First Nations chiefs call on government to help Eskasoni – Cape Breton Post
‘It’s like trying to fight a forest fire with a bucket’
ESKASONI, NS — Atlantic Canada’s First Nations chiefs are calling on the federal government to give Eskasoni more than $1 million to help the region’s largest Mi’kmaq community deal with a mental health crisis that has resulted in suicides.
John G. Paul, executive director of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat, said Eskasoni urgently needs committed funding from Indigenous Services Canada to provide mental health services to its approximately 4,500 residents.
“It’s like trying to fight a forest fire with a bucket — you need adequate human and financial resources to provide the integrated mix of mental health services and supports to help individuals and families across the community,” Paul told the Cape Breton Post.
