Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Oct 14/02) - Pierre Wolfe is 22 years old and works as a youth leader at the Dome in Iqaluit. He said kids often ask about suicide but he doesn't always know what to say.

Last week, he got some tips by participating in the White Stone Suicide Prevention Program held in Iqaluit between Oct. 7 and 11.

"I didn't know there were so many steps you had to take when you sit down with someone to discuss suicide prevention," said Wolfe.

This was the first time the White Stone program came to a northern territory since it began three years ago. Its goal is to teach prevention and pass on knowledge.

Eight communities in Nunavut were involved and each had three representatives. These communities were Iqaluit, Clyde River, Qikiqtarjuaq, Panniqtuuq, Repulse Bay, Baker Lake, Hall Beach and Coral Harbour.

Devon Tayler has been working on suicide prevention for the last 20 years. She is a social worker and was one of the instructors for the program in Iqaluit.

Tayler said once people leave the program they become a resource for their community.

"They'll be equipped to go back and talk to people. They learn anger management, problem solving, goal setting, and self-esteem. All of these things are a part of suicide prevention," said Tayler.

The National Health Performance Indicators Report for Nunavut released Sept. 30 showed there is an overwhelming need for this type of training in the Territory.

In 1999, Nunavut men committed suicide eight and a half times more often than Canadian men in general. Suicides among women were four times higher than the rest of Canada.

Tayler said she hopes offering the White Stone Program in Iqaluit is a way for Nunavut to start lowering these occurrences.

"The big dream is for there to be no suicides," said Tayler.

A small part of the dream will be accomplished through Wolfe. He plans to start a course on suicide at the Dome where anyone from the community will be welcome.