Rankin Inlet (July 26/06) - A Nunavut-wide suicide prevention group hopes a manual unveiled earlier this month will help stem the mounting tide of people taking their own lives.

The Embrace Life Council's so-called toolkit provides communities with information on how to access money and resources earmarked to combat suicide.

"It tries to give examples of what communities can do as a group," said Lori Idlout, executive director of the Embrace Life Council. "It tries to give as much information as possible."

The suicide rate in Nunavut is about seven times the national average, according to Statistics Canada, and those numbers have grown since the territory gained its independence in 1999.

While hard copies of the toolkit are not yet available, the council's 11 member groups are distributing electronic versions in Inuktitut and English.

An Innuinaqtun version is also in the works.

The manual provides tips on establishing local Embrace Life committees and lists suicide-prevention resources at all three levels of government.

It also includes a directory of funding sources, which are abundant, Idlout said.

"If I was at the community level, I would be surprised at how much funding is available for community wellness projects," she said.

Rankin Inlet youth worker Pierre Kolit likes the toolkit, but said suicide prevention efforts need to be concentrated in schools where kids "have no choice but to hear it."

With the powerful lure of southern culture - including television, music and the Internet - Kolit wonders how many young people will turn out for events outside of class time. "The hardest part is to encourage kids to attend these (events)," he said earlier this month.

Kolit, who runs hunting expeditions for Rankin youth, said heading onto the land is another way to relieve the stresses of everyday life.

To prevent suicide, counsellors must show kids how to "keep their mind busy (and) teach them the right tools about life," he said.