Advertisement

Feds launch Indigenous mental-health hotline as criticism grows

image

[Eight-year-old Shakira Koostachin plays on a swing in the northern Ontario First Nations reserve in Attawapiskat, Ont., on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP]

The federal government touted the launch Monday of a national toll-free telephone hotline for Indigenous people in Canada who need to speak with counsellors about mental-health issues. The announcement comes a week after three young girls in northern Saskatchewan died by suicide within four days of each other.

“This government acknowledges the scope and seriousness of the mental health issues facing many First Nations and Inuit communities across the country, and we are committed to working collaboratively with our partners to address these complex issues,“ Health Minister Jane Philpott said in news release.

The First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line — which opened Oct. 1 — was announced as criticism about the Trudeau government’s handling of Indigenous issues grows. The Globe and Mail reported Monday on frustration among Indigenous people with a perceived lack of action in First Nations and northern concerns.

High rates of suicide attempts and death by suicide are one of the many problems facing Indigenous and Northern communities in Canada. Nearly a quarter of Indigenous people in Canada have contemplated suicide at some point in their life versus 9.1 per cent of the general population, according to a survey from non-profit First Nations Information Governance Centre survey. And suicide rates for First Nations youth are about five times higher than for non-First-Nations youth in Canada, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research study found. Earlier this year 11 suicide attempts in Attawapiskat in northern Ontario received national media attention and prompted a state of emergency.

The 24/7 hotline is meant to provide immediate and culturally relevant counselling for Indigenous people in Canada who are in immediate need of the help.

But more intensive and longer-term solutions are also required to stem the tide of suicides and mental-health issues in Indigenous communities, activists and leaders say.

“True reconciliation means closing the gaps in health service delivery and promoting positive and healthy lifestyles for First Nations,” Isadore Day, Assembly of First Nations regional chief for Ontario, said in the release.

The number for the hotline is 1‑855‑242-3310. Counselling is available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut.