Nunavik conference trains record number in suicide prevention

Valerie Lock, chairperson of the Regional Suicide Prevention Committee and Martha Inukpuk-Iqaluk a Suicide Prevention Liaison Worker in Nunavik, lead an ASIST workshop in Puvirnituq Oct. 8 as part of the Puttautiiit conference. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NRBHSS)

About 60 Nunavimmiut completed ASIST training as part of the Puttautiit conference in Puvirnituq this week, the largest training session ever held in Nunavik. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NRBHSS)

Nunavik may be a region with some of the highest suicide rates in the country, but on Oct. 7, Nunavimmiut had a reason to smile.

That’s when 60 people earned their Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) certificates, the largest-ever group in the region to receive that training at once, bringing the region’s total number of ASIST-trained residents to 220 in the last two years.

But this wasn’t just another training session; the workshop drew Nunavimmiut from every community to Puvirnituq this week as part of the region’s first suicide prevention and healing conference, Puttautiit.

“We’re all here for this conference so they’re just really open to learning how to help someone who’s at risk,” said Valerie Lock, chairperson of the region’s suicide prevention committee.

The conference was modeled after the annual “Dialogue for Life” conference that takes place in Montreal, a suicide prevention event focused on the indigenous peoples of Quebec and Labrador.

But this week’s event, which began Oct. 5 and runs until Oct. 10, takes suicide prevention and healing in the region to another level, Lock said.

“Dialogue for Life is a great event,” she said. “But this is home, and it’s directly geared to Inuit.”

“My hope is that we’ll realize that it’s okay to talk about suicide,” she added, “and I really think participants are open and willing.”

On Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, participants are taking part in different workshops, focused on cultural identity, and healing and grieving.

On the final day of the conference, Puttautiit will open the conference to its host community of Puvirnituq and host a well-being exhibition of all the support services available to people in the region, including crisis centres, men’s support groups and youth programs.

The closing ceremony will feature a performance by singer and songwriter Jaaji Okpik.

The conference comes just weeks after a special inquest held in Nunavut last month to look at the territory’s high rate of suicide, and specifically, the record-high 45 suicides recorded in the territory in 2013 alone.

The inquest produced 30 recommendations on how Nunavut should respond to its suicide crisis including a call to the Government of Nunavut to declare suicide a public health emergency.

While statistics for suicides in Nunavik are not as up to date, the region has recorded rates similar to or even higher than Nunavut over the last 15 years.

According to Quebec’s coroner’s office, 163 Nunavimmiut died by suicide between 2000 and 2011, making it the second-highest cause of death, just after cancer.

The coroner’s office has yet to release regional suicide statistics from 2012 onward.

You can read more about suicide prevention efforts in Nunavik here.

Health officials in Nunavik have said that Puttautiit will become an annual event in the region, with the goal of moving to a new community each year.

“My hope is that this will continue to grow,” Lock said. “And the special thing is that Inuit have made it happen.”

If you are in need of support or have thoughts of suicide, there are a number of toll-free numbers you can call to speak to someone:

– Kamatsiaqtut Help Line 1-800-265-3333 (Inuktitut, English)

– Residential school crisis line 1-866-925-4419 (Inuktitut, English, French)

– Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868

– 1-866-APPELLE in Quebec (French)