AN INITIATIVE BY HEATHER CABRAL - INSPIRED BY NATURE

Helpers.

You showed up for community. 
Who shows up for you. 

You care about people.
You notice when someone needs help.
You step in.
You listen.
You advocate.
You create.
You carry responsibility.

Sometimes it's your job.
Sometimes it's your family.
Sometimes it's your community.
And sometimes it's simply who you've always been.
But being the person others turn to doesn't mean you have everything figured out.
You're building your own life at the same time.
Figuring out relationships. Work. Money. Family.
Identity. Purpose. Boundaries. Healing.
What you believe. Who you want around you.
Who you are becoming.
And maybe you've discovered something:
Being good at helping other people doesn't automatically mean you know how to help yourself.
That's part of why Helping the Helpers exists.

WHO IS THIS FOR

First… what do we mean by "Helper"?

You don't need to have Helper in your job title.

YOU MIGHT WORK IN

Health
Social services
Education
Youth programming
Administration
Community development
Culture
Mental health
Justice
Housing
​Economic development

BUT YOU MIGHT ALSO BE

An artist
An entrepreneur
A student
A volunteer
An advocate
A caregiver
A coach
A cultural Helper
An organizer
The cousin everyone calls
​The friend everyone tells everything to

The person who sees something that needs doing and thinks:

"Okay… I guess I'm doing it." 😂
Maybe you're already working in community.
Maybe you're still figuring out where you belong.
Maybe you don't even think of yourself as a Helper yet.
If you care deeply about your people and feel called to contribute in some way, you may already understand what we're talking about.

RECOGNITION

Is this you?

Maybe you love what you do -but you're tired.
Maybe you're surrounded by people all day and somehow still feel alone.
Maybe people rely on you, but you don't always know who you can rely on.
Maybe you've become so accustomed to being capable that people don't realize you're struggling too.
Maybe you're trying to support people through experiences you're still learning how to navigate yourself.
Maybe you're questioning your identity, purpose, relationships, career or direction.
Maybe you're healing things from your own past while trying not to carry them into your future.
Maybe you're becoming more aware of your patterns and thinking: "I don't want to keep doing this."
Maybe you know there's more in you.
Maybe you have ideas you haven't had the courage to follow.
Maybe you want mentorship — but don't necessarily want someone telling you what to do.
Maybe you're looking for people who think deeply, care deeply and are willing to have real conversations.

Or maybe things are actually going pretty well…
and you're simply ready to grow.
​
You don't have to be struggling to belong here.
And you don't have to have it all together either.

THE VISION

What if you had people around you, too?

Imagine knowing other young Indigenous Helpers outside your immediate circle.
People from other communities.
People doing completely different work.
People wrestling with some of the same questions.
People you could learn from.
Collaborate with. Call. Laugh with. Ask:

"Have you ever dealt with this?"

And then imagine that circle becoming wider.
​
Elders. Knowledge Carriers. Mentors. Artists. Entrepreneurs.
Experienced Helpers. Facilitators.
People carrying language. People carrying cultural knowledge.
People with professional expertise. People with lived experience.
People who have already walked some of the road you're beginning.

That's what we're building.
Not one expert. A village.

THE GATHERINGS

What happens at a Helping the Helpers gathering?

Every gathering will be a little different. That's intentional.

Helping the Helpers gatherings move between First Nation communities, giving you opportunities to experience different lands, meet different people and build relationships beyond your own community.
​
Depending on the gathering, you might:

The people, community and needs of each gathering help shape the experience.

You don't need to perform here.
This isn't another place where you need to prove how capable you are.
You don't need to know the right answer.
You don't need to call yourself a leader.
You don't need to have a five-year plan.
You don't need to share your whole story.

We're surrounding you with people and possibilities and giving you room to discover who you're becoming.

Maybe this experience strengthens the Helper you already are.
Maybe you discover something completely different.
Maybe you heal. Maybe you find your voice. Maybe you change direction.
Maybe you meet someone who changes your trajectory.
Maybe you simply leave knowing: there are people around me.
​
All of those count.

RECIPROCITY

What we ask from you

Helping the Helpers is being built on partnership and reciprocity.
We're not creating something for you while asking nothing of you.
We're investing in you. We're asking you to invest in yourself.

Not by arriving perfectly healed, confident or certain.
By arriving willing.

Willing to show up.
Willing to participate.
Willing to meet someone new.
Willing to listen.
Willing to contribute.
Willing to be curious.
Willing to consider another perspective.
Willing to take responsibility for your own choices.
Willing to say "No, that doesn't resonate with me."
Willing to say "Whoa. I need to look at that."
Willing to bring your gifts into the room, too.
​
We bring ours. You bring yours.
That's partnership.

YOUR AGENCY

Your sovereignty matters here.

Helping the Helpers isn't about creating followers.
And nobody involved in this initiative gets to be the ultimate authority on your life.

Not an Elder. Not a mentor. Not a facilitator. Not Heather.

People can share teachings. Offer perspectives. Ask questions. Tell stories. Challenge you. Share what they've learned. See possibilities you haven't considered.

You decide what resonates.
You have free will.
You get to question. You get to choose. You get to change your mind.
​
And when you recognize a pattern you've been choosing and realize you don't want it anymore? You get to choose again.
​

​You also have something to bring.

​Helping the Helpers isn't built on the idea that young people are empty vessels waiting for older or more experienced people to fill them up with knowledge.

You already carry knowledge, experience, perspective and gifts.
You know things someone else doesn't know.
You've survived things. Learned things. Created things. Questioned things. Seen things differently.
You come from people, land, relationships and experiences that have shaped you.

Someone sitting beside you may need something you carry.

So yes, we're creating opportunities for you to receive.
But we're also creating opportunities for you to discover:

What do I carry? What might I have to give?

And eventually, you may find yourself on the other side of the Circle offering something to the people coming behind you.

That's how the village continues.