Addictions Awareness Week starts with a wellness walk in Yellowknife

In Yellowknife Monday, the city recognized Canada's National Addictions Awareness Week with a wellness walk downtown. 

The week is dedicated to highlighting solutions to help address alcohol and other drug-related harms. In the N.W.T. those harms have historically been higher than average.

According to Statistics Canada's most recent survey on Canadian community health in 2022, 31 per cent of N.W.T. residents 18 or older reported "heavy drinking". That's 10 per cent higher than the Canadian average.

The Tree of Peace Friendship Centre's community wellness manager, Kathy Arden, is one of the wellness walk's organizers. She said that the week also presents an opportunity for participants to learn about resources in town.

"We're forging partnerships with other organizations in Yellowknife to help bring solutions," she said. 

She said that in recent years, the Tree of Peace has been more proactive with outreach as fewer people have been coming to them. She thinks that could be due to supported living facilities like Spruce Bough and that it could be a sign of positive change in the community.

"A lot of people had no place to go so they would come here to the Tree of Peace … asking us to try and find them someplace to stay," Arden said. 

Salvation Army executive director Tony Brushett oversees one of the men's shelters and transitional housing in Yellowknife. 

He said he's sees a lot of violence due to an increase of drugs coming into the city in recent years. Brushett says he'd like to see more focus on creating an addiction recovery centre in the N.W.T. to help those returning from treatment. 

"To take you from 20,000 people and drop you in a city with three million, it's a culture shock," he said. "We find that they really struggle when they come back."

Brushett acknowledged that the territory is financially strapped but said that big changes are needed to support N.W.T. residents struggling with addictions. 

He says the territory is already spending money on those residents, between sheltering costs, ambulances and emergency room visits. 

"So it's a matter of reallocating the money somehow to get these centres open," Brushett said.

The Tree of Peace and the Salvation Army hold presentations on Thursdays about their withdrawal management services program. The Tree of Peace will have a display board in their downstairs lobby this week so people can stop by and get a pamphlet with addiction and wellness resources in town, Arden said. 

"You can just make yourself aware, or come and talk to someone and get a better understanding of what addiction is and we have counsellors here that people can come and speak to," said Arden.

The walk was followed by a lunch gathering inside the centre.