It’s well after midnight in Ouje-Bougoumou, when community worker and mother of two Vanessa Gunn is woken by a call. A youth she has worked with needs help and is reaching out for support. This is one of the many ways that Gunn and her crew at the Youth Centre make sure the youth in their community feel like they have someone they can talk to when they are in crisis.
“There are people out there who want us to help them,” Gunn said. “I can offer my help any time that they need it, even if it’s in the middle of the night. There is always a way out of whatever it is that they’re going through. And that if ever they need, they can reach out to me and my crew.”
Gunn organized a workshop February 5-6 called “Mental Health First Aid”, which aimed to train adults who work with youth on mental health issues, how to respond to crises, to understand the signs and symptoms of mental health issues as well as alcohol and substance abuse. This training is aimed at teachers, school counsellors, parents and other adults who work with youth.
“This training was for adults to work with youth aged 12 to 18,” Gunn explained. “The training was really detailed to teach us how to interact with the youth in crisis, to know the common signs and symptoms for mental illness and substance use, and how to connect with the youth who need help.”
Facilitators included Mistisini’s Lauren Decontie and Cassidie Decontie from Ouje-Bougoumou. Gunn had reached out to the Cree Health Board to suggest the workshop. They agreed to hold it under the Healthy Eeyou Youth program. Next time, Gunn wants the workshop to be targeted at ages 16 to 18 so that they can help each other cope with mental-health issues.
“I’m fairly new in it and the reason why I see myself in this role is because of my children,” Gunn shared. “Both are youth, 16 and 14. They go through their own mental health challenges. As a mom I’m there to support them but I’m not only there to support them, I am there to support the youth that want my help. And I make sure my crew are certified to be able to help them when the time comes.”
Due to growing need and positive feedback from the community, Gunn and the Youth Department have also organized Youth Mental Health Workshops aimed at people aged 13-35 with live sessions facilitated by Brenda St-Pierre. The next session will be March 25-26 and will focus on different aspects such as stress and anxiety, loss and the promotion of healthy habits.
Gunn stressed the importance of cultural and land-based activities. They offer youth the opportunity to go hunting, learn bush skills and talk about whatever they are going through.
Mental health is increasingly discussed in Ouje-Bougomou and other Cree communities. This is partly because of community efforts to de-stigmatize the issues, but also because of the ongoing effects of the Covid pandemic on youth mental health.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes since Covid hit,” Gunn pointed out. “I feel like people are just stuck in that bubble, they have to get out of it. For example, my children are always indoors, they rarely go out. They got so used to being stuck at home that they see it as a normal thing. They developed panic attacks going out in a crowded area.
“We have a therapist who will do workshops on ‘What are panic attacks?’ She is going to do support groups for the whole month of March. We will focus on how to help yourself, what to do when you have a panic attack and how to cope.”
Other initiatives on mental health in Ouje-Bougoumou included a grief workshop series organized by Jamie-Fawn Mianscum February 10-12. It focused on understanding the stages of grief, the journey of grief as a whole and the celebration of life of loved ones.
More updates on community initiatives surrounding mental health, youth and grief can be found on Facebook at the Ouje-Bougomou Community Wellness Department page as well as the Ouje-Bougoumou Youth Department page.