Creating Emotionally Safe Connection Opportunities for Parents as a Priority to Supporting Nanaimo’s Vulnerable Elementary Students
Creating Emotionally Safe Connection Opportunities for Parents as a Priority to Supporting Nanaimo’s Vulnerable Elementary Students
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Issue Date
2025-08
Authors
Adair, Elijah
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Abstract
This capstone examines how creating emotionally safe opportunities to connect with parents can be a critical strategy in supporting vulnerable elementary students in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Drawing on the frameworks of Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Systems model and the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), it analyzes how intersecting factors such as poverty, trauma, systemic inaccessibility, and exposure to unsafe environments negatively affect family stability, functionality, and children's developmental outcomes. Through a literature review emphasizing recent, locally relevant research, this capstone discusses the compounded impact of multiple risk factors on a families’ ability to access essential services for health and social support. Findings highlight that a sense of belonging and emotional safety for parents is a prerequisite for meaningful engagement with support, which in turn fosters community resilience, secure attachments, and healthier life outcomes for their children. Findings also show that racialized minorities such as immigrants and Indigenous families are disproportionately facing higher rates of risk factors in Nanaimo, and many parts of B.C. Recommendations include meeting families "where they are at" through accessible, school-based connection opportunities and prioritizing culturally safe, inclusive practices for vulnerable learners and their families. By strengthening wellbeing of the family unit, elementary schools and school counsellors can play a pivotal role in mitigating barriers to service access and enhancing life outcomes for vulnerable elementary students.
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Keywords
vulnerable families , at-risk youth , emotional safety , cultural safety , social determinants of health , community-based care , integrated care , support barriers , poverty , immigration
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States , openAccess