聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 A group of 18 students from the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT) in Yorkton was in Kamsack on November 7 to raise awareness about its Mental Health and Wellness program.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Hoping to provide a higher profile of their presence in the community, the students first set up a makeshift stand from the back of a pick-up truck on main street in Kamsack.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 From this vantage point, the students reached out to members of the community and offered coffee and treats including doughnuts, oranges and bannock.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 They also distributed a questionnaire which contained three questions pertinent to their reasons for 小蓝视频 in the community, and they then collected the completed questionnaires.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One student volunteered to explain the reason behind the questionnaire.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e have found that in a community where there are a large number of Aboriginal people who suffer from mental health and addiction issues that these people find it easier to work with other Aboriginal people who have been properly trained to counsel them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e would like to raise awareness of the issues that we are 小蓝视频 trained to deal with in our Mental Health and Wellness class at the SIIT,鈥� she said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Theresa Fiddler Desnomie of Peepeekisis First Nation has been instructing the Mental Health and Wellness class at SIIT for the past five years.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here have been some name changes to the two-year diploma class over the years but the curriculum is comprehensive and gives our graduates the necessary requirements to counsel people with mental health and addiction issues,鈥� Desnomie said. 聽鈥淭he two are usually very closely related.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ith our students, we have talked about the correlation between mental health and addictions. We heard about the New Horizons facility in Kamsack and how it has been helping people who struggle with health and addiction issues.
鈥淎n idea started in class and the students decided to make the trip to Kamsack and hand out coffee and doughnuts to show love to the people of the community and the New Beginnings.
鈥淓verything to make this day possible was donated by the students, including the coffee and goodies. There was even one student who made up some bannock for the occasion.鈥�
Although the day was clear and sunny, the temperature was hovering at minus 12 degrees Celsius and the group of SIIT students then moved over to the New Beginnings outreach centre located on First Street.
In the August 31 issue, theTimes reported about a clinic that was held at the New Beginnings on August 23.
This clinic was held in response to the fact that the southern part of Saskatchewan, where Kamsack is located, has a 鈥渧ery high鈥� rate of HIV infection, according to Dr. Ibrahim Khan of Regina, the regional medical health officer who is involved in First Nations and Inuit health programs at Health Canada.
Khan explained that the high rate is attributable to a high rate of injection drug use and the sharing of needles.
The students of the Mental Health and Wellness program used this information, along with other research, to identify a need for their services in this area.
