Eskasoni turning to Ottawa for crisis centre

A Nova Scotia MP is carrying Eskasoni's request for funding for a permanentyouth crisis centre to Ottawa.

Mark Eyking, the MP for Sydney-Victoria, toured the First Nation community's temporary centre last weekend.

The centre, which is staffed by volunteers, was set up last week to help the community deal with a series of suicides. In a five-week period, four people in their teens and early 20s took their lives. There have also been several drug-related deathsin the last year.

Eyking said the community needs the support of the federal government.

"The community was in shock, but they rallied together,"Eyking said Monday. "They have a plan put forward. They are going to take on the responsibility, but they are going to need our help. And we should be there for them as a country."

The band council is asking the federal government for $1.4 million more than half of the estimated $2 million it would cost to run a new youth centre for the next three years. The community already has a building for it.

Eyking said about 150 people have turned to the centre for help since it opened last week.

Patrick Johnson, director of Mi'kmaq Services at Cape Breton University, said the deaths in Eskasoni and the weekend suicide of a young man in the neighbouring reserve of Chapel Island are having a profound impact on Mi'kmaq students.

Many are relatedor know each other, he said, so a death has an effect on all the First Nation communities.

Eyking agrees that something needs to be done quickly.

"The volunteers in the temporary setup will not last and the problem is not going to go away overnight," Eyking said.

Eykinghopes the federal government answers Eskasoni's request for fundingwithin a week. He also wants federal Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl to tour the community.

The band council says officials from both Indian and Northern Affairs and Health Canadaare expected to visiton Wednesday.