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Support group for suicide survivors starts in Iqaluit

"You have to keep on going"

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Mary Akpalialuk hopes a new support group will attract youth, like Nick Dunphy and Nastania Mullin, who were among the few youth who joined the Walk for Life in Iqaluit on Sept. 10 and received "yellow ribbon" cards. (PHOTO BY JEREMY GREGSON)

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Community activists are gathering this weekend in Iqaluit with anyone who's been hurt by the suicide of a loved one, in what organizers hope will become a weekly event.

Mary Akpalialuk, a suicide prevention counsellor, said participants in last month's Walk for Life decided that Iqaluit needed a forum for people to talk about their feelings.

"We know there's a lot of people who don't talk about their pain and anger from losing a loved one to suicide," she said. "We're trying to set up a support group to make them feel better, and help them accept what happened.

"You have to keep on going."

The meeting will take place tomorrow, Oct. 9, at the Parish Hall at 7:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Akpalialuk said organizers are putting a special emphasis on youth in order to provide them with support she says they're not finding elsewhere.

She expects these meetings will appeal especially to young Inuit, who may be interested in learning from elders about sewing and making tools. Akpalialuk said future meetings will feature lessons on how to make parkas, socks, and harpoons.

"We're dealing with Inuit," she said. "We are Inuit, and we've got to help in some way."

For more information, phone Akpalialuk at 979-4393; Napatchie at 975-2460; or Ooleepika at 979-5900. Participants are asked not to bring young children or infants.

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