“KATOP WASIS SESOMIW NOKALAWIN MO NAGELAMEG NEOTEETJIT MITJOAATJITJ. NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.”
First Nation Advisory Council Report to the New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate. July 2021.
This report outlines some of the unique and complex context and jurisdictional circumstances related to mental health services for Indigenous people through five sections:
- Indigenous Suicide and Mental Health provides an overview of the extent of Indigenous youth suicide in Canada, a model and promising practices for addressing Indigenous youth suicide.
- Towards Effective Mental Health Services for Indigenous Youth, presents steps for improving Indigenous youth suicide beginning with using culture and language as a foundation for services.
- Culture as Foundation has been recognized as a protective factor in Indigenous youth mental health. This section also outlines the historical evolution of Indigenous health services and its associated jurisdictional complexities and lays out a case for more Indigenous involvement and partnerships in the design and delivery of Indigenous youth mental health services.
- Challenges in the New Brunswick’s public education system and in the criminal youth justice system are briefly discussed.
- Building on Progress to Date, calls on future work to be built on recent efforts to improve access and cultural competency of provincial youth mental health and addictions services.
The report contains thirteen high level Calls to Action for improving mental health service delivery and outcomes for Indigenous youth in New Brunswick, with a strong Call that a separate, Indigenous-led review in partnership with the Child and Youth Advocate’s Office be conducted to give time and space for all Indigenous people on and off-reserve to participate and contribute to the solutions for Indigenous youth.
An accompanying report provides a statistical overview of Indigenous peoples in New Brunswick in relation to demographics, mental health related statistics and the social determinants of health.