Nipissing First Nation summit looks to tackle homelessness, addiction

A community wellness summit looks to tackle homelessness and substance use that's been plaguing Indigenous communities.

A two-day community wellness summit on the Nipissing First Nation aims to address homelessness and substance abuse.

According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous people in Canada experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate.

Indigenous households are almost three times as likely to have experienced some form of homelessness when compared with the total population.

The summit heard from Peter Beaucage, whose son fell deep into drug addiction and now is on the streets.

Beaucage spoke passionately to the group of about 30 people about the challenges he has faced trying to get his son help.

“Within a year and a half -- that’s how fast it happened,” he said.

“I’m running around all over the place trying to help him.”

First Peoples Wellness Circle CEO Dr. Brenda Restoule spoke about what she learned about Indigenous homelessness as a clinical psychologist.

“Are any of us OK with knowing that somebody might be living at the edge of the water by themselves … trying to find food and trying to find a way to survive?” Restoule asked the group.

Several causes

She said Indigenous youth are becoming homeless at a younger age and are becoming dependent on alcohol and face more severe substance use addiction challenges.

Causes of Indigenous homelessness include colonization, intergenerational trauma and an overrepresentation in child welfare and in the justice system.

Restoule said housing services in the First Nation community are limited.

“We’re underfunded in housing. We’re underfunded in education. We’re underfunded in health and we’re underfunded in social services,” she told the crowd.

“All of those forms of underfunding lead to a lack of access to resources and services that we don’t have the capacity to meet the needs of our community.”

The Nipissing First Nation council held the summit to strategize and come up with ideas to tackle chronic homelessness and listen to feedback from community members living in the community.

Dr. Christine Lalonde, the First Nation’s director of health services, organized the summit, working with partners and social service agencies that work daily with homeless individuals, including the Anishinabek Police Service.

“While we do have a lot of services and we do take care of a lot of members, not everyone recognizes or realizes the work that we do,” Lalonde said.

Indigenous homelessness can be much deeper than putting a roof over a head. Experts say it can be spiritual or relational when losing connection to family bonds or cultural connections.

“Our grown children and adult children are sleeping house-to-house on couches,” Beaucage said.

“We have to confront that. We need to see where all this is coming from and do something about it.”

Ideas raised at the summit include hosting healing circles for parents of adult children experiencing substance use disorders, targeting Indigenous young mental wellness and investing in a peer support system for people who have lived on the streets.

Nipissing First Nation Chief Cathy Bellefeuille-Stevens sent

CTV News the following statement:

“Homelessness and substance use are critical issues for our community. To address them, we created a space for both professionals and community members to collaborate, share stories, and explore potential strategies.”

“This approach reflects our commitment to addressing these challenges through a lens that is personal and rooted in Nishnaabe culture, helping us understand where to start the healing process for our people.”