Community wellness begins with noticing.

A community learning and wellness organization on the prairies — built on kindness, generosity, and reciprocity. Mental health education, family wellness, cultural connection, and practical acts of care.

Incorporated August 2026. First programs in development.

Our intention

The space between a counselling office and everyday life.

Most people who are struggling are not in crisis. They are tired, stretched, grieving, parenting through something hard, or carrying more than they can name. What they need often isn't a referral — it's language, tools, company, and somewhere to learn.

Iris & Lily exists to fill that space. We are not here to duplicate private counselling. We are here to offer the education, connection, cultural grounding, and practical support that sit alongside it — the things that help people before a hard season becomes a crisis, and that help families while they are still in the middle of it.

Iris & Lily is a Métis non-profit organization, incorporated in Saskatchewan and rooted in Saskatoon. That shapes how we work rather than who we serve: our programming is open to everyone, and it is built with Métis ways of knowing about health, healing, and belonging at its centre.

Our work is preventative, educational, relational, and community-building. We believe wellness is not only individual. It is relational, cultural, emotional, spiritual, and connected to land, family, story, and community. So we build places where people can learn, heal, connect, and grow together.

Where the name comes from

Two names. One idea.

Iris

For the ones who help without being asked

Iris is remembered for a quiet kind of generosity — humble, practical, and entirely unconcerned with being seen doing it. She noticed what people needed and she responded, in ways that left their dignity intact.

She helped without seeking any glory in return. She did it from the kindness of her heart: groceries left on someone's step, a lunch quietly paid for, and never a word about it afterwards.

That is the standard we hold ourselves to. Not charity that creates shame or dependency, but care that protects a person's privacy, honours their strengths, and asks nothing back.

Lily

For the moment someone stops to look

Lily comes from the day Iris saw an elder, Lilliane, struggling with her groceries — and stopped. A small thing. The kind of thing most of us walk past on a busy day.

It is also the whole model in miniature: someone notices, someone responds, and a circle of care opens where giving and receiving are both ordinary parts of belonging to a place.

Community wellness grows when people notice one another, respond with compassion, and build circles where care moves in both directions.

“Truly great people in history never wanted to be great for themselves. All they wanted was the chance to do good for others and be close to God.”

Muhammad Ali

Mission & vision

What we are here to do.

Mission

To strengthen individuals, families, and communities through mental health education, family wellness, cultural connection, research, awareness, and practical acts of care rooted in kindness, generosity, and reciprocity.

Vision

Communities where people feel seen, supported, connected, and empowered to care for themselves, their families, and one another.

Kindness

An active community practice, not a soft sentiment. It notices suffering and responds with dignity.

Generosity

Giving without needing recognition. Helping without creating shame.

Reciprocity

People receive care at one point in life and offer it at another. Both are normal.

Learning

Practical knowledge and skills people can actually use — in plain language.

Wellness

Mental, emotional, relational, cultural, physical, spiritual, and communal, all at once.

Dignity

Support that respects privacy, avoids dependency, and honours people's strengths.

Belonging

Spaces where different cultures, identities, genders, and family structures are welcome.

Land & place

Prairie-rooted, nature-informed, and grounded in the communities we are part of.

What we do

Six streams of work, woven together.

These are not separate departments. A caregiver who comes for a grief circle may leave with a resource, a referral, and a bag of groceries — and come back a year later to facilitate.

Stream one

Mental health education & awareness

Making mental health knowledge practical, plain-language, and usable in everyday life — and reducing the stigma that keeps people from asking.

Anxiety, depression, stress, burnout
Trauma-informed awareness
Emotional regulation
Grief, loss, and suicide awareness
Addictions and family impact
Boundaries and healthy relationships
Self-compassion and shame resilience

Stream two

Family learning & wellness

Many people want healthier families but were never taught how to build one. This stream gives families shared tools and shared language — without blame.

Parenting and caregiver workshops
Family communication groups
Supporting youth mental health
Couples, co-parenting, and relationship education
Intergenerational healing conversations
Conflict, repair, and reconnection

Stream three

Group wellness programming

Groups let people learn from a facilitator and from each other. They also create belonging — the piece most often missing from mental health care.

Caregiver support groups
Grief and loss circles
Families affected by addiction
Women's and men's wellness groups
Youth emotional awareness groups
Creative arts and nature-informed groups

Stream four

Cultural connection & community wellness

Wellness is stronger when people are connected to who they are and where they come from. Led as a Métis organization, prairie-rooted, distinction-based, and open to everyone.

Cultural wellness workshops
Storytelling and identity groups
Land- and nature-connected activities
Community meals and gatherings
Intergenerational learning
Cultural humility and anti-oppressive education

Stream five

Practical acts of care

The Iris and Lily stories, kept literal. Small, dignified, sustainable support that removes the barriers between someone and the help they came for.

Grocery and basic-needs support tied to programming
Care packages
Community meals
Transportation to get to a group
Sponsored seats for individuals and families
Partnerships with agencies already doing this work

Stream six

Research, learning & resources

We want to be a knowledge-building organization, not only a service one — documenting what communities need and sharing what we learn.

Community needs assessments
Program evaluation
Plain-language mental health resources
Family wellness workbooks and toolkits
Community reports and presentations
Research partnerships

In development

The first programs we are building.

