PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG - Six Pangnirtung youth went to a four-day camp at the end of July to reflect on their lives and develop plans to make their lives better in the future.

Pangnirtung RCMP Cpl. Sebastien Brillon, left, and camp facilitator Andrew Bacchus talk with youth at a Youth Justice Camp held at Sannirut near Pangnirtung from July 26 to 30. - photo courtesy of Chris Heide

The youth, aged 14 to 18, went to a healing retreat at Sannirut, about an hour outside of Pangnirtung, bewteen July 26 and 30. The youth were considered at risk of committing crimes, and some already had, but all volunteered to come and participate in the Youth Justice Camp.

"The goal was to give them an opportunity to get out of town where there are a lot of distractions and sometimes negative distractions, and allow them to reflect on where they're going and what's happened in their lives," said Chris Heide of Making Connections for Youth, who helped organize the camp.

"I think, as a result, that they all came back with a fresh perspective," said Heide.

There were group talks and one-on-one talks with counsellors throughout the week, and some topics of discussion included goal setting, substance abuse, the justice system, nutrition and health, and employment skills.

The adults involved in the talks included members of the RCMP, respected elder Mosesee Qappik, Kanguit Justice staffer Rosie Mike, and other youth workers.

One goal of the camp was to help the youths find jobs, so the organizers requested the six youth involved not be named.

Kelly Karpik, a youth mentor for the Pangnirtung Youth Centre who was also at the camp, said "they're awesome kids, they're amazing kids."

"At the beginning of the camp everyone was really quiet and in their own little box but by the end of the camp they could open up," said Karpik.

"It took a couple days but, you know, for anyone who wants to open up it will take a couple days."

Heide said it can sometimes be tough for people to reach out for help.

"Asking for help doesn't come easily to a lot of people ... especially people who may have asked for help in the past and received a slap on the hand instead," he said.

Heide said the youths all made promises to themselves of something they would like to accomplish, such as re-enrolling in school or getting a job, at the end of the camp.

"We talked also about how are you going to motivate yourself to stay on track – it's one thing to make a promise and another thing to keep it. Sometimes to keep a promise you need help from your friends," he said.

There will be follow-up sessions with the youth in the future and Heide said he hopes the youths involved in this camp will get other youths involved in future camps. The next one is being planned for sometime in the winter.

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