Lesson #1: Social and Economic Change Affects Mental Health and Addictions in Northern Communities

An important lesson drawn from the research is that social and economic change is not always negative and that community experiences of change do not necessarily affect people in the same way. Practitioners’ observations of community changes with respect to substance use patterns, social norms around abuse disclosure and the effects of economic booms were a combination of positive and negative insights on changes taking place in community that affects their practice. Practitioners indicated that the issues are much more nuanced and may occur at the individual rather than community level. These are the most tangible expressions of rapid social and economic change on community mental health and addictions.
As well as these specific examples of change at the community level, almost all of the practitioners interviewed emphasized that unresolved pain or trauma is a root cause of problematic substance use or addictions. Practitioners did not explicitly make the connection between rapid social and economic change and their observations of trauma. However, other researchers have made this theoretical link, suggesting that trauma in the Canadian Indigenous context stems from the rapid culture change, cultural oppression, and social marginalization. Practitioners’ observations of trauma can be more clearly understood when related to the phenomenon of rapid change and its impact on mental health and addictions practice in this way.

Lesson #2: Internal Organizational Changes are an Expression of Socio-Economic Change and Affect Practitioner Interactions with Community

Overshadowing the discussion of socio-economic change, at times, was the emphasis many practitioners placed on internal organizational change. This discussion was related to the structure and function of mental health and addiction services and the effect these organizational changes have had on their practice. The focus on internal organizational issues demonstrates the significant impact that policy has on practice. It also suggests practitioners’ experience on the job is more a product of the workplace environment than the community environment. While outside forces of change may greatly impact their clients, it is practitioners’ interactions with internal organizational change that really shapes their experiences as helping professionals. This is perhaps because internal organizational changes, such as restructuring of programs and services, are so much closer to them and their “real lives” than some of the larger system changes brought about by shifts in the social and economic landscape. Practitioners are directly affected by these sorts of changes, so they are the ones that first come to mind as influencing practice when asked about change.
Practitioner discussions of organizational change reveal how standardizing mental health and addiction services changes the role of the practitioner vis-à-vis the community. Prior to the implementation of the Community Counseling Program across the NWT, practitioners carried out their counseling and wellness work as part of NGOs and community councils. Under the community-run system, some communities were very well served while others did not have adequate services in place. In recent years, the GNWT has achieved their goal of creating a standardized mental health and addiction program across the territory by assuming the role of service provider in place of the community-run services. By standardizing this front-line occupation the GNWT has placed boundaries on this role, which practitioners conceived in both positive and negative ways. Internal organizational change, it seems, is having just as much of a mixed effect on practitioners as external community changes are having on northern residents.
These days, practitioners must navigate two worlds. They must be bureaucrats, meeting set standards and regulations. Yet, to be effective, they must also gain the trust of clients by engaging in the community life. Performing the role of bureaucrat too well may prove a handicap in meeting community needs. Practitioners also emphasized the critical importance of earning the community’s trust and respect. They saw this as the foundation of effective counseling in the north. This view is consistent with research conducted on health care provision in other northern Canadian Aboriginal communities. It follows then that practitioners take every opportunity to establish themselves, giving people a chance to get to know them. In the northern Aboriginal community context, this means being visible at community events and in some cases, making unsolicited house calls. Given the importance of trust and cultural competency in the effective delivery of health and social services to northern communities, should we not be doing everything we can to get our mental health and addiction professionals integrated into community life? Mental health and addiction services can be professionally and accountably delivered, but also responsive and sensitive to the unique traditions and context of life in small communities in the north.

Lesson #3: There are Ways to Move Forward Together

The community counseling program may be a government invention, but there are ways for NWT communities to make it their own. Practitioners spoke of the need for more local involvement in community-based service delivery; several mentioning how they would like to see more local people trained as counselors. They also see room for greater community direction in terms of how services are structured and delivered, such as the inclusion of more on-the-land type of activities. Together, these findings create a picture of a system that is looking for more community engagement.
Comments made by practitioners indicate that in addition to helping professionals who are local to the community they serve, those from elsewhere also have important roles to play. A diversity of practitioners is valuable in terms of providing residents with options as to who they can interact with. It is also necessary given the current paucity of skilled helping professionals from the smaller communities. This mixed workforce needs to be supported to (1) increase the cultural competency of those who are not indigenous to the communities they serve, and (2) continue their professional development so that eventually, those working in a paraprofessional community wellness worker role might be equipped to take on more counselling responsibilities. The goal of greater Aboriginal leadership in these areas of healing was a goal expressed several times by participants in this research as the only long-term solution to the constant issue of staff-turnover.
To be relevant and effective, the community counseling program also needs to take into consideration local culture and context. This sentiment was expressed repeatedly by practitioners interviewed for this thesis. Improvements will be seen in a practitioners’ familiarity with emerging issues in their communities and their ability to outreach to a variety of residents if they are encouraged to have a flexible work environment. This includes being able to meet people on their own terms, at a variety of different locations, at a variety of times throughout the day. This also could mean providing more cultural competency training for those individuals working in northern communities who are not Indigenous to the region so that they can better understand the social and historical context of they are working in.

