Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation in N.L. declares suicide crisis
Community has seen 10 separate attempts in just days, chief says
A First Nations community in Newfoundland and Labrador declared a crisis on Tuesday after seeing 10 suicide attempts in a matter of days.
Chief Eugene Hart of Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation said those attempts followed the death of a 20-year-old woman, whose body was discovered Saturday afternoon in nearby Lake Melville.
He said the community, about 30 kilometres northeast of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, has been grappling with loss in recent months, citing 14 deaths among its several thousand residents. Those deaths were all from natural causes.
Hart said the community lacks the necessary mental health services to deal with the grief, leading to greater risk among youth.
Since becoming aware of the number of attempts, Hart said the First Nation has requested more resources from agencies including the office of Premier Dwight Ball, the RCMP and Health Canada.
"The premier called me and he asked me, 'What can we do?' And we explained to him what assistance we need to put in place and he was very supportive," Hart said.
The community has some services in place, including a healing centre that's open around the clock.
"The healing centre is staffed there all night, it's like a drop in," Hart said. But more help is needed.
"We can't do it all. We've got resources as well but we need help outside as well, and that's starting to roll in now as we're speaking," Hart said.
The First Nation also needs help from Health Canada, he says, which has teams of crisis counselors that can "come in and help us out."
"I think everyone [here] is just overwhelmed," he said.
The chief spoke publicly last year about his own family's experience with suicide, telling CBC News at the time he noticed risk factors among others in Sheshatshiu, especially children returning from care outside the community.
Where to get help:
Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text) | crisisservicescanada.ca (chat)
In Quebec (French): Association québécoise de prévention du suicide: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), Live Chat counselling at www.kidshelpphone.ca
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre