Rez Refuge, Inc.

Rez Refuge is a team of young Indigenous people working directly with parents, youth, local school districts, and entities to create a collaborative community for members of the Fort Defiance community and surrounding areas. Initiated as an After School Program, Rez Refuge, opened its doors to the local youth as a safe place to hang out after school.

During its evolution the organization began to introduce structured programming that incorporated holistic values along with the Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. The team recognized the need for personal healing and development, from various social expectations, and historical trauma amongst our youth. In creating these program activities, we were able to collaborate with partners focused in the behavior health field to establish expectations when assessing community youth and consistency.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the organization made the conscious decision to close our doors to local youth and community members. Through family assessments during lockdown, we determined the next step for community security would be relief packs for isolated families and maintain community support through social media and care packages for the youth.

Today, we have combined our two areas of success- Community Outreach and Youth Development. Please explore our website and social sites to learn more about our work.