Birch Narrows Dene Nation (BNDN) chief and council have issued a call for action after the community experienced multiple suicides following the loss of wo local elders in the past few weeks.
Birch Narrows Chief Jonathan Sylvestre said there are critical gaps in the mental health services provided to remote northern communities, and the recent tragedies have only increased the challenge they face
“Our community cannot withstand this continuing cycle of loss and grief without substantive intervention and support,” Sylvestre said in a press release. “The mental health and wellness of our youth and community members requires immediate action from all levels of government. It’s an issue that has to be dealt with immediately”
Sylvestre said the First Nation has a severe supportive housing shortage, forcing vulnerable people to continue living in “triggering environments without adequate support.” He said there is an ongoing issue with recruiting and retaining mental health professionals, which leaves residents without access to essential services.
Sylvestre said there has also been an increase in opioid ad methamphetamines use, but there are no detox or treatment centers within close proximity.
For the last seven years, local leaders have advocated for a community wellness centre to address mental health needs, Sylvestre said, but no submission has been successful.
Sylvestre said bureaucratic obstruction has blocked all progress. He described the process as an “endless maze” of bureaucratic requirements.
“It is deeply frustrating that we are facing an emergency-level crisis to receive the attention our community has needed for years,” Sylvestre said in a press release. “Our community is experiencing traumatic losses that would trigger immediate provincial and federal intervention elsewhere in Canada”
“We are tired of short-term crises responses that fade away once media attention shifts elsewhere. We require substantive long-term solutions with provincial and federal governments.”
The Daily Herald contacted the provincial government for comment on the chief’s call to action. The Herald asked if the province was aware of the chief’s concerns, and whether the government was confident the $623.8 million earmarked for mental health an addictions in the last budget was to help address the issue.
In response, the Ministry of Health provided a statement outlining the services available to northern residents, such as the Kids Help Phone, Mobile Crisis Line, or Hope for Wellness online chat service.
The Ministry is spending $1.1 million annually on the Roots of Hope suicide prevention program. The province said the program is community-led and relies on the knowledge and experience of local leaders.
The Ministry is also spending $158 million to work towards the goal of creating 500 new addictions recovery spaces, and $500,000 to the FSIN to deliver land-based camps for youth.
the Ministry of Health also participates in the Embracing Life initiative, which was created in 2013 to address self-harm and suicide prevention in the north.
On Monday, the Saskatchewan NDP released a statement from Athabasca MLA Leroy Laliberte and Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Addictions Betty Nippi-Albright offering condolences to Birch Narrows residents, and calling for more mental health support.
“People are doing their best to hold each other up, but they shouldn’t have to do it alone,” reads the statement. “Mental health supports are still too far away, too hard to access, or simply not there, and it’s been that way for years and years Enough promises. It’s time for urgent, sustained action — led by the people who call these communities home, now and into future.”
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
