INUVIK - As residential school survivors prepare themselves for travel and statement-sharing at the national Truth and Reconciliation event in Inuvik later this month, health service providers are also ensuring their mental health needs will be met.

Health Canada has an agreement with the Community Development Department of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) to provide a health support program for the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in communities in the Beaufort Delta as part of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services is also preparing for an increased need for services before, during and after the event.

"Individuals and families in the region are at all different levels of healing," said Patricia Kyle, director of social programs. "Some survivors and families have already been dealing with it in their own way and for others this is the first step. We're making sure we have support at every stage."

All three groups – Health Canada, the IRC-run support program and Inuvik Regional Hospital – are working together to make sure emotional and mental health needs will be met. The community development department has a network of Aboriginal Regional Health Support Workers and cultural support from elders and traditional healers on any issues of concern for survivors.

The Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services social programs department will have counsellors available all day, every day at the Inuvik Regional Hospital during the event for people at risk, whether its thoughts of suicide or help with addictions.

Health Canada will deliver professional counselling on site during the event and a 24-hour toll-free telephone crisis line will be available seven days a week. In total, the health support team during the event will include 120 members, made up of professional counsellors, cultural support workers and resolution support workers.

"We want to ensure a range of organizations that can provide support when they go home, so we will have workers from Nunavut, Yukon and Nunavik as well," said Paula Hadden-Jokiell, senior advisor of the Northern region for Health Canada. "We have balance by different cultures and genders in the system of support because different people feel more comfortable with different people."

The IRC-run health supports includes 38 cultural support workers from across the region. They received training from Health Canada at the beginning of May that focused on skill enhancement, protocols and how to handle emotional trauma and to provide self-care techniques.

"Health Canada provided a really good training program," said Diane Archie, the executive director for the Community Development Division of the IRC. "The training had everything to prepare the cultural workers for the event."

The cultural support workers are in communities now and during the event if people need a conversation, prayer or any other help. They are assessed individually and could be referred to medical professionals if needed.

"It's all based on individual needs," Hadden-Jokiell said. "Resolution support workers will work one-on-one for emotional needs or maybe they need an elder who is familiar with their cultural practices."

In addition to caring for the mental health of participants during and after the national event, the Inuvik Regional Hospital has plans in place for the influx of upwards of 700 people attending the event. Additional nurses will be on call 24/7 and the hospital is still discussing possibly setting up a triage area to decide if patients need to go to emergency, a nurse-run clinic or another department.

"We're a small hospital and can only have 14 inpatients. If that number increases by 10 we have to have a back-up plan," said Joanne Engram, manager of hospital nursing at the Inuvik Regional Hospital. "We still have our 8,000 residents we have to deal with. We're just being proactive rather than reactive."

The national event will run from June 28 to July 1 in Inuvik. Its goal is to collect stories and instill a sense of reconciliation and healing toward the residential school system, which ran from the 1870s to 1996.

Those with questions or concerns can call Health Canada for more information on how to receive help during the reconciliation process.

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