In collaboration with various community partners, Kashechewan Health Services is building six youth, cultural and healing camps for people dealing with past trauma or mental health issues.
Kashechewan Health Services director Gaius Wesley said the construction of the camps is way to respond to the mental health needs of people in the community.
“The main reason we have these camps is to help our people who are suffering with mental health issues. And also, to help our people who are grieving from their losses because that has been very big in our community for the past couple of months,” he said.
“There is a very serious need for healing in our community and that is the main reason why we’re building these camps, so that we can try and help our people who are struggling with addiction, with grief, mental health issues, with stress or their childhood trauma they’ve experienced.”
There will be six camps in total: a traditional cultural camp on a Potato Island, a youth gathering site, a spiritual camp, a youth cultural and recreational camp, Young Eagles Trail and a detox treatment and healing camp.
Wesley said discussions started last December at a Circle of Care meeting. Circle of Care includes community leaders and frontline workers who try to identify community needs and shortfalls.
Kashechewan Health Services spearheaded the project in partnership with Kashechewan First Nation Chief and Council, Ontario Works and family services departments, Education Authority, Niwakomakanak, Payukotayno-James and Hudson Bay Family Services as well as Kashechewan's Choose Life, family well-being and addiction and crisis programs.
With a help of about 30 seasonal labourers, the construction started in early June and is expected to finish by September with the goal to open the camps next month as well.
Wesley said camps will be open for anyone to use at any time or day, all year round. The detox treatment camp, located four or five kilometres up Albany River, will only be accessible by boat in summer and by snowmobiles in winter.
Camps will be used for community-based programming, ceremonial practices and teachings that will be geared towards healing people who have experienced violence or trauma.
There could be 60 to 80 people per camp. Camps will be equipped with cabins, teepees, a fhabotawan (a kitchen where people gather and cook), canvas tents which will be used as shelters as well as boats and snowmobiles for transportation.
There will be about 20 staff working full-time from all involved partners who will provide their own activities and scheduling.
According to Wesley, funding comes from the First Nation leadership, Education Authority, family services department and Kashechewan’s Choose Life and family well-being programs. He said about $400,000 has been spent so far on the construction and labour costs, and the organization is also trying to apply for grants.
At the land-based detox camp, there can be 12 to 15 people per session. Each session may last for eight days and will provide detoxification, treatment and healing. Then, people will be involved in an aftercare program, which can include sharing circles, drum practices, fishing or hunting, held at the camps or within the community.
“There is a lot of education that is going to go into the aftercare programming, too,” Wesley told TimminsToday. “Educating people to become responsible, how to budget their money.”
The health services organization is also looking at providing in-community treatment care for those who are not practicing “old ways of living” like ceremonies or going to sweat lodges, so that services can be available to anyone in the community, Wesley said.
Wesley said the initiative is also a way to build trust with the community members as he believes it’s been “absent for far too long.” Another goal behind the camps is to encourage residents to go outdoors, get some fresh air and re-energize away from the community.
“This is the start of a very big project. We’re very optimistic that our community is getting to find the way of healing,” Wesley said.
“We’re trying our best to find solutions. It may not be a solution for everybody but, at least, we’re starting something that everyone will start to see, will start to put their trust in the leadership and in the community partners that we have in place at the Circle of Care.”