Fifteen Miles From Armstrong

Ten meetings in two and a half days. One self-funded journey north. A road closure stopped the team 15 miles from Armstrong, but it did not stop the work.

Listening first

Nation Building Alliance facilitated the outreach and coordinated a field team made up of Miles General, Joe Day, Dan Laprance, and Derek. They travelled north to understand what communities need from recovery, reintegration, housing, and practical partnership.

Ten meetings

In two and a half days, the team completed ten meetings with First Nations, Indigenous organizations, and a correctional centre. Nine contacts wanted to continue recovery-service discussions, two wanted to explore courts and community reintegration, and three organizations were ready to continue housing conversations with NBA.

The last fifteen miles

After shifting winds stopped a planned charter flight, the team continued toward Armstrong by road. Active wildfire conditions and a road closure forced them to turn back 15 miles south of the community.

What comes next

NBA and SixMiles will continue the relationships opened during the visit and work toward reaching Armstrong safely when access can be arranged. The experience reinforced a practical truth: support is not accessible unless communities can reliably reach it and it can reliably reach them.

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