Chelsea Kelly

Chelsea is a Family Development Worker at Hulitan Family and Community Services in the Kwen'an'latel Intensive Parenting Program. She works with parents whose children are in the temporary care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) to address the concerns that MCFD has identified. She meets with each parent a minimum of twice a week to help them establish and follow through on their goals, as well as engage in intensive self-discovery and healing to support them with long-term success in their parenting role. She is honoured to work with such strong and resilient families and looks forward to going to work every day.

Chelsea credits UVic with helping her find her voice so she is able to be a strong advocate for people who are navigating a challenging system. Some of the key practice skills that she brings to her work are relationship-building, a strengths-based approach, and using response-based practice, particularly when working with parents who have experienced violence. Each of these key skills were developed and enriched through her education at UVic in the School of Social Work.

Through my work in the School of Social Work, I developed a strong understanding of the importance of self-reflection and locating oneself within the broader community and society as a whole. Engaging in respectful, yet critical inquiry has been a skill I began developing at UVic and have since used in every aspect of my work.