Aboriginal Next Steps: Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert youth came together on April 8 2008. From the beginning they chose to focus on 1) Substance Use & Abuse 2) Physical & Emotional Health and 3) Marginalized (street-involved) youth.

Even though some of these youth didn't know each other, they were notably inclusive as they respectfully worked together to get their films completed. Teamwork and consideration was reflected in their Action Plans; city wide plans that included reaching out to the Prince Rupert community to get everyone involved in creating safe spaces, extra support for families/youth, and activities for everyone to get connected.

The Film Premiere & Community Dialogue night was held at the Tom Rooney Playhouse.

This was the largest group, motivated to create a message for the Prince Rupert community about substance use & abuse. Inspired by the information on family connectedness and youth making healthier decisions, and research that has shown that exposure to alcohol and other drugs at an early age increases the likelihood that a youth will develop substance abuse problems, it didn't take them long to weave the information into this story about a sister and little brother.

Research to Action Plan: Our community goal is... Decrease the use of drugs among youth. If we had up to $5000, our activity/project would be Do more group activities, variety of places to hang out, more drug workshops. Describe what you would do... More interesting videos, play (show), DVD (discuss about drugs), after school program (activities, guest speakers), dance (dance classes) In what ways would your project improve community health? (think about protective factors) Decrease drug use, show youth the effect, bad situation that leads to drugs, live longer (population increase) Who/What would you need to get involved? Councilors, workshop facilitators, friendship, school (teachers) enrichment society, family & friends, health unit, doctors (nurses, hospital) social worker.

Against the Odds: A profile of marginalized and street-involved youth in BC 2007 was a study conducted in nine communities across BC. The youth who participated in this survey reside at the margins of our society. Among these youth, Aboriginal youth are over-represented (increased from 36% in 2000 to 57%!). Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning teens were also over-represented among marginalized and street-involved youth: fewer than 60% of youth surveyed identified as exclusively heterosexual and more than one in five identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. Several youth made the comment that they recognized their "street family" as more supportive than their original or biological family, and were able to report strong connections and ties with the surrogate families they had created. This film is about providing professional "been there done that" support and education for questioning Aboriginal youth, their families and their communities.

Research to Action Plan:

• Our community goal is...

  For families/youth who are interested in or are GLBT, improving support.

• If we had up to $5000, our activity/project would be

  Education, workshops, theater videos, music, flyers, office –supplies, info, connecting to groups.

• Describe what you would do...

  Create a support/office, neutral area, more GLBT people involved (with personal experience.)

• In what ways would your project improve community health? (think about protective factors)

  Acceptance—less stress in homes, healthier environments.

• Who/What would you need to get involved?

  Teachers, nurses, northern health, sex ed teachers (that include GLBT), parents, family, friends, social workers, small related businesses.

This group discussed the statistical increase for most categories (drug use etc) when comparing marginalized youth to youth in school. The number one reason noted by marginalized youth for why they reported hanging out on the streets was because their friends were there. Their film highlights the importance of having supportive friends with positive social values, and how feeling connected to and accepted by community, can influence youth to make healthy decisions.

As has been widely documented, the legacy of colonialism, including the inter-generational impacts of the residential school system, continue to negatively impact Aboriginal youth and their communities. Group 3 created a message about strengthening family and community ties to reduce the risk of youth attempting suicide. They were the first group to add their own quote for the film.