Author: deethorson

I learned to work my first computer in 1977, it was a Radio Shack TRS-80, the hot CoCo as it was known. Instead of a hard drive, it had a cassette drive and I would copy code from the Hot CoCo magazine to create fascinating projects like the game of Stock Ticker, which I would sit up all night and play. I should have put in more effort, I should have tried…, I should have learned…, I should have?

I have spent the bulk of my life using computers, I did work in a sawmill, flipped burgers, sorted magazines, cut glass, and worked security among other things. I spent the bulk of my time working in a government-style setting, Bankruptcy, Fisheries, RCMP to mention a few. My final Government job was with Health Canada working with a team of 15 or more people (I never did meet everyone), delivering a number of different healthcare-related services. My last duty with Health Canada was working for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission taking statements and manning the Mental Health Services booth.

On the following Monday, I would go to my final job at the newly created First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). I wanted to be able to finally make a difference, to be meaningful. Leonard George, a former chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, adopted the few of us from Health Canada who came to work at FNHA into the Wolf Clan.

During my time with FNHA I worked almost exclusively within the Indian Residential School survivors’ mental health programs. It is impossible to calculate the damage caused by the Residential Schools in Canada and I am sure I will return to this topic many times. Now that I have passed my torch to my coworkers, it is time for me to move on and let the good work of the FNHA evolve and continue the healing tradition.