Programs and Services

The department supports communities and individuals in times of crisis by providing a team of emotional health support workers.

It also provides financial support to the northern villages to implement wellness committees in the region. A wellness committee is an organized group of persons from the community whose purpose is to identify the health and wellness needs. Members should act as a liaison between the population and community organizations.

Wellness-committee members have no statutory powers but act as advisors to the municipal council, health centres and the population in matters of health and wellness. When there are problems beyond the resources of the wellness committee or the community members, the wellness committee recommends to the municipal council that these problems be brought to the attention of the appropriate body. Funding of $25,000.00 is transferred once a year to the municipality.

Various programs are managed by the department:

Brighter Futures
Indian Residential-School Program
Prevention of Elder Abuse
Midwifery Education Program and Services

If you wish to obtain funding for a project, fill out this form and return it to us. We will be pleased to review your application.

Brighter Futures

A community-based promotion and prevention program for First Nations and Inuit communities. The program functions through learning-related activities that strive to increase awareness, change attitudes, build knowledge and enhance skills. The program provides funding for the 14 Nunavik communities for various types of community projects. Funds are distributed on a per capita basis.

The program is made up of five components: mental health, child development, parenting, healthy babies and injury prevention. First Nations and Inuit communities have the flexibility to determine the program component(s) for their community-based programs, services and activities.

Indian Residential-School Program

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program (IRS-RHSP) provides mental-health and emotional-support services to eligible former Indian residential-school students and their families throughout all phases of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, including: Common Experience Payments (CEP), Independent Assessment Process (IAP), Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and commemorative activities. Services under the Resolution Health-Support Program are safe, confidential, respectful and non-judgmental.

Prevention of Elder Abuse

Nunavik Elders Safety Awareness Campaign (06/10 – 06/15)

Respecting and honouring our Elders is a fundamental value that strengthens our communities.

Elder Services

Inuit Elders define themselves by their knowledge of the territory, their role in the family, and their responsibility as regards preserving and transmitting their language and culture. The territory consists of the habitats and resources that ensure their livelihood. The notion of family increasingly rests on the ones who came before (ancestors) and those that will follow (descendants). The Elders are thus responsible for transmitting Inuit practices and knowledge in a manner that reflects the resilience and pride of their people (KRG Seniors’ Policy and its Action Plan, November 2017).

The wellness of Elders

  1. Ilusirsusiarniq: Concerns the overall body, and refers to a normal state of being with no disease, pain or injury that prevents a person from doing what they must or want to do. This notion assumes that healthy is the condition in which a body should develop and evolve over time, and this from birth until an advanced age.
     
  2. Qanuingngisiarniq: Concerns a person’s overall well-being, and refers to having no worries or pain, being comfortable, happy and free of emotional distress. It is akin to experiencing peace of mind, being calm and fulfilled while also having the ability to easily move forward and function. There is a unique emphasis on the importance of being near and with other people and in secure and caring environments.
     
  3. Inuuqatigiitsianiq: Concerns an ideal state where personal relationships are  favourable. Refers to healthy relationships with family members, friends, neighbours and others in the community or elsewhere as an important element in one’s overall health and well-being.

Reference:

Fletcher, Christopher, Qanuilirpitaa? Nunavik Regional Health Survey, Community Component Report, Definition Of An Inuit Cultural Model And Social Determinants Of Health For Nunavik. Cited in: EVALUATION OF THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES SYSTEM IN NUNAVIK:  THE USERS’ PERSPECTIVE. Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, 2021.

Maltreatment of Elders

The maltreatment of Elders is a pressing issue in communities throughout the world. Despite the prevalence of maltreatment, the phenomenon remains relatively hidden, given the few victims willing to come forward and the fact that it is seen as a social “taboo”.

The protection of Elders in our community hinges on recognizing the signs of distress and speaking up. Support and help are available for those who need it. By working together, we can build a community where Elders are appreciated and treated with the respect and  dignity they deserve.

Together, we can promote the wellness of Elders and combat maltreatment

Well-caring of Elders

The well-caring of Elders is a way of being and acting that highlights the well-being of and respect for Elders and their needs, their wants and their choices, including when they opt to refuse. We can create environments favourable to the well-caring of Elders by working together in order to:

  • Focus our actions on the Elders
  • Foster their power to take action
  • Respect them and acknowledge their right to dignity
  • Favour their social inclusion and participation
  • Come together to support them.

Help is available for those who need it.

Here are some examples of resources :

***Call 9111 in the event of an emergency***

Reach out to someone you trust, for example, a key member of the community, a family member, a friend or a CLSC worker.

Turn to community resources:

  • Police/Fire department/Emergency services: 819-XXX-9111
  • Local CLSC

NRBHSS:

Info-Santé (French - English): 811

Mistreatment hotline (Québec) (French - English): 1-888-489-2287

 

Midwifery Education Program and Services

There are four birthing centres offering services in Nunavik. Three of these are on the Hudson coast, located in Inukjuak, Puvirnituq and Salluit, and one on the Ungava coast located in Kuujjuaq.

The midwifery program’s core competencies used as a basis for midwife education and qualification in Nunavik are equivalent to those of the Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec (OSFQ) and the Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM) and adapted to practice in the Nunavik region. The community midwife’s scope of practice is focused on normal pregnancy, birth and postpartum. The Nunavik midwife acts as a team leader in both normal and abnormal situations and in emergency care and works in collaboration with other members of the health-care team. The scope of competency for a Nunavik midwife in these areas often extends beyond that of the OSFQ and the AOM due to the nature of practice in a remote region.

The Department of Inuit Values and Practices has been mandated to work on the regional framework for the implementation of birthing centres within our region and on the clinical plan for Kuujjuaq’s birthing centre.