Helper

I began my role as a helper when I was 10 years old before I even understood what that meant. I wanted young people and kids to be heard because I saw in school after school, program after program kids not being heard when they would raise their voices. I practiced when I joined Army cadets, human rights groups, choir, drama and student council in high school. These experiences allowed me to learn that systems can change - if only we know enough to navigate them safely and communicate effectively.

It is with this experience that I began my adult career as a tutor, a drop-in worker and eventually an educational assistant. I was able to help guide youth councils, direct funds to youth programs and help found an Indigenous youth movement. I learned how to communicate with youth, adults and systems alike - sharing each lesson with other helpers younger and more energetic than me. I watched the movement grow in good times and bad times, taking on difficult decisions time and time again. The support of the community and knowledge keepers was critical as we learned how to turn our pain into solutions.

I recognized that as an adult, I needed to succession plan for much of my youth focused community work. Creating space for young people and letting them step into new, exciting and challenging system roles, with my support, was something that brought me great joy. I also recognized my role changing when a relative became sick in late 2017. These life and death situations have a habit of putting everything into perspective. From that time until now I have willingly allowed my role and influence to decrease in youth spaces, which was appropriate for me as an adult and mentor. I hope the current young leaders who are organizing and helping in the community will work towards mino bimadisiwin / the good life.

I am excited that in my 33rd year of walking on this earth that I have so many adventures planned for the future. I will take the many lessons learned, often from making mistakes, and take every available opportunity to better myself and work towards solutions at a system and human being level. Something I often repeat  is “we need to welcome people to be themselves, to try new things, to ask all the questions and to make mistakes”. I still believe this to be true.

As I carry on, I will continue to be the helper that I needed when I was 10 - telling positive stories about my community, supporting families struggling with systems and working towards accountability and integrity.

My website is where you can find all things related to my work

www.MichaelRedheadChampagne.com

My new email addresses are:

book@michaelredheadchampagne.com - for professional purposes, media requests or bookings

mc@michaelredheadchampagne.com - for other Michael related adventures

mc@fearlessr2w.ca - for Fearless R2W & child welfare related things

Talk to you soon!