Each of these is being designed now, with partners and facilitators. Dates and locations will be announced as they are confirmed.

Community Mental Health Learning Nights

Monthly · open to all · free or by donation

A monthly evening workshop on one practical topic — stress, anxiety, boundaries, emotional regulation, grief, parenting, communication. You leave with something you can use that week.

Family Wellness Series

Multi-week · families and caregivers

A structured series on communication, repair, emotional safety, and connection — built for families who want to change how they relate to one another and need a place to practise.

Caregiver Support Circle

Ongoing group · adults

For people supporting a loved one through addiction, mental illness, physical illness, grief, or major life stress. Facilitated, confidential, and built around the people in the room.

Cultural Connection & Wellness Circles

Seasonal gatherings · all ages

Story, culture, land, art, and food used as wellness practice. Métis- and Indigenous-informed, developed with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and welcoming to everyone.

Youth Emotional Awareness Program

School- or community-based · youth

Helping young people understand emotions, coping, identity, relationships, and mental health — delivered in schools and community spaces where youth already gather.

Kindness & Reciprocity Initiative

Year-round · community

Care packages, grocery support, community meals, and sponsorships that let someone attend a program they otherwise couldn't. Quiet, dignified, and connected to our programming.

Research & Learning Hub

Ongoing · partners and community

Needs assessments, program evaluation, plain-language resources, and community reports — so that what we learn is useful to other organizations, not just to us.

Who it's for

Anyone carrying something, and anyone who wants to help.

Individuals seeking mental health education
Families wanting healthier communication
Parents and caregivers
Youth and young adults
Couples
People navigating grief, stress, burnout, or isolation
Indigenous, Métis, and culturally diverse community members
People affected by trauma, addiction, or violence
People facing systemic barriers
Neighbours looking for connection and belonging
Organizations seeking wellness education for their people

Resources

Where to turn, right now.

Iris & Lily is not a crisis service, and we will never be the fastest way to get help in an emergency. These are. All of them are free, and most of them answer around the clock — the hours are noted under each one.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger

Call 911

9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline

Call or text 9-8-8 24 hours · English and French

Canada's national line for anyone thinking about suicide, or worried about someone who is. You do not have to be in crisis to call.

Saskatoon Mobile Crisis

(306) 933-6200 24 hours · Saskatoon

Trained crisis workers who respond by phone or come to you in person. Our closest local service, and the one to call first in Saskatoon.

MN–S Mental Wellness Support Line

1-877-METISSK Mon–Fri, 9am–9pm · English and French

Culturally specific mental wellness and crisis support for Métis adults, youth and families, through Métis Nation–Saskatchewan. That is 1-877-638-4775 if your phone wants digits.

Kids Help Phone

1-800-668-6868 24 hours · Young people

For children, teens and young adults. Text CONNECT to 686868 if talking is harder than typing.

Residential Schools Crisis Line

1-866-925-4419 24 hours · Survivors and families

Emotional support for Survivors of residential schools and for their families, whenever it surfaces.

MMIWG Crisis Line

1-844-413-6649 24 hours · English and French

For anyone affected by the loss of a missing or murdered Indigenous woman, girl, or two-spirit person.

HealthLine 811

Call 811 24 hours · Saskatchewan

Free health advice from a registered nurse, with mental health and addictions workers available. Good for the questions that are not an emergency but will not wait either.

Not sure where to start?

Ask us We reply as soon as we can

We keep track of what exists in and around Saskatoon and we are glad to point you somewhere. We will not pretend to be the right service if we are not.

Where things stand

Honest about the stage we're at.

Iris & Lily is a new organization in formation. We would rather tell you that plainly than describe programs that aren't running yet.

DoneIncorporated in Saskatchewan on 12 August 2026 as a non-profit membership corporation, with bylaws drafted.

UnderwayBuilding the founding board, policies, insurance, and financial controls.

NextCommunity needs conversations with partner organizations, and confirming the first cohort of facilitators.

ThenPiloting Community Mental Health Learning Nights and the first Caregiver Support Circle, with evaluation built in from day one.

OngoingFunding conversations with grantors, community sponsors, and donors who want to sponsor seats for families.

Governance

Independent, and clear about it.

A separate organization

Iris and Lily Wellness Foundation Inc. is a Saskatchewan non-profit membership corporation, incorporated 12 August 2026 under The Non-profit Corporations Act, 2022, operating as Iris & Lily Community Learning & Wellness. It has its own board of directors, bank account, bookkeeping, policies, and insurance. It is not a program of a private practice.

Relationships we name openly

Iris & Lily shares values and history with Elevate Counselling and Boon Saantii, which may support the organization through expertise, space, or partnership. Any such arrangement is set out in writing, governed by a conflict-of-interest policy, and disclosed. Referrals are never a condition of participating in anything we offer.

Get in touch

Tell us what your community needs.

We are early, and we would rather hear from you now than once everything is finished. Questions about the programs, an idea for your community, or just wanting to know when the first sessions open — all of it is welcome.

Prefer email? admin@irisandlily.ca
Or write to us: Unit 40 – 3902 Millar Avenue, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7P 0B1