COMMUNITY INITIATIVE DESERVES PRAISE

My first encounter with Burnt Church First Nation left me in a state
of shock.

It was about two weeks ago that I had to drive up to talk to community
members about the most recent death in the community attributed to a
drug overdose. The count, according to community members was at three
in roughly a month.

I spoke with drug counsellors and at least one band councillor who
informed me of the frightening drug problem plaguing the community.

I was told that most of the deaths that occur on Burnt Church First
Nation are drug related, either overdoses or suicides. I was told the
unemployment rate was at ridiculous heights, a factor that strongly
played into the drug problem on the reserve.

When I went home that night I had trouble sleeping. I couldn't get it
out of my head. The question, how does this happen to a community,
kept running through my head over and over.

I was so upset I actually contacted an aquaintance who works closely
with both the Lennox Island and Scotchfort reserves in P.E.I. I needed
to know if drugs and suicide were as prevalent an issue elsewhere.

I was told that while both the Lennox Island and Scotchfort reserves
have their problems, they are considerably less serious than those in
Burnt Church.

This got me asking, why?

Why is one First Nation community in such dire straits, while another
of roughly the same population, is not?

I thought at first it might be that the community just doesn't care
about what's happening to their friends and neighbors, that perhaps
the sense of brotherhood had been lost.

And then I attended a community meeting in Burnt Church last Wednesday
where a sizable group got together to address the growing drug problem.

I heard heartfelt testimonial from both the wife and brother of the
deceased man as well as other concerned people, worried either about
their children, or their children's friends.

My theory about the community not caring was thrown right out the
window.

In fact, I couldn't believe the initiative this community took in such
a short time, against such a seemingly complex issue.

In just one evening the group, which was roughly 50 people, managed to
set out a list of specific goals they wanted to accomplish and began
work on how they would meet those goals.

The meeting ended in a passionate march to an alleged drug dealers'
house, something the group plans to continue to do at least a couple
of times a week.

Once again, the Burnt Church First Nation managed to shock me. But
this time, for the good.

The group had a follow-up meeting on Saturday, with plans for another
every Saturday until the problem is solved. They're using these
meeting as a chance to get together and discuss possible solutions and
how to go about achieving these.

Most of these are grassroots ideas, that require little aside from a
time commitment from those involved.

However, a couple of initiatives, including erecting two anti-drug
billboards and starting a community newsletter, are expected to
require funding. How much is not certain at this point, but the group
has said they will likely look to fundraising to cover the impending
costs.

Another step in the right direction.

Fundraising, whether it be through community garage sales, dances,
dinners or what have you, is a great way to get more of the community
involved, while working toward their initial goal.

All it would take is a couple of Saturday afternoons of people coming
together and talking about the issue, before the initial group of 50
people would start to grow to 60 people and then 70 people and more.

Needless to say, Burnt Church First Nation is a community looking for
answers, but thanks to the ambitions of a group of concerned
individuals, it may not have to look much longer.