The small community of Opitciwan is plunged into deep mourning as a wave of suicides claimed two victims in the past two weeks. Social services are mobilized and the head of the council is about to declare a state of emergency.
Following an important meeting involving social services officials as well as the band council on Wednesday, Chief Jean-Claude Mequish confirmed to The Canadian Press that he was about to declare a state of psychosocial emergency in Opitciwan.
In a telephone interview, he said he was waiting for certain information from the directors of health and social services. To add to the two reported cases, other young people have made suicidal gestures or confided in having had dark thoughts.
A psychosocial emergency table was set up just before the holidays following another tragic event, said the head of the council.
“We thought it was going to calm down, but the situation has not improved. There have been other attempts,” he lamented.
According to information provided by Chief Mequish, this psychosocial crisis table would be integrated into the committee on emergency measures created to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the community did in a health emergency, it could adopt rapid response measures to prevent further tragedies.
Furthermore, since its small team of social workers is at the end of its resources, Opitciwan has appealed for help from other Attikamekw communities. Reinforcements will thus be able to support the exhausted team in place. Two people were sent from Wemotaci, two others from Manawan and one was loaned by the Native Friendship Center of La Tuque.
This new wave of distress brings back very bad memories for Chief Mequish, who recounts waves of suicides that occurred in the 1980s, then again in the 2000s. Unfortunately, the scenario seems to be repeating itself and efforts are being made to curb the spread of ideas black.
Interventions have been carried out at the school and authorities are following emergency protocol. Support is also offered to the families and loved ones of the victims, but in a community of 2,500 souls, the shock wave quickly reaches everyone.
“Everyone knows each other here, everyone rubs shoulders,” emphasizes Jean-Claude Mequish, who is in the fourth year of his mandate. “There is a heaviness. I did not expect to experience this as a chef, ”he added.
For the past few months, the community has been organizing activities to allow young people to have fun, change their minds and get out of their isolated village in the north between Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Groups of young people are currently in the Quebec region.
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