Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following my Member's statement I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I would like to ask the Minister what services are available today, right now, for youth struggling with mental health and addiction issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a wide range of services available to residents of the Northwest Territories, including youth. We do have community counsellors in most communities. Where they don't exist in communities, we can reach them by outreach. We have 1-800 numbers, a 24-hour help line; we have the ability to do psychiatric assessments and provide treatment.
Every community in the Northwest Territories has a community wellness plan. Many of their activities focus on supporting youth through on-the-land programs. We as a government fund different Aboriginal governments and organizations to deliver on-the-land programs. A number of them have opted for youth-focused programming.
There are some differences, Mr. Speaker. If the Member is referring to individuals under 18, we do have a number of treatment options available to them. We have some Northern specialized treatment resources, based in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, to provide treatment and education to youth under 18. We have some southern placements available for youth under 18 if our northern facilities aren't appropriate. We have treatment centres with four different contracts. So there are a wide range of services available to all residents, including youth.
My understanding is that the department is currently working on developing a mental health and addictions action plan specific to youth, or for youth. Is this correct?
We've actually just almost concluded the work on a mental health and addictions framework here in the Northwest Territories, which I hope to share with committee either later this week or early next week and table it the week after. That framework outlines the parameters on which we're going to be moving forward on a number of items, including the development of a comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Youth, which we hope to get out as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell the House what is available for detoxification from alcohol and drugs, or alcohol or drugs?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the Government of the Northwest Territories when it comes to detox, we often refer to withdrawal management. There are basically two different streams of withdrawal management that are available. There's social withdrawal, which we are facilitating through counsellors and other NGOs throughout the communities across the Northwest Territories. Then there's also the medical detox component or the medical withdrawal management. That can be done in a number of different locations in the Northwest Territories, Inuvik and Yellowknife are the prime examples.
If somebody needs that medical withdrawal management, we can facilitate them within out hospitals here in the Northwest Territories.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, aside from some of the counselling that goes on in the small communities and I guess sort of like a blueprint of what the wellness plans also bring to the communities, is there anything outside of that occurring in the small communities that's specifically trying to address the issues in the small communities relating to alcohol and drugs? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, there are variations across the Northwest Territories depending on the size of some of our smaller, more rural remote communities. Some of those communities do have mental health and addictions counsellors in them, some do not. All have access to our 24-hour hotline; all of them have access to professionals regardless whether they are there in person, by way of phone.
On top of that, Mr. Speaker, every community in the Northwest Territories has developed the community wellness plans, as I've mentioned before. Many, if not all, of those community wellness plans actually involve focus on youth, and those I believe are up on the website and available to anybody to read. But they focus on youth through things like on-the-land programming and other means of supporting youth who may be in crisis.
Having said everything that I've said, Mr. Speaker, I just want to be clear that we acknowledge that there needs to be significantly more work done on youth mental health and addictions here in the Northwest Territories. That is the prime reason that we are moving forward with a very focused youth mental health and addictions action plan, so that we can ensure that our youth are receiving the services they need regardless of where they happen to be located in the Northwest Territories. This is a priority, this is a mandate item, and this is certainly something that we're moving forward. I look forward to working with committee, Members and the public as we attempt to address these challenges here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
