Peggy Revell
It only may be a few months old, but Rainy River First Nations’ anti-drug task force committee already is finding success in mobilizing the community against drug abuse.
“I’m really excited about what’s happening,” Chief Jim Leonard said about its progress since forming earlier this year.
“I think we knew that we had a problem in our community with drugs, but it really didn’t hit us until after Christmas,” he admitted.
One community member had done an unofficial, anonymous survey among community members, Chief Leonard explained, which took the band’s membership list and picked out all those under age 30.
Through talking to individuals, it was determined whether people were using drugs or had used them in the past.
Out of the 80 people under 30, that number came out to 67—more than 75 percent, Chief Leonard said.
And then they learned this high percentage is not uncommon for all youths across the district after talking to Hugh Dennis at the local Substance Abuse Program.
“That really shocked us, that high of a percentage,” Chief Leonard remarked. “So immediately we had several community meetings, we had one with the elders, we had one with the youth, and we had a general community meeting.
“And at all three of those meetings we had people come forward, of people saying that they were users and they wanted help.”
Having had several meetings so far, the task force now has around 20 people on it, Chief Leonard noted.
“[The] Emo clinic is involved, we have two police officers on it, we have elders, young people, and people have just come forward and said, ‘I want to be a part of the solution,’” he remarked.
A dozen youths already have come forward, including two who were dealing drugs.
“The main focus of the task force is to support people, not to penalize them,” Chief Leonard stressed. “If you come forward, we’re prepared to give you all the supports we can in terms of seeking treatment, counselling, finding employment, life skills, and all that.
“And it’s working,” he pledged.
Chief Leonard said the band has hired a drug worker to develop formal plans of care for those who come forward asking for help.
The band also is in the process of converting one of the new apartment buildings into what Chief Leonard described as an after-care facility.
“What we’re finding [is] that people with addictions need structure in their life,” he explained. “They need goals to obtain, even if they’re just small goals, and to monitor them and to support them in achieving those goals.”
More sessions with youths already are planned, and the band has started a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) group that also has brought out people and is working well, Chief Leonard added.
As well, drug testing has been mandated for all employees of the band, including chief and council, as well as the task force.
Other community events, such as a march against drug use, are in the works.
Holding workshops just to even educate people is an important part of the committee’s work, said Chief Leonard, since one of the biggest things they found out was how uninformed people are about the type of drugs available these days.
“A lot of the older people don’t even know what oxycontin is, don’t know what percoset is, don’t know the behaviours when someone in their home is using,” he explained.
“A lot of the elders said, ‘I didn’t even know that my son was . . .’—things like that.
“There’s oxycontins, percosets, meth, crack, cocaine, marijuana, of course, all kinds of pain-killers, vicodin, ecstasy . . . it’s all there and it’s readily available,” Chief Leonard warned.
“And it’s anywhere,” he stressed. “You can get it in Fort Frances, you can get it in Emo, that’s how easily accessible it is.”
Chief Leonard also said it sometimes can be hard to determine if a person is using because behaviour isn’t always as simple as, say, staggering around.
“Parents should educate themselves on exactly what’s happening and the different types of drugs,” he urged. “Because a lot of parents don’t even know that their kids are using.
“What we’re finding is that the problem was just escalating,” Chief Leonard noted. “It was more and more of our young people getting involved with drugs. Some as young as 12 and 13 years old were starting to experiment with the oxycontins and the percosets.
“Police are at a disadvantage, too, because it’s a closed society, that drug culture, and nobody wants to talk,” he continued.
“And so what we did is we went right in and said, ‘We’re here to help people that want to get off, away from drugs. We’re prepared to help,’ and it’s happened.”
