Group home staff confront community prejudices

If you've never stood on your own two feet, sometimes you need a helping hand.

On May 7, Kuujjuaq's new group home, called Ipigusuriusaviq (or "a place to learn how to walk"), welcomes its first two residents.

Group homes for the mentally ill are common in the South, but Ipigu­suriusaviq is the first of its kind in Nunavik.

In the brand-new duplex down by the beach, residents will get the support they need to master the tasks of daily living, such as buying food, preparing meals and cleaning up afterwards.

The group home's goal, says director Carolyn St-Denis, is to be a place where Nunavimmiut with mental illnesses can learn to live independently. The home has space for four women and four men.

Before coming to Kuuj­juaq to run Ipigusuriusaviq, St. Denis, a Métis from northern Ontario, worked for a similar non-profit apartment complex in Ottawa which had 250 clients.

St-Denis is counting on family and community involve­ment to make Ipig­usuriusaviq a special place.

"I hope I'm not just warehousing people who are mentally ill, but helping them to reintegrate into the community. We want to see growth," she said.

With proper medication and support, she says Ipigusuriusaviq's residents can learn to live on their own.

However, Nunavimmiut with mental illness still face suspicion when they're out in the community. Some people believe that mental illness is punishment for sin, or due to possession by the devil.

These attitudes explain why recruiting workers for Ipigusuriusaviq has been tough for St. Denis and its board of directors, which includes a local nurse, doctor, social worker and other community members.

But, once the group home is open, staff hope Ipigusuriusaviq will transform this dread into understanding.

"We're hoping that people from the community will help us by supporting the program," St-Denis said.

Funds from the Kativik Municipal Housing Bureau paid for the construction of Ipigusuriusaviq's $770,000 building.

The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services will pay $150,000 of Ipigusuriusaviq's annual operating costs. The balance will be covered by $40,000 in rent collected from the residents.

A similar partnership with the housing bureau led to the construction of a new women's shelter in Salluit.