THE PAS friendship CENTRE
The Pas Friendship Society is a community that honours Indigenous culture, knowledge, and values by advocating and supporting the wholistic vision of building a strong, sustainable foundation through healing and empowerment.
Our Services
The Pas Friendship Society provides a variety of wholistic programs and services to all peoples in all four stages of life: infants/children, youth, adults, and elders. Pas FC supports individuals throughout their healing journeys utilizing a combination of internal and external networks to form wrap-around services based on a strengths-based and trauma-informed care approach.
Elder Services
The Pas Friendship Society honours Indigenous Elders through personalized support, cultural activities, and community events. Our services provide opportunities for Elders to share their wisdom and stay connected with the community.
Family Support
The Pas Friendship Society provides culturally grounded support to families, focusing on parenting resources, family wellness, and community connection. Our program strengthens family bonds and promotes holistic well-being. We collaborate with local, provincial, and national organizations to address issues, celebrate culture, and build lasting change.
Community Workforce Development Program (CWDP)
Supporting Indigenous communities with jobs, training, and sustainable growth through Friendship Centres
Mental Health & Addiction Services
The Pas Friendship Society delivers compassionate, culturally safe support for mental wellness and substance use challenges. Our services include counseling, harm reduction, referrals, and wellness-focused outreach.
Child & Family Programs
The Pas Friendship Society offers a range of programs to support the health, development, and cultural connection of Indigenous children and their families. Whether you’re navigating early childhood milestones, school-age transitions, or ongoing developmental needs, our programs are grounded in cultural safety, community care, and family connection.
Homeless Outreach
The Pas Friendship Society offers low-barrier support for community members facing housing challenges, including referrals, supplies, and advocacy. Daily hot lunches, crisis support, and addiction recovery referrals—because no one should face hunger or hardship alone.
Reaching Home
The Pas Friendship Society serves as the Indigenous Community Entity for Canada’s Reaching Home strategy in the Kelowna area. In this role, KFS oversees the distribution of federal homelessness funding through the Indigenous Homelessness stream, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively to support Indigenous communities. KFS also facilitates the Indigenous Community Advisory Board (ICAB), bringing together Indigenous leaders and representatives to guide funding decisions and address homelessness collaboratively.
Interpersonal Violence Support
Workshops, cultural events, and wellness programs that honor wisdom and promote lifelong learning.
Learn About our History
The Pas Friendship Society is a registered non-profit society, founded in 1999. Pas Fc is a part of the Friendship Centre Movement, which includes the National Association of Friendship Centres, provincial associations, and Friendship Centres throughout Canada. As part of this movement, Pasfc provides programs and services to all peoples in all four stages of life: infants/children, youth, adults, and Elders.The Pas Friendship Centre Inc. is committed to providing positive social and cultural programs and services while promoting Aboriginal pride and community harmony.
The Seven Teachings
Our Guiding Principles
Many Aboriginal organizations and communities have adopted the 7 guiding principles, in one form or another, as a moral stepping stone and cultural foundation. Each community has adapted the teachings to suit their community values. Despite where the teachings may have originated, they share the same concepts of abiding by a moral respect for all living things.
Love
Love is the gift from the Eagle. Love is a force that is undeniable. With love all things are possible. It is everyone’s right to have and experience it. In terms of the Medicine Wheel, love is the hub. It is symbolic of fire and the Creator. Man is incapable of understanding the Creator; so in turn, he gave us a way to experience love and enjoy love through our children.
Respect
Respect is the gift from the Buffalo. In all life, respect is the first and foremost. Respect oneself and respect will be bestowed (i.e. treat your body with respect and it will look after itself; treat it with poison and it will destroy itself).
Courage
The Bear carries courage. We seek the strength and courage to face our greatest enemy-oneself. The bear will give us the understanding to seek resolutions through spiritual intervention: hence, spiritual healing to deal with anger, pain and ourselves.
Honesty
Honesty is carried by the Sabe (Sasquatch). It is from within and not to confused with truth (law). In reality there is no “ifs or buts”, there can only be honesty if one is to survive. In the wilderness, one either knows survival, or one does not. Presently, man as a being is living on the edge, simply because he is not honest with himself. He does not want to believe that what he is taking in is toxic-alcohol and drugs. Furthermore he is not honest with his environment, which supports him. This generation is the first to leave a legacy of destruction; literally, we are feeding them upon our children-blatant honesty.
Wisdom
The Beaver carries wisdom. Wisdom is not to be confused with knowledge. Wisdom is the gained experience and knowledge is to know the difference and accept responsibility and accountability. When one pollutes the water, one does not break a human law, but the law of nature, which states that to poison the water, is to destroy oneself.
Humility
The Wolf carries humility. Central to the wolf is the family pack. To ensure survival, the pack must be as one. In one’s life, much the same as the wolf, we need to understand humility. In the wolf pack, each member understands his individual role and in our individual lives humility becomes the factor, which allows us to ask for guidance humbly.
Truth
The Turtle carries truth. Truth is symbolic of law and principle. Since the beginning of time the turtle has not changed. The turtle has been chosen to be the bearer of truth and the basic truth of the laws of nature have not changed. The turtle has been able to adapt to change without changing; thus he represents truth. He also represents time. His shell has thirteen big plates, symbolizing the thirteen moons in one year.
Support Our Cause
Donations and volunteering go a long way towards supporting not only our programs and services, but the 200+ individuals we serve on a daily basis. Unless specified in the donation page, it will be used to support the following departments: Outreach, Youth, Events, Family, Elders, and Child Development. To donate your time, please click on the volunteer button below.
Stay connected with our upcoming event calendar
Area We Work
Catchment Areas Include
Town of The Pas
Opaskwayak Cree Nation
R.M.of Kelsey
Wanless
Mosaikahikan Cree Nation
Community of Mooselake
Community of Cormorant
Misipawistik Cree Nation
Chemawawin Cree Nation
Community of Grand Rapids
Community of Easterville
Join the Helpers Group
The Pas Friendship Centre Inc. is a great place to come and relax with friends and an excellent place to come for help.
In addition to our programming, we also offer client referrals, faxing and photocopying services and the assistance and completion of government documents
The Pas friendship centre Proudly supported & Funded by
