Red Cross to help First Nation with mental-health crisis

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This article was published 29/05/2023 (329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Red Cross crisis team is set to travel to a remote northern Manitoba First Nation after two suicides and five suicide attempts among teenage girls.

The Red Cross team is expected to arrive in York Factory within the next two weeks.

It’s working with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and the Keewatin Tribal Council “to provide comfort and support to the community members impacted by these tragic events,” stated Jason Small, the Manitoba spokesman for the Canadian Red Cross.

He said the organization doesn’t duplicate efforts, so it won’t arrive in the community while other crisis teams are on site.

“Our team is working virtually now with the community, while our partner organizations also provide support on site. Red Cross assistance includes working with community leadership and our partners to create a plan to support the mental health and wellness of the community’s youth.”

York Factory, a fly-in community 850 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has 470 residents.

Chief Darryl Wastesiscoot had asked the federal and provincial governments for help dealing with the crisis. In March, two 14-year-old girls died by suicide. In mid-May, five girls, ranging from 14 to 16, tried to kill themselves, apparently in response to the deaths of their friends, said band councillor Louisa Constant.

She said the priority of the community, which is devastated by the deaths and the mental-health crisis among youth, is to establish regular programs and activities for young people.

“We’ve got to bring in mental health teams that work with childhood trauma.”

As of last week, three of the teenage girls had returned home after receiving treatment outside the community, and York Factory had been offered additional support from private therapists who work elsewhere in the province. A federally funded therapist works out of the community two weeks per month, on a six-day rotation.

The community’s lack of year-round road access and limited flight service have made it difficult to get additional help, Constant said. The ferry is not scheduled to operate until Friday.

“So it was very challenging to continue to help with getting access to resources outside the community or bring in help for the community during this isolation time,” she said.

A spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada said the federal department is open to working with the community, and stated the tribal council received funding to work on solutions when it declared a state of emergency on behalf of York Factory and 10 other First Nations communities in late March.

“Indigenous Services Canada regional officials have been in contact with Chief Wastesicoot and are working with the First Nation to better understand the needs of community, and identify ways the department can provide additional supports,” the federal statement said.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com