In 1st systemic review, Nunavut child and youth rep takes aim at mental health

As part of its first systemic review, the two-year-old Office of the Representative for Children and Youth is investigating the state of Nunavut's mental health services.

Representative Sherry McNeil-Mulak says mental health is the biggest issue facing young Nunavummiut.

She says the office determined this using data it's collected, feedback from community visits and an aggregating tool designed for her office.

"This issue affects many aspects of a young person's life across the board," McNeil-Mulak said.

Since it was created in the fall of 2015, the office, which is an independent body of Nunavut's Legislative Assembly, has focused on individual advocacy cases.

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The office has dealt with 141 individual cases, helping youth understand their rights or access government services.

Of those cases, McNeil-Mulak says 60 have involved accessing some type of mental health services.

She says a child's mental health has a direct impact on how they do in school, in social situations or in some instances, whether they have contact with the criminal justice system.

The review will try to find gaps in delivering services to Nunavut's youth and shed light on them.

McNeil-Mulak says she expects the review to take a year to complete. The office will conduct surveys and interviews with youth, the Inuit associations and relevant front line and policy workers in health, justice, family services and education.

It will also complete a document review of the Mental Health Act and the government of Nunavut's departmental policies.

'You will hear more from us'

The different approaches to the office's mandate to protect and advocate for the rights of children and youth are being "phased in" as the office grows, McNeil-Mulak says.

It started with listening to youth and youth issues and working with them on an individual level, but McNeil-Mulak says systemic reviews, like this one in mental health, are important to the office.

"We're into that other area of our work where you will hear more from us, starting today with this announcement of this review, where we will tackle bigger issues that are affecting many children and youth across this territory," she said.

The office has identified food security and foster care as possible future topics for large-scale review.