Death strikes First Nations community, once a leader in suicide prevention
Death strikes First Nations community, once a leader in suicide prevention
Wapekeka First Nation used to be a shining example amid Canada’s suicide crisis, but residents link the dismantling of a key program to new deaths
Ashifa Kassam in Toronto
Friday 20 January 2017 04.00 EST
For decades, Wapekeka First Nation was a shining example of a community that was managing to keep at bay the wave of suicides that has swept through so many of Canada’s indigenous communities.
But two years after funding cuts forced them to dismantle a pioneering suicide-prevention program, the deadly epidemic has again struck the remote northern Ontario community.
Two 12-year-old girls have taken their own lives in recent weeks and another four girls in this 430-person community have been flown out and placed on 24-hour suicide watch.
Another 26 students are considered high risk for suicide, with leaders expecting this number to grow in the coming days. “Our community is in crisis,” said Joshua Frogg, the spokesperson for Wapekeka First Nation. For many across Canada, the two girls who died – Jolynn Winter and Frogg’s niece, Chantel Fox – are nothing more than names, said Frogg. “For those of us that live in the community, those are our children. They are our future, they are our legacy.”
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/20/canada-first-nation-suicide-crisis-wapekekaDeath strikes First Nations community, once a leader in suicide prevention
Wapekeka First Nation used to be a shining example amid Canada’s suicide crisis, but residents link the dismantling of a key program to new deaths
Ashifa Kassam in Toronto
Friday 20 January 2017 04.00 EST
For decades, Wapekeka First Nation was a shining example of a community that was managing to keep at bay the wave of suicides that has swept through so many of Canada’s indigenous communities.
But two years after funding cuts forced them to dismantle a pioneering suicide-prevention program, the deadly epidemic has again struck the remote northern Ontario community.
Two 12-year-old girls have taken their own lives in recent weeks and another four girls in this 430-person community have been flown out and placed on 24-hour suicide watch.
Another 26 students are considered high risk for suicide, with leaders expecting this number to grow in the coming days. “Our community is in crisis,” said Joshua Frogg, the spokesperson for Wapekeka First Nation. For many across Canada, the two girls who died – Jolynn Winter and Frogg’s niece, Chantel Fox – are nothing more than names, said Frogg. “For those of us that live in the community, those are our children. They are our future, they are our legacy.”
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/20/canada-first-nation-suicide-crisis-wapekeka
