director of Community Programs, Happy Valley Goose Bay, 218 Kelland Drive 709-896-9750
• Regional Childcare Manager, Happy Valley Goose Bay, 218 Kelland Drive 709-896-9750
• Food Security Programs Manager, Happy Valley Goose Bay, 218 Kelland Drive 709-896-9750
• Status of Women Coordinator, Rigolet, Nunatsiavut 709- 947-3603