Yes, suicide.
Evidence of meeting #32 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.
Evidence of meeting #32 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
In the emotion and self-regulation part, we touch on that, but we're not selling it as a forum to talk about suicide. We want youth to come together. It's more of a wellness focus instead of a focus specifically on suicide, and that was the message we heard from community and youth, that they really wanted something that was more holistic and not just focused specifically on suicide.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
What's the age range when they can start to be part of your programming?
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
The first phase of Cuystwi, which specifies themes, is for 10- to 12-year olds, and then the phase 2 that I was just referring to is for 13- to 15-year-olds. But again, that was from communities that wanted something for that earlier age group to hopefully build some programming and some resources together so that we were talking to youth before suicide was even on the table.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
I know that elders play a large role in indigenous communities, so are elders incorporated into your programs at all? Do they come to events or speak, or do they develop programs or anything?
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
Yes. We have our main elder who's been with us since the very beginning, and that is Gerry Oleman. We've had three other elders who have played roles both in developing content and actually participating. They wanted to do videos to share their teachings. Those are in the program, but we also really encourage communities to make it their own, by saying, you have the expertise. You know your community better than any of us could ever know. You need to bring in those people who have those teachings. We really encourage people to bring in their knowledge-keepers who can share their traditions and values with the youth when they implement the programming, but it's not mandated. We let the communities decide what they need.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
I also see that you have a youth and elder-led advisory board. What does this advisory board do? Who do they advise?
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
That was when we were in the main phase of development. We don't have an active youth board right now.
It was an opportunity for all of our pilot communities that were interested in helping develop the program to select two youths from their community to meet via telehealth technology. We would have meetings after work, after they got off school, so that they could really just tell us what they wanted to see. It was a place where we could say, “This is what we heard you say. This is what we're thinking of doing. Does that resonate with you? Is that what you told us?” It was a way to make sure we were actually doing what they wanted and with their feedback. It was also an opportunity for us to provide training via telehealth technology around skills development, around facilitation, and public speaking so that youth could go into their communities to solicit feedback from other youth, so we were having a much broader set of youth giving us feedback on the topic.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Do you participate? Do you put on the youth conferences, or do you provide funding for other groups to do it? How does that work?
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
It depends. We are playing host to a youth conference later this year.
We usually go to youth conferences when we're invited. We usually do film workshops, or something of that nature. Or we're just there to do promotion. We use that opportunity to, again, get feedback, so that we're always checking in and saying, this is what we heard. This is what we did. Can you give us some feedback? What would you actually want to see? That's one of the reasons why we like to check in as often as we can.
9:50 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you to both of the witnesses for your presentation.
Ms. Emery, I'd like to touch on your program. It sounds as though it does not provide for clinical support, so any counselling support, as such. You do not provide for those.
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
No. We're an upstream program. We're not a crisis intervention—
9:50 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Do you know, then, within the health authority, what resources are allocated for those kinds of services?
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
I can't answer that. I'm not really sure.
As I said, we're not participating in direct service delivery of any kind.
9:50 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
What about outreach workers? Is there any provision within your programming that provides for outreach with youth? Or is that something that's also outside of your realm?
9:50 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
Yes. That's not something we do.
9:50 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
In terms of training, in some of the communities people have identified, witnesses have identified, that they need training, people who could train them on trauma counselling, for example. Is there any provision within your program for training of other individuals or workers in the community?
9:55 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
Specifically for our program, we have logistical tutor gatherings, which is an opportunity for people to come together to learn about the program and also to strengthen their facilitation skills.
But again, we're not a service delivery organization.
9:55 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
All right.
In terms of funding, then, for your program, what's the funding allocation for this program?
9:55 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
We're core funded out of the Provincial Health Services Authority's budget. We do have funding each year that's stable.
9:55 a.m.
Project Manager, Indigenous Health, Provincial Health Services Authority
It's about $150,000 a year.
