Manitoba child advocate demands more supports for Indigenous boys to prevent suicide, homicide

The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth is demanding the province focus more resources on Indigenous boys to prevent more deaths by suicide and homicide.

For a new report released Thursday morning called Finding the Way Back, staff with the advocate's office researched and reviewed 45 cases involving boys between 12 and 17 years old who died by suicide or homicide between 2009 and 2018.

"Preventing suicide and homicide of boys in Manitoba requires an understanding of the early life experiences through a socio-ecological model" — one that focuses on the connections between individuals, relationships, community and societal levels, the report says.

"This includes understanding how colonization, intergenerational trauma and childhood poverty influence experiences of abuse and neglect that can lead to child welfare involvement."

Of the 45 boys whose cases were reviewed, 37 were Indigenous — 35 were First Nations and two were Métis. About half of the boys lived in the Northern Regional Health Authority and about a third lived in Winnipeg.

The report looks at experiences the boys shared, including caregiver abuse, poverty, parents who had substance use disorders, gang involvement and poor school attendance.

The report says 69 per cent of the boys were in Child and Family Services care at one point, 76 per cent had "problematic substance use" and about half were hospitalized for a mental health concern.

But the situations the Indigenous boys were in can be linked back to how intergenerational trauma and colonization affected the boys and their families, the report says.

"Where service providers may focus on addressing the behaviours that present as a result of this trauma, such as issues with substance use or family violence, what is often overlooked or avoided is the broader issue of trauma that remains unaddressed and continues to be transmitted through families and communities," it says.

In the report, children's advocate Ainsley Krone makes four recommendations for provincial departments to address that:

The report also repeats a 2018 recommendation that called on the Department of Health, along with front-line service providers and others, to immediately address the lack of substance use treatments for young people and creating a youth addiction strategy.

More focus is needed on helping Indigenous boys, and specifically First Nations boys, succeed, the report says. It points to graduation gaps, not only between Indigenous boys and non-Indigenous boys, but between Indigenous boys and Indigenous girls as well.

"Despite the dire need for understanding these important and prevalent issues, focused examinations of the lived experiences of boys, particularly First Nations boys, are rare," the report says.

"Understanding the unique experiences of boys would allow public bodies to design programs and strategies that are better suited to addressing their unique needs and work towards preventing violent deaths."