Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Baker Lake (July 30/01) - Responding to a critical situation that could involve severe injury or death takes a great deal of courage.

It can also take an immense toll on the emotional well-being of those who respond to such emergencies.

A pair of three-member teams from the Nunavut critical incident stress management team travelled to Baker Lake earlier this month to help emergency responders deal with the drowning deaths of two young canoeists.

The bodies of Edwin Putumiraqtuq, 19, and James (Joedee) Kablalik, 18, of Baker Lake were discovered during the morning of July 15.

A minister and his assistant also went to the hamlet to help counsel family members of the deceased.

Each of the two teams (one Inuktitut-speaking, one English) had a mental health expert and people with search-and-rescue experience on the land.

The Nunavut team's primary mandate is to provide services to emergency responders such as SAR personnel, rangers, medical personnel, firefighters and RCMP members.

The team also receives requests from schools which it reviews on a case-by-case basis.

John Vander Velde is a mental health specialist who co-ordinates the 42-member team.

"Our objective, in terms of the emergency responders, is to help them process the event in a way where they can go back to their lives and work as healthy, happy and satisfied as possible," said Vander Velde last week.

"It's a psycho-educational process where people get the opportunity to talk about their experiences and learn about common responses people have to critical incidents."

The two teams debriefed all 12 local search and rescue members and 15 rangers involved with the incident, before dealing with about 70 volunteer searchers from the community.

The teams did a large group intervention first and then went into smaller groups for those requiring more time.

"This process also includes how the people involved go back to their families after a critical incident," said Vander Velde

"We want them to be able to participate fully with their family and not be held back because they're dealing with traumatic experiences they've had."