Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre wellness director Jose Pruden speaks about how important it is for youth to have positive mental health during Tuesday's presentation. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff) 

By Angela Brown

Supporting youth

Prevent at-risk behaviour by having uncomfortable talks with youth: Guest speakers tell N.B. parents

Sep 19, 2019 | 12:54 PM

Depression, suicide, HIV and drug use.

These are some of the sensitive topics of conversation professionals want parents to have with their children to help keep them safe from harm before it’s too late.

Many teens, parents and caregivers and those who work with young people came together Tuesday evening at North Battleford Comprehensive High School. The discussion was to learn more about guiding youth toward positive choices, during a presentation called “Addressing High-Risk Behaviour in our Youth: Building Capacity as a Community.”

Among the guest speakers was Jose Pruden, Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre wellness director. Her talk focused on mental health and how to identify signs that a youth may be depressed, or dealing with anxiety and having a difficult time handling stress.

She related depression is a mental illness, adding some of the risk factors can range anywhere from hormonal influences to having a genetic predisposition. Trauma, misusing drugs or alcohol, or even struggling with the challenges of living in poverty are also contributers, she said. Pruden said young people need to seek counseling whenever they need help.

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When discussing suicide, she said people need to speak openly about the issue, look for warning signs and not keep silent if they are concerned a youth may be at risk.

Living Sky School Division and Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC) partnered in organizing the event. Other guest speakers included RCMP Const. Sam Gerstmar and Leslie-Ann Smith, a nurse with Indigenous Services Canada.

Visiting from Regina, Dr. Stu Skinner, assistant professor with the University of Saskatchewan in the division of infectious diseases spoke of the dangers of unprotected sex and drug use. He said both carry higher risks of youth contracting a serious infection.

“We are worried about the youth and some of the high-risk behaviour that is happening – whether it is around unprotected sex and the risk of sexually-transmitted infections, or high-risk behaviour related to injection drug-use, and all those risks that come with that,” Skinner said. “From my point [of view] as an infectious disease doctor, that high-risk behaviour can lead to things like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis C, as well as some severe bacterial complications which can be quite devastating.”

Skinner hopes the presentation helps increase awareness, and encourages parents and those involved with youth to raise these topical issues with their children.

“Whether it is HIV, or Hepatitis C or sexually-transmitted infections, they are in themselves not the marker because kids get infected with them due to other behaviours or other at-risk behaviours. That is what we need everyone to talk about and discuss,” he said. “They are hard topics and discussions to have, but if we don’t [have them] I don’t know how else we will keep children safe.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow