Arctic Bay pleads for social worker

DENISE RIDEOUT

RANKIN INLET — While some communities struggle with not having a doctor, and others with not having enough nurses, Arctic Bay has a plight of its own: it doesn’t have a social worker.

There hasn’t been a social worker stationed in the north Baffin community since late fall.

Moses Koonoo, who sits on the hamlet council, said that makes for a dire situation in Arctic Bay.

“It’s really important for the community. We’re missing that help,” Koonoo said.

The councillor pleaded his case to health minister Ed Picco last week at the Nunavut Association of Municipalities meeting in Rankin Inlet, where Picco was a guest speaker.

Koonoo told Picco it’s time for him to find a social worker for the community.

The last social worker was transferred to Pond Inlet in late fall, and Arctic Bay residents are still waiting for a new one to come onboard.

Koonoo said everyone — from children to young offenders to families — is affected when there’s no one in the community to turn to for help.

“We don’t have any proper counselling for people who are on probation,” he added.

He questioned Picco when the health department expected to hire the social worker.

Picco told Koonoo he’s aware of the community’s need and is currently working on finding them one.

MLA echoes Koonoo’s call

Rebekah Uqi Williams, the MLA for the High Arctic, said the government could be doing more to get Arctic Bay a social worker.

“They could do better by training people and hiring somebody right from the community and work with that person,” said Williams, whose riding includes Arctic Bay.

“With getting people from the South, they may be qualified social workers but they don’t know the community. They can’t even pronounce the people’s names.”

Williams doesn’t buy the GN’s claim that there isn’t enough money to hire more social workers.

“It’s not like we’re broke. We have the money to have social workers in every community,” she said.

Williams, who was Arctic Bay’s social worker for 14 years, said the key now is to get help to the community as soon as possible.

“There are a number of foster children in Arctic Bay currently and they need to have good support, and, as well, foster homes need to have very good support to keep going just the way they do,” she said.

She said she thinks a social worker is needed to look into incidences of physical and sexual abuse and family violence.

“We should be helping and trying to do something before the situation gets too bad. That’s where the social worker would come in.”

The MLA has grilled health minister Ed Picco in the legislative assembly a number of times on what he’s going to do to get Arctic Bay its much-needed social worker.

She’s also met privately with Picco to voice her concerns.

“I’m not going to quit here on this one,” she said.