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NNSL photo/graphic

Monica Ittusardjuat, project co-ordinator for the Qauma Mobile Treatment project for NTI, is planning the next community visit to help people deal with trauma they suffered in residential school. Taloyoak is the second community Ittusardjuat and her team of counsellors have visited. - Neils Christensen/NNSL photo

Community healing gets mobile

Neils Christensen
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (May 03/04) - Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is bringing traditional healing to communities to help people deal with the trauma they suffered in residential schools.

The Qauma Mobile Treatment Project brings a team of counsellors, including an elder and a psychiatrist, to communities to help people overcome their trauma from residential schools.

"A large percentage of people are affected by residential schools," said Monica Ittusardjuat, project co-ordinator. "There was sexual and physical abuse at residential schools. As result of that there is a lot of anger, alcohol abuse, drug addiction, low self-esteem and identity issues."

Ittusardjuat said communities don't have all the resources to address all the problems, so NTI decided to take the counselling to the communities.

Traditional healing

Qauma will focus on traditional healing and preserving Inuit culture.

"Some people have lost their culture and language. They were taken from their family and culture," she said.

"We have counsellors who understand the problems people are going through."

She said the project is just a small part to help the survivors. "The people have been carrying these problems from childhood. There is a blockage in their minds that needed to be broken. It takes a lot of work," she said.

Ittusardjuat said NTI has been working on the Qauma project for about two years. After receiving $2 million from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation last October, the project will be able to operate for three years.

In March, the team visited Iglulik.

"For our first session I think it was a good success," she said. "From when we first started until the end, the clients were more open, more talkative and they had a happier disposition. They have some hope for the future.

"The goal of the workshops was to acknowledge the past but work toward the future," she added.

Next, Ittusardjuat and her team travel to Taloyoak. They also plan to visit Sanikiluaq and Chesterfield Inlet this year and plan to offer counselling in four communities a year.

"Our goal is to visit 12 communities in total," she said.

With the community visits starting, Ittusardjuat said the next phase is to find money for follow-up programs.