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Research centre scores $2.4 million grant for mental health
Eight communities to get projects focusing on children and youth

Emily Ridlington
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, February 9, 2011

IQALUIT - At 18, Cassandra Galbraith said most people her age do not want to talk about their feelings and issues related to mental health.

NNSL photo/graphic

The Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre will get $2.4 million from the Public Health Agency of Canada over the next five years to help raise awareness of mental health across the territory focusing on children and youth. Gwen Healey, the centre's executive director, speaks about the work they will do with the funds on Feb. 4 in Iqaluit. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

"I know a lot of people don't talk about their feelings when they're stressed or depressed and I know I went through depression, it was very hard to talk about it," she said.

To help to get people talking about mental health, the Public Health Agency of Canada has given the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre in Iqaluit $2.4 million over five years to help raise awareness across the territory, focusing on children and youth.

Federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq made the announcement at the Makkutukkuvik Youth Centre in Iqaluit on Feb. 4.

The centre, founded in 2006, is an independent community research organization created to build local capacity and to generate health research in the North by Northerners.

"We are going to be building upon the work we've already been doing," said Gwen Healey, the centre's executive director.

She said all the projects are developed and delivered using Inuit values and approaches. They will be run in Iqaluit, Arviat, Rankin Inlet, Pond Inlet, Pangnirtung, Cambridge Bay, Iglulik and Kugluktuk.

The money will be used to run summer camps for children between the ages of 9 and 12 in six communities, developing a needs assessment when it comes to child and youth mental health services and the delivery of a health promotion and education program for parents called "Nobody's Perfect."

Healey, who grew up in Iqaluit, said she valued attending youth camps.

"It is about helping youth learn skills to cope with bullying, anger management and stress as well as celebrating creativity, self-awareness, healthy choices, having fun and having strong cultural pride," Healey said.

The camps are slated to start this spring with two more taking place in the summer and fall.

Healey said she anticipates the programs will reach hundreds of Nunavummiut.

The other project is recruiting youth to work as mental health researchers through workshops using photovoice, where they take pictures representative of certain themes or emotions generating discussion. Healey said photovoice has already been used on three different occasions in Iqaluit and was quite successful.

Galbraith said she thinks youth will like the photovoice project.

"It's more of a hands-on experience that you can grasp and it will be a great way for people to express themselves," she said.

Facilitators will come from the communities and will be trained on how to use the resources being developed.

According to Statistics Canada, Nunavut's suicide rate in 2008 was 110 suicides per 100,000 people. The figure is almost nine times higher than the rate for Canada in 2005 of 13 suicides per 100,000 people.

In 2010, 27 Nunavummiut committed suicide.

Aglukkaq said the rate is particularly high among young people and needs to be changed.

"But before it can change we need to create the conditions that support mental health," she said.

Ultimately, Healey said the goal is to make sure youth are getting involved and their voices are being heard.

"It's hard now when no one really looks and notices things happening to youth," said Jessica Fortier, 16.

She said she would like to get involved with some of the centre's projects.

"We're hoping they [the youth] will learn some of the skills they feel they need to be strong youth as they progress through their life's course, " Healey said.

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