INUVIK
Phillip Thrasher Jr.'s life could have gone in a completely different direction.

Tasha Tachynski-Jensen, front, Gloria Ruben, Marisa Thrasher, Bernie Bernhardt, Phillip Thrasher Jr., Angus Alunik and Jimmy Ruttan, after-care coordinator for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, sit in a sled at Reindeer Station on Feb. 24. Ruttan and the youth are spending the week on the land as part of Project Jewel. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

Thrasher was being peer-pressured into being part of a gang. His initiation was to rob a friend and he didn't want to do it. That's when he sought out the support he needed to escape the path that would certainly have put him on a crash course for a different life than the one he leads now.

"If I didn't know where to find the support. I would have had nowhere to go," he said. "It's important to seek help when you need it."

Jimmy Ruttan, after-care co-ordinator for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said Thrasher showed up at his office distraught, not wanting to go through with the initiation.

"He knew by coming to me it was going to be OK," said Ruttan.

Ruttan wants youth to think about the future. In a world where youth live in 140-characters on Twitter, text messages and social media, Ruttan, the co-ordinator for Project Jewel, a new youth on-the-land program, said he wants to help youth slow down the world around them and think about their goals and path in their lives.

"It's all about safety and well-being," said Thrasher. "It helps to know the support is there."

Project Jewel is a new youth program funded by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation with a goal of helping aboriginal people rediscover their values and traditions.

The week-long program takes youth from ages 15 to 24 onto the land at the Reindeer Station camp to immerse participants in their culture and expose them to the options they have, to begin down the road to a successful and fulfilling future, Ruttan said.

"The program centres around addictions and wellness," said Ruttan. "We think of it as filling a service gap."

Ruttan said that while all levels of government offer support for youth to get them out of the grips of addiction, there isn't enough support or services available to help them work through the everyday challenges of life afterward.

"You offer support to someone and expect after to have them tools and support to make that journey," he said. "It's just not there and we wanted to bridge that gap."

The program offers a combination of traditional activities with a strong educational component around addictions and health and wellness.

By combining traditional activities like crafts, fishing, and checking trap lines with an Amazing Race-type game focused on learning about the effects of smoking and how to upgrade their high school education and move into a post-secondary educational program, Ruttan said the melding of the two components will instill the confidence they need moving forward.

It's about bringing down the barriers that youth face, said Ruttan and the program "is acting as a case manage with supports to improve the quality of their day-to-day life."

The challenges aren't always easy to handle, he said, and helping participants understand how to best navigate life is the ultimate goal. For Tasha Tachynski-Jensen, the chance to be out on the land and learn about the tools necessary to make informed, healthy choices is a great opportunity.

"It's nice to be out of town and you get to learn about your culture and traditions and meet new people," she said.

Ruttan said elders are a key component of the program. Inuvialuit and Gwich'in elders participate in the program as support for the youth involved. It's important the program provide cultural support, he said.

"We cater to the cultural needs, we're providing the program in a culturally-relevant setting," he said.

Ultimately, it comes down to empowering youth to step back and think about the choices they are making for themselves. "Are I making the right decisions?" "Will this impact my future?" "What do I really want in my life?"

Ruttan hopes that when the week is over, the half-dozen youth will have the tools to make positive steps in their lives.

"I really hope they get quality life skills and think about the future," he said. "I want to instill some capacity-building and forethought, and some ability to recognize if they're making the right decisions."