UNBC and Carrier Sekani Family Services are studying ways to prevent suicide and strengthen mental wellness for Elders in the Northern Interior.
The five-year research project has received $1.5 million through the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health and will build on work with regional First Nations communities over the past decade.
UNBC’s Dr. Henry Harder and Dr. Travis Holyk of Carrier Sekani Family Services are leading the project.
Holyk says it was the communities that indicated that mental health and suicide prevention needed to be addressed while Harder says there is a huge gap of psychological services in the North.
The project seeks to develop tools and activities that help further increase community mental wellness and improve access to interventions with a specific focus on Elders.
