Rigolet, Nunatsiavut
Year(s) Funded: 2013-2014
Topic Area: Mental Health Contact: Charlotte Wolfrey, Rigolet Inuit Community Government ([email protected]) Partners: My Word’: Storytelling and Digital Media Lab, McGill University’s Climate Change Adaptation Research Group, McGill’s Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change, McGill’s Inuit Knowledge for Adapting to the Health Effects of Climate Change, Nunatsiavut Government Department of Lands and Natural Resources Division, Nunatsiavut Government Department of Health and Social Development, Inuit Community of Governments of Rigolet, Makkovik, Postville, Hopedale, and Nain Website: http://www.townofrigolet.com/home/my_word.htm Title: Fostering Youth Mental Health and Resilience to Climate Change
Action: This project developed, designed, expanded, and implemented targeted, community-specific, and responsive programming and research to enhance resilience and adaptive capacities to climate change in each of the five communities in Nunatsiavut through two programming strategies: the expansion of the Aullak, sangilivallianginnatuk: Going Off, Growing Strong in Nain and Hopedale, and the creation and piloting of the IlikKuset-Ilingannet!/Culture-Connect! program. Results: Each youth spent approximately 30 hours with each mentor, for a total of approximately 150 hours of programming for each youth. There was approximately 750 youth-mentor contact hours in each community. In total, the program provided approximately 2,250 youth-mentor hours. In addition, youth regularly interacted with each other and with the Local Coordinator in each community, for about 5-7 hours per week as part of this program, leading to approximately 150-200 additional contact hours in each community. The majority of participants agreed that cultural-based programming such as this could be an important, sustainable, and impactful adaptation strategy for the community, as it provides opportunities to connect with culture even if you can’t get off on the land; it connects with known protective factors (e.g. connecting with culture, family, and community; building skills; enhancing confidence and self-esteem; providing hope for the future; building positive relationships with peers and adults). The IlikKuset-Ilingannet! / Culture-Connect! program was, by all measurements, an incredible success and a very positive and well-supported program with a multitude of benefits. Outputs: A documentary film of the project was created and shared with the community. Additional Resources & Publications
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