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INUVIK
East 3 student Mariah Lucas is working to find a solution to what she deems is the biggest issue in the Inuvik region – teen pregnancy.

East 3 student Mariah Lucas, 16, is working to educate her peers about teen pregnancy, which she says is the biggest issue facing youth in Inuvik and Sachs Harbour. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

The sixteen-year-old said she knows a number of youth who are pregnant or have been pregnant and she hopes to encourage others to be more careful.

"I wanted to make sure they know their options before getting themselves through that. The biggest problem is possibly boredom," she said, adding teens do whatever they can to keep themselves entertained.

According to the 2011 NWT health status report, the territory's teen pregnancy rate is about 2.5 times that of the national rate.

Lucas, who is from Sachs Harbour but goes to school in Inuvik, identified the issue last month during the Youth Leadership Project Development Workshop, which was hosted at the RCMP Academy in Regina, Sask. Youth from across Canada were chosen by RCMP officers in various provinces and territories to participate in the event.

At the workshop, Lucas was teamed up with Const. Amanda McGillivray from the Yellowknife detachment. Together they brainstormed ways to educate the public on teen pregnancy and anticipated obstacles they might encounter while working to find a solution to the problem.

The pair said in the new year they plan on partnering with organizations in Inuvik, such as the health centre, to spread the word.

Lucas said she would also like to see more discussion around the issue in schools. Classes talk about pregnancy and sex about once a year but it would be nice if it was addressed more often, she said.

McGillivray said she was proud of Lucas for choosing the topic, since many of the other youth in the workshop picked substance abuse as the number one issue in their community.

"I thought it was really great of her to kind of step out of the norm of what her peers thought and say, 'No, I think that teen pregnancy is a bigger issue in my community,'" McGillivray said. "She's just so vocal in telling her own story ... She just said to me, 'There is at least one person in each classroom in my school that at some point has had a baby or is pregnant.'"

Lucas admits there is also a problem with drugs and alcohol in Sachs Harbour and Inuvik.

"I see somebody drinking every week," she said.

The RCMP hope the students' efforts will inspire youth to make a difference in their community.

McGillivray said she has already seen a positive change in Lucas. She is so much more confident in her abilities, she said.

"Youth are our future and we need to start trusting them and showing them how confident they are because the things they can accomplish are unbelievable," McGillivray said.

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