Health Canada boosts services to First Nations in ‘state of despair and crisis:’ FSIN
In response to the suicide crisis in northern Saskatchewan, Health Canada is stepping up its services in isolated communities.
The introduction of a new telephone crisis intervention line is one of a few steps Health Canada is taking to boost mental health services to people in northern Saskatchewan.
The help line is unique in the sense it provides First Nations and Inuit peoples an opportunity to speak with councillors who are “very attuned to the needs that they will encounter,” Jamie Bryan said, the acting director of Mental Wellness.
“(The helpline is) a team of highly certified councillors that includes nine indigenous councillors. All of the councillors have experience working and providing crisis councils working with First Nations Inuit or Metis people,” Bryan said.