Youth walk tackles suicide prevention, one click at a time

“We’re sending out a positive message – to talk about suicide, because if you don’t talk about it, it will get worse”

By JANE GEORGE

A group of young people, all wearing bright green raincoats to ward off the wind and rain, walk down a highway near Regina.

They’re holding a sign saying “National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Walk.”

Despite the crummy weather, everyone is in good spirits. It’s the third annual walk to raise awareness about youth suicide. The eight walkers started on March 28, in Duncan, B.C. and will end their trek in Ottawa on June 21, National Aboriginal Day.

The Snow Walker star, Annabella Piugattuk, is to join them for the finishing stretch. Two of the five youth walking the entire distance, Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason, and Nancy Saunders, both 18, are Inuit.

“People are always honking or stopping to give us donations or tell us their stories about suicides,” says Charlotte.

Every day they walk about 35 km, no matter what the weather is like.

“It’s cold outside!” says Nancy.

She tells herself “life is great, there’s always a bright side to everything, you can’t give up no matter what” as she strides along.

“Walking is the easiest part of this trip,” Charlotte says. “But I want to do this for Inuit. I was born and raised in Nunavut, and, honestly, I never saw anything being done about suicide. I heard about it all the time, so I want to do my part in raising the awareness and try to get the government to wake up and see the problem.”

In each community, the walkers make presentations to the public about suicide – and it’s not an easy subject.

“Every day we’re talking about how we’re affected by suicide and telling our stories, and people talk to us,” Charlotte says.

“We’re all touched by suicide,” Nancy adds. “I’m doing this so I can show people there’s way more to do in life than drink or do drugs or give up. This walk is showing me so many great things. We meet all these people. It’s showing me there’s more in life than drugs or alcohol.”

Since March, Charlotte and Nancy have walked through the Rocky Mountains, which they say was an “awesome” experience. They also spent two days in the West Edmonton Mall, where they took a break.

This summer, Nancy would like to organize a community walk to raise awareness about suicide in her home town of Kuujjuaq.

“People in Kuujjuaq, when someone commits suicide, they don’t talk about it. I’m going to say, ‘remember the people we’ve lost, let’s talk about our pain together,'” she says. “We’re sending out a positive message – to talk about suicide, because if you don’t talk about it, it will get worse: there’s always someone out there for you, so talk about it.”

Organizer Vincent Watts, who comes from a First Nations community near Nanaimo, B.C., came up with the concept of the walk after a series of traditional healing ceremonies or sweat lodges.

Vincent says the annual walks owe their success to “one miracle after another.”

The “National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Walk” is a strictly non-profit adventure: in fact, it operates on a shoestring, with walkers billeted with local families and groups.

As Vincent walks, and looks after the logistics of making sure the young walkers stay healthy and happy, he says he’s also healing.

“I cried when my nephew died,” says Vincent, 45. “I didn’t realize that we have so much suicide in every aboriginal community.”

Vincent wants to convince the federal government to put more money into suicide prevention and to fund a treatment facility for aboriginal youth.

Despite the walk’s focus on suicide awareness, it’s really more about life than death.

“Live Life” was also the theme of the recent National Inuit Youth Council summit in Nain, Labrador, where participants raised money for the walk and other programs through an auction, sale of nassait (knitted hats), fees paid by latecomers to the summit sessions and a beauty pageant.

Franco Sheatiapik Buscemi, youth intervenor at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, challenged the newly-elected NIYC president, Jason Tologanak, to enter the Nain Easter Games Beauty Pageant. Tologanak and his “girlfriends” won first, second and third place in the pageant.

When Josh Pammak announced that $900 in prizes would be donated for wellness initiatives, additional donations were collected from the crowd, bringing the evening total to $1,496.39.

Of the money raised in Nain, nearly $3,000 went to support the walk. The Kitikmeot Regional Youth Council also raised an additional $1,700, which will go towards a welcoming feast when the walkers arrive in Ottawa.

To learn more about the walk, go to: www.theyouthsuicidepreventionwalk.com

Contributions can be made c/o the Bank of Montreal, transit 3820. Account 1010-882. Charity # 86211-0210-RR0001.

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