TORONTO -- Ontario's health minister says his visit to a remote First Nations community in the midst of a suicide crisis was just as devastating as the years he spent as a doctor in war zones around the world.
Eric Hoskins travelled on Wednesday to Attawapiskat, where dozens of youth have tried to kill themselves over the past few months.
In addition to a three-hour meeting with community leaders, he also sat down for a few hours with dozens of young people, all of whom have been touched by suicide, including friends and family members either killing themselves or trying to.
Among those in attendance were children around the same age as the nine-year-old who was part of what officials called a suicide pact by 13 young people on the reserve earlier this week.
"It's deeply upsetting that when you have children that young that are in such pain or have lost hope -- that they're turning to that kind of consideration," said Hoskins, who spent years in war-ravaged countries with his wife, Samantha Nutt, after they founded an organization to help children affected by conflict.
"It just demonstrates just how serious this situation is and how important action is."
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, a deputy grand chief with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization that represents 49 First Nations communities including Attawapiskat, said the meeting was a boon for the youth in the community.
"It gave them hope and really empowered them to talk about the devastation of suicide and how they can fix it," Achneepineskum said.
The entire meeting in the isolated community near James Bay was overwhelmingly emotional, especially when the mother of Sheridan Hookimaw, a 13-year-old girl who killed herself last October, spoke about her daughter, Hoskins said.
"For all of us in the room, that was the most difficult moment for her to have to talk about it," Hoskins told The Canadian Press. "She demonstrated incredible courage to tell her story."
It was that courage that gave Hoskins hope, he added.
"There is a path and they've pointed the way as to what should happen."
In addition to more mental health support, the group suggested ways out of the crisis included more outlets and activities for children and teenagers, returning to their cultural roots and learning parenting skills themselves so they can then support their own parents, most of whom were victimized in the residential schools.
The meeting with the minister was the culmination of three nights of gatherings as community members discussed the suicide crisis and ways how to move forward. About a dozen youths gave a presentation to Hoskins, Achneepineskum said.
Their message strengthened his resolve, both as a human being and as a politician, to help solve the crisis, he said.
"To see their ability and their resolve and being empowered and having the pathway to a better future and just needing us to support them ... it was incredibly moving and emotional, but also confidence-building. It gave me the confidence that we can do this together," Hoskins said.
Ontario will follow their lead, both in the short term with plans to bring in 13 health-care workers to deal with the crisis with round-the-clock mental health care, and in the long term with more support, he added.
Last Saturday, Attawapiskat's leaders declared a state of emergency, citing 11 suicide attempts so far in the month of April and 28 recorded attempts in March.
On Monday, officials thwarted what they called a suicide pact by 13 young aboriginal people on the First Nation after they were overheard making plans to kill themselves.
Despite the hope in Attawapiskat, challenges remain.
Achneepineskum said two teenagers overdosed Wednesday night, but it wasn't clear if they were suicide attempts.
"We're trying to figure that out, but what's clear is that there is a problem abusing drugs," she said, adding that they are organizing an event to collect any unused prescription medication to get it out of the community and especially away from young people.
Achneepineskum also warned that the suicide crisis isn't limited to Attawapiskat. She said similar problems plague at least three other communities in Ontario -- Bearskin Lake, Pikangikum and Fort Albany -- that also deserve attention.
