New program designed to support Indigenous youth mental health

Alongside Hope is partnering with Indigenous Ministries of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Diocese of Brandon to provide critical access to mental health training for Indigenous youth. Youth who have participated in Sacred Beginnings and other First Nations youth have shared with elders the need to identify and maintain good mental health practices.

Starting March 28, Fire Talk will engage 12 youth from across the country in a mental health program created by Future Learn. Participants will meet online with an orientation session, followed by five two-hour virtual sessions. The course is typically self-led, explains Alongside Hope Youth Coordinator Su McLeod. But in Fire Talk, McLeod will be working with the Rev. Dixie Bird and the Venerable Cheryl Kukurudz to work through the course material as a group. Bird is a youth suicide prevention worker with Indigenous Ministries and the Venerable Cheryl Kukurudz is Archdeacon of the Diocese of Brandon. There are still spots available. To apply, email Bird at dbird@national.anglican.ca.

Participants will explore the most common psychological problems experienced by Indigenous youth. Through personal stories, quizzes and short assignments, participants will develop the techniques to help manage and improve their mental health. On completion of the five-week online program, particpants will earn an accreditation from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and Cambridge University (U.K.).

The participants will then learn about traditional ways to take care of their mental wellbeing with Story Tellers, Knowledge Keepers connecting with local Elders. There will also be traditional crafts such as soapstone carving and drum making, as well as journeying in a canoe.

A support network will nurture the young people, and provide weekly check-ins. “We will continue to meet with participants monthly to go over some specifics, putting into practice the things that they learned, but also adding a richer Indigenous perspective,” explains McLeod.

In August, participants will gather for five days at Camp Harding in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. They will evaluate what they have learned, how they have been able to share with their peers, and to listen to what else they would like to learn and do next to continue on the journey.

The total budget for the project is $54,000. Alongside Hope has contributed $15,000 through the Indigenous Response Program, along with $10,000 from the Anglican Foundation of Canada’s “Say Yes to Kids” program, the Dioceses of Brandon and Qu’Appelle, Indigenous Ministries and the New England Company.

Access to mental health resources is not consistent across Turtle Island and many young Indigenous people are not getting the supports they need, writes the Rev. Dixie Bird in the grant application. “We see the needs in our communities and through sharing during programs like Sacred Beginnings.”

“Funding can be one barrier to mental health resources,” says McLeod. “We also need to affirm traditional practices. These need to be seen as valid.”

By supporting young people in their journey to maintain good mental wellbeing, claiming their Indigenous Identity, and affirming them in who they are, we expect to see the beginning of a movement that will be led by the participants, writes Bird. “Fire Talk will connect generations in learning and sharing together in traditional ways, by participating in Ceremony, feasting, hunting, harvesting, learning about medicines, and making traditional crafts.”

McLeod is hopeful that the program will have participants from across the country, and that it will be a building block for the future. “We hope that young people who participate in Fire Talk will indentify what comes next.”

“What I especially like about this program is the follow-through,” says Kukurudz. “So often we attend a one-off seminar and go home with the best of intentions of using that information. It isn’t long before most of it is lost. With a program such as Fire Talk, there’s a community that is created and carries on. It is our hope that the knowledge and skills learned will carry the Indigenous youth through their own challenges, and allow them to come alongside others in their communities, sharing the resources they’ve learned. I pray it sparks a fire in some of the youth that might carry them toward secondary education in mental health.”