As you say, we mentioned that there are few or no resources available in the communities. I don't know whether you are aware of this, but the annual budget per community is about $18,000 to combat violence, specifically for violence prevention. It has been that way for a number of years now. I believe the representatives from the Wendake community were saying that $18,000 is enough to cover the work of one person, two days a week. That is the reality in the communities.
And again, that money is not necessarily being invested in prevention. That is another thing that should be looked at. When action plans are being developed, we should be looking at whether this is a priority for the community, because it may not be. It's important to realize that there has never been much money invested in prevention.
There are the front-line services developed in the communities across Quebec, which are prevention services provided to families to create safer environments for young people. We have not yet talked about youth protection, which is a troubling phenomenon, even worse than what happened in the residential schools. Their cultural connections, the few family-type resources available in the communities, and the fact that young people have to attend school outside, and so on, reflect a completely different reality.
There is the violence, and Ms. Denis-Damé mentioned as well that this requires a comprehensive approach because, whether we like it or not, everything is interconnected. Reference was made to drug addiction and violence; but people don't talk about suicide, which is the consequence of factors such as alcohol and drug use. Anything can lead to suicide; we don't talk about sexual abuse either, which has other consequences and can lead to suicide.
I will just give you some figures I was able to collect. In the last year, there were 13 suicides in Quebec communities by individuals between the ages of 13 and 22, including eight young girls. So, we should be taking a serious look at this.
You referred to prevention earlier, Ms. Brown.