b'COVID-19 PANDEMICHow has the pandemic impacted the overall mental healthIt appears that providing additional support to Indigenous of the residents of these communities? women during crises is critical.Crises like this are very challenging for individuals, espe- Women are our foundations to our families. They rear the kids cially those with untreated depression or who have beenand the adolescents, and if theyre going through their own affected personally by the pandemic and dont have support.emotional struggles with the pandemic, theyre not going to be as By Matthew Bradford Unfortunately, these stresses can lead to suicidal tendencies,capable of supporting their families. and we have had suicides take place during the pandemic across every age group. You mention Elders are more vulnerable during this time. Can So yes, mental health is always at risk during times like these.you elaborate?What weve done through NAN is work with a number ofIsolation is something thats impacted everyone, especially healthcare and community partners to set up a crisisElders. Theyve been watching the news from the and rapid access program. It includes a hope line,start and dealing with a lot of anxiety over an 1-844-NAN-HOPE, and a support websiteunknown worldwide pandemic thats killing a and Facebook page that people can use tolot of people. As a result, weve seen Elders connect with trained crisis counsellors. Thewith chronic medical conditions like crisis line also has Indigenous languagediabetes and hypertension start destabil-counsellors to provide support forizing due to the fact they are internalizing Ojibwe, Oji-Cree, and Cree individuals. some of the fears they were feeling.How else have Indigenous womenSo Elders are top of mind at a time been impacted? like this?Unfortunately, there has been anWere always thinking about our Elders increase in domestic and sexual violence.in the community. Thats why Indigenous The reality is that if you were in a relation- language counsellors in our NAN crisis ship that wasnt good before the pandemic,line call Elders they know in the community it probably got worse during the pandemic,to talk to them and educate them on the realities especially if alcohol and drug use were part ofof COVID-19. Of course, you cant really translate the picture. And since these women have likely beenCOVID-19 since its not in the origins of our language, but isolated from their support systemstheir friends, siblingswhat we can do is answer their questions and try to relate it to their or organizationsthat probably decreased their ability to copelived experiences. Weve found that once were able to speak with over time. We recognized this issue early on, and our responsethem and address those fears, they were able to start eating again, was to support Nishnawbe Aski Police Service when they put instart sleeping again, and stop worrying as much. Everybodys a proposal for local victim support. That funding went throughworried right now. But when it starts to impact your quality of life, recently, and police services are hiring social workers to supportthere needs to be a process that will help you deal with it.the victims of violence.Working to end M A E K AT T: violence against women, children and youth since 1975H E A LT H C A R EKingston Interval House provides essential, responsive and empowering services T R A I L B L A Z E R to women, children and youth who have experienced the impact of violence against women. Our core services include Mae Katt is a nurse practitioner with Dennis Franklin Cromartyemergency shelter, transitional and outreach High School in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She also works with healthcounselling services, second-stage housing, directors from numerous communities to provide a community- public education, awareness and prevention based Suboxone program for individuals dealing with opioidas well as community engagement.addiction and conducts policy work for the Nishnawbe AskiContact us:Nation (NAN) organization, which looks after 50,000 individualsCrisis Line:1-800-267-9445 or 613-546-1777across 49 communities. Katt currently chairs an expert teamOffice:613-546-1833 or 613-546-4136that advises the NAN leadership on management and publicwww.kingstonintervalhouse.comhealth measures tied to COVID-19.Kingston Interval House @KIHIntervalOntario Native Womens Association15'