ARMING ABORIGINAL YOUTH WITH KNOWLEDGE

Substance Abuse Pilot Project Launched In Sheshatshiu School

A bold initiative in tackling substance abuse problems in the
province's aboriginal communities was revived and kicked off in
Sheshatshiu last week.

Like the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program Aboriginal
Shield is designed to equip school aged children with the skills to
recognize and resist social pressures to experiment with tobacco,
alcohol, other drugs.

"The big difference with the Aboriginal Shield, is like the name says,
it's geared directly towards aboriginal communities," says Peenamin
McKenzie program facilitator Gerald Asivak.

When the program was first introduced in the mid to late 90s, it was
predominantly facilitated by RCMP officers who took part in intense
training workshops.

In its second time around, the program is being tested in eight pilot
communities across Canada and Sheshatshiu was selected as one.
Following the completion of this year's test programs, it will be
evaluated and tweaked for a full Grade 4 to 8 launch in the fall of
the year.

Instead of RCMP officers handling the duties, a team of civilian
facilitators was chosen to complete the intensive weeklong training
course in Winnipeg.

Jennifer Blake, who has worked with youth in the Innu community
previously, says it was wise decision to bring in civilians as
facilitators, especially in Labrador.

"I find here, it's very difficult to get the RCMP to get the time to
do these sorts of specialized programs," explains the
facilitator.

"It was interesting to bring outside organizations in because
everybody brings something different to the program."

Mr. Asivak suggests that while RCMP officers are more than capable,
the unstable nature of their postings is not always conducive to the
program having the greatest long-term reach possible.

"So they chose more people in the community who are going to stay
there, more front line workers, people who know about the issues."

Not only do they all bring their own set of skills, but all three
facilitators are of different aboriginal descent. Ms. Blake is Metis,
Mr. Asivak is Inuit and Eugene Hart, a Community School Liaison
officer at Peenamin, is Innu.

"Where I speak the language and this is the school where I work, it's
easier for me because I can translate for the students or I can
translate for Gerald or Jen. It makes the whole process easier than
having kids sitting there and getting frustrated and not getting
anything out of the program," explicates Mr. Hart.

Tailor made

The program is traditionally offered over the course of 10 weeks with
one one-hour session each week. But with the end of the school year
fast approaching, the program will be condensed into five weeks at
Peenamin with two one-hour sessions per calendar week.

The lessons tackle issues that have been identified by Nechi Institute
on Alcohol and Drug Education including the standards of
decision-making and health choices to more culturally specific topics.

"The first lesson talks about smoke and how it's used in a positive
way in aboriginal cultures," explains Ms. Blake citing sweat lodges
and smudging as examples of positive uses.

All three agree that one of the greatest strengths to the program is
the ability to tailor it to suit the community in which it's being
offered.

There's also the freedom to bring in community leaders, aboriginal
elders, counsellors and drug and alcohol awareness
specialists.

"You can incorporate people in to your lesson plan, so if we want to
bring in Cpl.Keith MacKinnon to help us, you can sort of introduce the
kids to the RCMP in a positive light, not the police officer who you
only see when something bad happens," suggests Ms. Blake.

With this being a pilot program only, and one of only eight
nationally, a lot of what happens and the feedback from the
facilitators, students, and teachers in Sheshatshiu will be an
important part of the revisions which that will determine final product.

The trio of dedicated youth workers say the training was emotionally
charged, as many of the issues are ones they've seen first hand and
have dealt with before.

"This stuff hits close to home," says Mr. Hart.

He adds that never before has he attended a training program where the
attendees became so closely knit and made the learning process that
much easier by drawing on one another's past experiences.

"Everyone in the group said this was positive, we all knew when we
went back to our communities that we would be able to deliver this to
our students, because it worked well for us."