Inuk Task Force helps overcome linguistic barriers in mental health treatment

Simeonie Kunnuk remembers the strange new landscape in Ottawa when he first arrived from Pond Inlet, Nunavut and the simple words he could not understand.

"I'm from the Arctic. I'm supposed to walk two blocks. What is a block?" he told Hallie Cotnam on CBC Radio'sOttawa Morning. "We don't have trees back home. I used to wonder: what's behind that tree?"

Kunnuk is in the managed alcohol program at The Oaks, a residence that provides mental health and substance use support services for homeless men and women.

He came to Ottawa to pursue an education, but ended up living on the streets after developing an addiction to alcohol. After struggling to express himself with so many cultural and linguistic barriers, he is now part of the Inuk Task Force, which aims to make programs offered by social service agencies in Ottawa more relevant for Inuit.

Kim VanHerk, a mental health nurse with Inner City Health, said the task force's assistancewith translation has helped her understand that anInukmight indicate"yes" with a facial expression rather than a word which is important to know when assessing and diagnosing a patient.

"It's about things like body language," she said.

'This is success'

Images typically used in cognitive assessments to determine if someone has Alzheimer's or dementia could include a lion, a camel, and a rhinoceros.

But since Inuitare less familiar with those animals, the Inuk Task Force suggested using images of a polar bear, an Arctic char, and a sealinstead.

This right here is success, absolutely.- NurseKim VanHerk

A simple"How are you?" which may be a common part of a greeting in Ottawa is understood differently by Inuit, said Elijah Pewatooalook, who is in the same program at The Oaks.

"I feel like I'm asked as if I was sick, or something," Pewatooalook said. "In the old days, the only time you'd ask 'how are you' is when the person was sick or in pain."

Van Herk said it's great to see people who've come "very, very far" in their own recovery help strengthen the services offered for other Inuit who might not be as far in their recovery.

"This is success. It takes a lot of courage for them to sit and tell their stories and to be willing to help their community. This right here is success, absolutely," Van Herk said.