This is a brief summary of findings and discussions emerging from the IPY GAPS Negotiating Change study. For more information on this research initiative, or to request a complete copy of the Masters thesis from which this research synopsis was extracted, please contact Alana Kronstal at akronstal@uvic.ca

Please see the newsletter.

In November, Gabrielle Slowey will be heading up a panel discussion around Oil and Development at the Northern Governance Policy Research Conference, also in Yellowknife. Julia and Alana will also present, along with Yellowknife-based GAPS researcher Jessica Simpson. Rajiv is also part of the secretariat for this conference through his continuing work with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research in Yellowknife.

Two-Day Conference
April 16-17, 2009

April 16th – Founders Assembly Hall
April 17th – The Underground

Community activists and activist scientists from Brazil, India, South Africa, and Arctic Canada  will share stories of local vulnerabilities to climate change, and discuss strategies for addressing inequities in climate change causation, mitigation, funding, and education.

Sponsored by Environment Canada, International Polar Year, York International, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, & IRIS

• Download the event poster (pdf)

For more information please contact the conference coordinators:

Annette Dubreuil (afdubreu@yorku.ca) or
Jennifer Jew (jenjew@yorku.ca)

Phone: 416-736-2100 ext 33631
347 York Lanes, York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3
Canada

Research has been going very well, with a great deal of interest and participation from community members. Community organizations such as the Inuvik Homeless Shelter, Inuvik Interagency Committee members, Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition members, and the Centre for Northern Families have provided an incredible amount of support and input over the course of this project. It has indeed been a collaborative effort. I would like to say a big “Mahsi Cho!”, “Quyanainni!”, and “Thank you!” to these groups and individuals.

In the fall, I will conduct fieldwork in the community of Paulatuk to get a sense of how these issues within the context of a small, settlement community and how they connect with housing insecurity and homelessness in larger centres. Without a doubt, homelessness in the territory is the result of a complex web of factors that link communities together. For example, homelessness in Yellowknife can be reflective of issues in much smaller, remote communities. Homelessness is a territory-wide issue.

Of incredible importance are the two research assistants who have provided a great deal of help and support to this project. Kate Snow, an Inuvik high school student, worked closely with me on that portion of the project. Currently, I am working with Gilly McNaughton, a local student and youth worker, here in Yellowknife.

- Julia Christensen
Inuvik & Yellowknife, NT

The Trudeau Scholarship is Canada’s most prestigious doctoral level award. Congratulations Julia!

Below is a short profile from the Trudeau Foundation web site:

Born and raised in the Northwest Territories, Julia Christensen is committed to making a positive and meaningful contribution to northern peoples and places.

Through her doctoral research, Julia explores the link between housing insecurity and homelessness in the context of northern communities. “Housing is integral to human wellbeing,” she says. “It defines our access to community, services, work opportunities, and relationships.” Julia’s doctoral research is rooted in the recognition that housing is a right, and that its tenure is an expression of social inclusion and citizenship. “By allowing a significant portion of our population to live without their most basic needs met,” she asserts, “we allow our neighbours to be disenfranchised and excluded in the most fundamental way.”

Julia has a broad range of northern research experience, nationally and internationally. In addition to her doctoral studies, she is co-investigator of an International Polar Year project on “The Impacts of Oil and Gas on Peoples of the Arctic Using a Multiple Securities Perspective”, contributor to the University of Århus-based “Metropolia Arctica” project in Denmark, and contributor to the University of Tromsø-based “Human Security in the Arctic” initiative in Norway.

Julia is co-director of Northern Students/Northern Research, an initiative to promote community-based research by building bridges between northern student researchers and northern communities; and, co-director of the Canadian Youth Steering Committee’s Time Capsule project aimed at presenting life in the North through the eyes of northern youth using photography and other art forms.

As a freelance journalist and consultant, Julia has valuable experience exploring techniques for effective communication and community participation. To broaden the accessibility of her research, Julia works to reach a wider audience with popular writing, visual media such as photography and community research workshops.

Northern youth art, writing to join International Polar Year snapshot
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
CBC News

Young people from across Canada’s North will be invited to write, photograph, draw and paint their way into International Polar Year research by taking part in a time capsule project that aims to document the region through the eyes of its youth.

The time capsule is part of the current International Polar Year research project, which launched in March 2007 and runs until 2009. It is being organized by IPY’s Canadian youth steering committee, which includes Yellowknife native Julia Christensen.

“It’s the youth that are going to inherit this world, and it’s the youth whose perspectives, you know, really need to be heard in this International Polar Year,” said Christensen, currently a post-graduate student at McGill University, in an interview.

“Its main aim is really to provide a snapshot of what life is like in the North from the eyes of northern youth, so that 50 years from now, during the next International Polar Year, we can look at that perspective and understand sort of how far have we come.”

Christensen said the time capsule will seek photography, artwork and creative writing from youth, so that their views are documented alongside those of scientists, politicians and other community members.

“We’re sending art supplies and also disposable cameras, so that we can get some grassroots projects where youth will go out with cameras and with their art supplies and basically provide us with a visual snapshot of what, you know, a day in the life of a young person is in a northern community,” she said.

The capsule, once completed, will tour northern communities before being stored at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, where it will stay sealed for the next 50 years.