Canada’s Anglican Indigenous church introduces mental health programs
[Anglican Journal] The Indigenous Anglican church is beginning work on mental health ministries amid a national epidemic of suicides and overdoses in Indigenous communities, Archdeacon Rosalyn Elm, the church’s Indigenous ministries coordinator, told the Council of General Synod in early November.
The programs, which are still in the early stages, are aimed at bolstering mental health ministries in the north. The first area of concern, she said, was programming for Indigenous men, who she said were particularly underserved by mental health services in northern Canada. The church is looking for opportunities to create its own ministry resources and to partner with existing programs offering care to Indigenous men, Elm said.
The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) is also creating a youth program for peer counseling called The Fire Talks, she said. This seven-month program, still taking shape as of Elm’s address to the council, will result in participants getting a certification for peer counseling. “We’re trying to combat the difficulties that our youth face today on a ground level,” Elm said.
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