
AONest for First Nation Communities and Organizations
Help your community and staff members improve their mental health, build spirit, and embrace Indigenous culture
Canada is suffering from a mental health crisis: 1 in 5 will experience a mental health challenge this year and the stats are even higher in First Nation communities. Many individuals suffer from unresolved intergenerational trauma which manifests into mental health concerns. Unfortunately, due to the lack of therapists in Canada, individuals are often left to find ways to heal themselves. To make matters worse, those who live in Northern communities might not have immediate access to mental health support programs.
Does any of this sound familiar on your reserve? ​​
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“We feel isolated because our reserve is so remote.”
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“Our schools have a high drop-out rate.”
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“Drugs, alcohol, violence, and crime are problems in our community.”
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“Many of our family and friends suffer from mental health concerns.”
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“A lot of people experience homelessness here.”
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“There are not any mental health support programs nearby.”
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“Our health care workers do not have time to help everyone who needs it.”
Introducing AONest: the software system your community members can use to navigate their mental health concerns
AONest™â€¯is a self-guided digital solution that is available 24x7, making it a handy resource that an individual can use to work on their mental health concerns at any time. It provides an inclusive, confidential “space” for mental health and emotional well-being that supports people by meeting them where they are, online, and throughout their lives.
Use the system in the way that best suits your needs
AONest can be used in different ways:
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Independently: Individuals can use AONest to improve their mental health and build their spirit on their own time, at their own pace, from anywhere.
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Worker-led: Community health care and mental health workers can use the AONest lessons and worksheets to guide small group discussions. They can tailor the concepts and examples to suit the needs of their groups.
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Teacher-led: Teachers can use AONest to guide classroom activities. They can select lessons that will appeal to their students and supplement their curriculum, and they can adjust the examples to suit the ages of their students.
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In addition to talk therapy / psychotherapy: An individual who is already engaged with a therapist can add AONest to their mental health toolkit and use it when therapy is not available (e.g., after hours).
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easy-to-use
self-guided
comprehensive
Understand how emotions impact well-being  
Developed, reviewed, and curated by experts (e.g., registered psychologists and psychotherapists), AONest consists of dozens of courses and hundreds of lessons and corresponding worksheets. Together, these resources help individuals discover strategies to deal with challenges in everyday life.  
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The courses address specific areas of mental health – everything from managing stress, anxiety, and anger to navigating breakups, handling finances, and dealing with grief.  Users can watch videos and complete worksheets that interest them so the AONest resources combine into infinite learning pathways. An individual’s unique learning pathway is based on their specific interests, skills, and needs.

The material often crosses over between courses and a user’s learning will build as they dive into more areas.
Build emotional intelligence 
A user’s self-guided mental health journey often starts with the AONest Emotional Intelligence (EQ) course which introduces different emotions and provides strategies for building emotional intelligence and resilience.




After completing the EQ course, the individual should be better able to:
 
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Understand, identify, regulate, communicate, and navigate emotional triggers, responses, and interactions,
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Understand the emotional needs of others,  
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Embrace the needs of different people,
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Navigate different social dynamics, 
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Work through conflicts with increased ability,
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Improve relationships.
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The emotional intelligence course is a tool that can help people become more self-aware. It can help point an individual in the right direction so they can uncover new areas that may improve their mental health and emotional well-being. For example, after taking the course, a person might decide to spend some time exploring strategies to manage their anxiety or deal with grief, or they might explore other areas of interest. As they create their learning pathway, they will probably find that the information in new courses relates to previous courses they completed. 
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​To get a sense of how AONest introduces a concept, watch the “Benefits of Understanding Your Emotions” video above, or click below.
Navigate all stages of life
AONest is a comprehensive system to help people navigate all of life’s stages, including: 
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Education
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Employment
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Relationships
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Parenting
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Senior Support
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The content is always available whenever a user needs it: 24x7. By working through the courses, AONest users learn to understand emotions and how they relate to mental well-being, improve their mental health, boost their resilience, build their spirit, and increase their emotional well-being – at any stage of life.
Watch a quick demo
The AONest team is constantly expanding the tools and resources included in AONest. To see the system in action, watch our quick walkthrough video.
Learn about Indigenous culture, traditions, and language
AONest encourages spiritual healing and integrates Indigenous cultural traditions with clinical practices to improve emotional well-being and foster development of emotional intelligence, respect, relationships, and the ability to work through personal challenges. In addition to the many resources which help individuals improve their mental health, emotional well-being, and resilience, AONest also offers resources to help First Nations, Inuit, and Métis learn about Indigenous culture, traditions, and language.


Earn rewards
As an individual works through the AONest materials, they receive rewards for completing lessons and courses. AONest grants a feather for every video a user watches, a golden feather whenever a user completes ten video lessons, and a course badge when the individual has completed all lessons in a course. Rewards appear on the user's dashboard, along with progress bars to show completion status for each course they have started. This video gives a quick overview:
Adopt a self-guided approach to managing mental health 
The AONest solution is: 
Professionally curated
Digital
Self-guided
Always available
At your own pace
Private
Easy to use
Benefit from expert content that covers strategies for navigating all stages of life.
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Work on your mental health using a software solution. All you need is an internet connection and comfortable space.
Complete the initial emotional intelligence program and use it as a tool to help you determine other areas that can help improve your emotional well-being.
Use AONest anytime, anywhere – whenever you want to work on your mental health. If you also take advantage of talk therapy and/or psychotherapy, AONest can also be a bridge between appointments.
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Follow the self-guided program and spend as much time as you need on any topic of interest.
You just need to be honest with yourself.
Gain new skills and understand your mental well-being with a toolkit of information, resources, and processes: by watching the videos and completing the worksheets, you will find the strategies that are best suited for you.
Get AONest for your community members and deliver the social determinants of mental wellness for Indigenous individuals
Through a unique combination of resources, AONest delivers the social determinants of mental wellness for Indigenous individuals:
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Language, heritage, and culture;
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Education and lifelong learning;
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Land and resources;
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Infrastructure and essential services;
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Racism and discrimination.
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We hope to partner with all 3,600 reserves across Canada to begin the process of reconciliation (healing and wealth building).
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If you are ready to explore how to use AONest in your community, please reach out below.