Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just in regards to our mental health issues that we have in the community, can the Minister provide me with an update of activities that the mental health in the Beaufort Delta is providing for will take place in our small communities, including my region in Nunakput; is that there any updates on that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the question. The update that I have is that the community counselling program has resumed facetoface counselling all across the NWT, including in the Beaufort Delta. This is a very serious issue, the mental health impacts of COVID19, they're felt throughout the NWT and in fact I think throughout the country and the world. It has certainly been a time of stress and anxiety, as the Member referenced, because there's been so much uncertainty and upheaval in our lives.
So we have the community counselling program which, just to remind the Member, that is a sameday appointment availability. We have the NWT Help Line, and we have a variety of online services for people who have connectivity to that. So I also have a specialized Beaufort Delta mental health supports handout which I will send to the Member for him to use or to post in his community. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. I'd just like to know what other culturally-appropriate mental health supports are currently available for Northerners in my riding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, programs like on-the-land healing camps, we fund the IRC to provide, and they make decisions about how that money is spent and what the focus of the healing camps will be. Other departments also have pots of money which will assist people to get out on the land for various activities such as trapping and hunting and so on. So there are a variety of supports available. They are, as I say, probably best referenced online to get the complete list or through the IRC which has its own very robust mental health support system. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we're really lucky to have IRC that handles the money. But I really think what we should be doing, Mr. Speaker, is giving the communities an opportunity to run their own healing camps, setting up a camp out of the community that we could send our youth and our elders, you know, to get them what services they need and what they're going through. I really think before the next cycle, I guess, of funding that goes through, can the Minister, I guess, commit to talking with IRC chair in regards to providing the community corporations with funding to have their own on-the-land healing camps? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it was my understanding that the money that goes to the IRC annually pays for community camps, but I certainly am happy to speak to the chair of the IRC and talk to him about how that money is being spent and whether there is a need for additional resources at the community level. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what is our Minister doing toward a digital mental health programming for the constituents across the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we offer a variety of apps, and we're adding more every few months. So we have the Strongest Family Institute, which is primarily for families who need assistance with parenting. We have Wagon, which is an aftercare app for people who are returning from residential treatment or have had some kind of a treatment and they need support. We also have Breathing Room, which is specifically for youth and young adults who are experiencing anxiety and depression. So there are those three, but I understand that there are more.
We recently I believe we tabled it here, a report on E-mental health apps and the uptake that they've had. And so I encourage the Member to take a look at that and provide his comments on whether his constituents are using them; and if they aren't, whether they have suggestions about other things that might work better. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
